Field Experience Reflection Paper

The school I decided to conduct my field experience at was in my hometown of Azusa, at

Clifford D. Murray Elementary, in a T-K class that alternated between Mrs. Vivian Morales and
Mrs. Andrea Ries. On the days that I had hybrid week I was able to come back home on
Tuesdays and Thursdays to observe the class from beginning to end. It was a unique experience
not only because I was able to observe a classroom with a partnership between two teachers and
a combination of their teaching styles, but also the opportunity to be in a setting with first time
students. It was fascinating to watch students as young as four years old make connections in the
early stages of their education.
The classroom setting had five tables, with no more than 5 chairs at each table, a
computer area, a play area with a kitchenette, a corner of the room had a television, and a carpet
on the floor with the alphabet broken into different colored rows that the students would sit on.
The walls were decorate with various art projects, a circle map with a topic that was being
discussed that week, a white board, and a space reserved for the calendar. Each day began and
ended with a song followed with body movements to teach the numbers zero to ten that were
either shown on the T.V. or played on a C.D. (http://www.heidisongs.com/mediafiles/download_records/13_HSongsJumpNumb1Lyrics_motions.pdf)

Im not going to lie, there were numerous times when that song would get stuck in my

head or Id be humming Number 5, number 5, number 5 is round and fat! Hes got a great big
belly button, and he wears a funny hat! This activity reinforced that multi-sensory teaching is
the best way to have students learn, especially when 70% to 100% of what we hear, see, say, and
do, we retain. The kinesthetic movements that went along with the song helped the students
identify the name of the number based on its characteristics. After this, the teacher would go over
the calendar and count the number of days they had been in school using straws and utilized this

activity to teach place value. After ten days had gone by, she would place a rubber band around
them and move them in the tens place, and would do the same when ten sets of ten straws were
in the tens place that needed to be moved over to the hundreds place.
Taking into consideration that this was a T-K class, I had to keep in mind that the students
were barley learning how to write their numbers, place them in numerical order, and identify that
the name of a number corresponded to a quantity. There were numerous times when I had to
write the numbers in highlighter for some students who were having difficulty so they could
trace over it as a guide. Every day they spent a certain amount of allotted time in the computer
lab working on math puzzles, as mandated by the district. Some of the puzzles I observed
involved memorization, distinguishing between greater than, less than, and equal to, pairing an
amount of objects with a picture of a dice, base ten with dots, ten frame count, and subsidizing
fingers and dice. Although I thought a lot of the puzzles were cleverly created, my main concern
was that the students grew restless and bored easily, thus losing their motivation to participate.
This issue was something multiple teachers were struggling with and they shared with me their
concerns that this mandatory activity was cutting into other subjects reserved in the school day. I
think it was intended to be a great assessment tool and a way to incorporate technology, along
with extra practice, but Im not sure that seeing manipulatives on the screen is as effective as
using them in an actual classroom setting.
On Thursdays they had minimum days and all the kindergartners were mixed and divided
into different color groups and rotated between classes to participate in different activities. One
Thursday Mrs. Ries did number bingo with the students and another time they had math centers.
At station one they practiced writing the number four using rainbow colors, which meant tracing
over the number four using all the colors of the rainbow. At station two they were tested and

evaluated by Mrs. Morales on their counting. At station three they were to color neatly a
counting coloring book that went along with the theme of Halloween. At the station five they
practiced writing the numbers three and four using dot markers. The students seemed to gravitate
toward things they usually dont have, or get to use, at home. Some of activities were a bit
repetitive so as to help practice, but because they were done in a fun way the students were more
inclined to want to do them.
Overall it was a great experience and I was surprised by all that I learned. I genuinely
grew to know and care for the children that were in the class. Their eagerness to learn and
participate always put a smile on my face, along with Mrs. Ries and Mrs. Morales patience and
enthusiasm. The greatest lesson I took away from this is that we all have to start somewhere.
Getting to where we want to be takes determination, patience, and time. At first things may not
make sense, but in the end it will all come together, and when that happens finally we will
understand.