Hello! My name is Gillian and I am a Teach for America corps member. I was given the exciting opportunity to teach at ChildCareGroup’s Landauer Child Development Center. Here’s what is going on this week…
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Greetings from Room 3!
November was busy here at Landauer! With Thanksgiving and our exciting thematic unit, “Inside and Outside Me”, we have enjoyed each and every day. Highlights from this month have included a series of science experiments to learn more about our bodies. To start, we explored our five senses. We experimented with a variety of different textures, smells, tastes and sounds to see how we can use our senses to touch, taste, smell, hear and see. Another science experiment taught us about germs. We used green glitter paint to show us how germs can be found anywhere, especially our hands! We also learned the importance of washing our hands to protect us from the germs that make us sick! Our latest science experiment taught us about digestion. We experimented with bread, oil and water in ziploc baggies to see how the stomach breaks down the food. Although we all agreed that it was “nasty”, we learned a great deal about how our bodies work each and every day. Science experiments have become one of our favorite things to do at school!
Although every day seems to have wonderful “ah-ha” moments for the kids, one thing was especially powerful for me this month. It happened during a case management meeting where I was able to share with a mother the great successes that her daughter has had this year. For not having been in preschool, this particular 4-year-old, Kaliah, has become a leader in the class and has inspired other students to do the same. One morning I wanted to try out a new assessment for Kaliah during Circle Time. In order to gauge her readiness to read, I wanted to share with the class new vocabulary words and how we can spell them using our sounds from the alphabet. Question after question, Kaliah was answering (and spelling!) every vocabulary word. Mind you, this young girl has not been in preschool for more than 6 weeks. During the activity, I had to work hard to push back the tears because this little girl has worked so hard the last 6 weeks to show me that she is ready and wanting to read on her own.
I think the greatest lesson that I have learned from these young ones is that we can never underestimate their brilliance. Yes, they may do silly things from time to time, but also work so hard to learn academic and life skills that seem effortless to us as adults. I have found that my students have relished their mastery of our “brain games” and have found great pride in teaching their friends who may not have all the skills just yet. Furthermore, many students are learning two languages at the same time! Talk about hard work! Despite such challenges, my students have completely exceeded my already high expectations as a teacher. Each day brings me great joy to set even higher expectations together as a class and indulge in the wonderful world of learning.
Needless to say, I am infinitely thankful for the opportunity to be a teacher for ChildCareGroup at Landauer. My outstanding co-teacher, Ms. Maria, and my 17 exceptionally bright 3-5 year-olds have become family to me. As a family, we are committed to learning, loving, and laughing as we explore the world around us. I feel incredibly blessed to be part of this family and I know that the best has yet to come!
From all the scholars in Room 3, we wish you very happy holidays!
Posted by ChildCareGroup 
