Posts under ‘CIT’

Today was actually very very fun and exciting.  This morning we watched two “Leadership Essential” videos about bullying intervention and rumors and gossiping.  Both videos presented really valid points and good intervention strategies.  After that, I went into the classroom to observe children and see if there was any bullying going on.  Luckily, there was not.  We went to lunch, and after that it was pool time for two hours. That was also pretty fun. All in all, I’ve had a really fun experience and I’m sad it’s ending.  I hope to be back next year!

Today we watched 2 videos about conflict resolution called “Bullies and Targets.” We had a good discussion about how to recognize bullies and help them and their targets. Afterwards, we went into classrooms, helped out the teachers and played games with the campers. At the swimming pool, I learned alot of games such as “Sharks and Minnows.” Overall, I have learned a lot of riddles, songs and games which help so much in teaching the kids and entertaining them. We have also learned a lot of tactics to teach children how to solve conflicts and we use these techniques on the playground with the kids.

Today we watched some ‘Leadership Essential” videos to help us better ourselves as counselors. We discussed how to recognize a bully and how to teach kids strategies to deal with one.  We also talked about positive suggestions to give to bullies to help them with their behavior. After our discussion, we all went into the classrooms and helped the teachers.

On the playground, we played Dodgeball with the kids for fun.  This camp has been a great experience for everyone that took the CIT class this summer.

Yesterday Ursula and I went into Vivanne’s classroom and we came up with a fun game that helped the campers learn the names of fruits and vegetables in French.  I drew about 20 images of fruits and vegetables and wrote the letters of the French words they started with.  I cut them out and put individual items into plastic eggs.  Each camper in the classroom got 2 tries each to name the item. Campers would open the egg, tell us what the item was in English and then French. If they didn’t know what it was we would tell them and then they the whole class would repeat the word.  When all the eggs had been opened, the class went over all of the words in French and the exercise was like a “call and repeat.”

Today we watched a “Leadership Essentials” video about bullying that really made me understand how to handle different kinds of bullying situations.  We also discussed bullying and talked about strategies to hand to bullies. In the afternoon, we designed our dream summer camps in groups.

We included all kinds of activities from horseback riding to rock climbing, cooking and art projects.  We discussed logistics, working language of the camp and our audience at camp designers.

Today we did another lesson and I went into the Spanish class with James and Thomas. Our lesson plan was simple, 2 games and a song, but it was extremely successful in that the children participated in Spanish and had fun.  It was a very rewarding experience.  I’ve learned that sometime with a simple plan the kids will learn more, the objective is clearer.

Today I was in a group with Thomas and Natalia.  We thought of a lesson plan for Stela’s class.  We sang and song called “Fred the Moose.”  Then we played Spanish telephone and gave the campers a simple sentence to repeat through the telephone line.  Lastly, we played Spanish Pictionary.  The whole time the kids were very enthusiastic.  After lunch, we thought of a big activity for Friday, our last day.  At the end of the day, we visited classrooms and observed more teaching.

Today Mariama and I planned a lesson which we thought was going to be presented tomorrow, but ended up being presented today.  Since Mariama and I both missed a day, yesterday we only had a short period of time to plan the lesson.  On top of that, the lesson had to follow the theme of the class which was modes of transportation.  These tight conditions made the preparation of the lesson more difficult which in my opinion was good as it showed us the other side of teaching-pressure! The lesson went relatively well although I think it was somewhat difficult for kids to come up with stories with transportation words as we asked them to.  Despite the lesson’s difficulties, it was a good experience as it demonstrated the vitality and important of good preparation and the obstacles teachers face.

What have you learned from teaching in the classroom?

I have learned that kids can go from 0-60 and that you have to be on your toes at all times. -James-

Kids can go from 0-60 very quickly, so you have to learn how to keep your attention on everyone to make sure they all don’t start yelling and hollering at the same time. -Mariama-

I have learned that experience is the best teacher.  I’ve learned how to manage and entertain kids of various age groups.  -Eric-

I have learned that each kid has his own special needs.  You need to treat each kid with the same respect. -Jacob-

I have learned that you have to keep the children in the classroom focused and on-task but still have fun.  If one person is bored or rude it affects everyone in the room. I’ve also learned that things don’t always go as planned, so you have to improvise and have some tricks up your sleeve. -Rebeka-

I have learned that the activities a teacher plans need to be interesting enough so that the kids stay engaged.  They also need to be appropriate for the age group. -Genna-

I‘ve learned that what you put into the class is reflected by how the kids behave.  I’ve also learned that things don’t always go as planned and plan B’s are useful and can be just as fun. -Natalia-

What have you learned from teaching in the classroom?

I have learned that kids can go from 0-60 and that you have to be on your toes at all times. -James-

Kids can go from 0-60 very quickly, so you have to learn how to keep your attention on everyone to make sure they all don’t start yelling and hollering at the same time. -Mariama-

I have learned that experience is the best teacher.  I’ve learned how to manage and entertain kids of various age groups. -Eric-

I have learned that each kid has his own special needs.  You need to treat each kid with the same respect. -Jacob-

I have learned that you have to keep the children in the classroom focused and on-task but still have fun.  If one person is bored or rude it affects everyone in the room. I’ve also learned that things don’t always go as planned, so you have to improvise and have some tricks up your sleeve. -Rebeka-

I have learned that the activities a teacher plans need to be interesting enough so that the kids stay engaged.  They also need to be appropriate for the age group. -Genna-

I‘ve learned that what you put into the class is reflected by how the kids behave.  I’ve also learned that things don’t always go as planned and plan B’s are useful and can be just as fun. -Natalia-

In the past week, we have started to do more independent work with the campers such as oversee a section of the playground during recess.  However, we have also done two 20 minute team lessons in two seperate classrooms. As CIT’s, we have also supervised and played with campers at the Volta Pool for two hours each week. We have still been talking about leadership strategies and watching some videos and learning games and songs in our CIT classroom, but this past week and a half,  we have had had more time to apply them. During our class sessions, we have used engaging games, songs, activities and riddles that we could share with the kids at recess or in a lesson. Our accumulation of techniques, skills and ideas is finally coming through in our interaction with the campers.