During the winter break I did my first Field Period at Kids Kastle in Derby, New York.  Kids Kastle is a daycare and I explored each classroom, all of different age groups.  I really enjoyed my time at my Field Period, and I would gladly go back if I could.  I learned many new things, about kids and about myself.  My experience at Kids Kastle was amazing.

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Going into my field period was very scary, a new place of work, new kids I’ve never met, and expectations and requirements I had to meet made me nervous.  I am a very nervous person in general so this made me extra nervous.  I expected to switch between classrooms and observe the head teachers in each to understand what they do on a day to day basis.  I thought I’d just be watching what the instructor did and maybe take notes on how to run each classroom, however, this was not the case.  There were five different classrooms at Kids Castle and I got the chance to work in every single one of them.  Yes, I was observing and taking notes, but that is not all I did, there was so much more.  I realize now that if my experience was what I had for my expectations I do not think I would have enjoyed my field period.  I wanted to interact with the kids and help the teachers with their lessons, I did not just want to sit in the back.  Luckily for me, I was able to do all of the things I wanted.  I had the opportunity to engage with all of the children and learn how each classroom runs by actually assisting in running it.  My time spent at Kids Kastle was amazing, I loved going to work everyday to see all of the kids.  I worked in all of the classrooms with different ages of kids so my day was different depending on what room I was in.  

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I spent a lot of days in the waddler/toddler room which deals with children who are eighteen months to three years.  I really enjoyed this room, I spent a lot of my time in this room reading and playing with the children.  We sang songs and danced together to “Wheels on the Bus”, “Itsy Bitsy Spider”, and of course “Baby Shark”.  It was the favorite part of their day, after lunch, of course.  But, my favorite part of working in the waddler room was this one little girl.  I spent a lot of time with her, and she is so smart.  She knows all of her alphabet and numbers one through ten, even out of order.  She knows her colors, animals and their sounds, and some basic things like banana and chair.  I was so proud of her, and the look on her face when I told her she was right was the best, she cheered and clapped for herself and it was the cutest thing.  It made my heart happy to see her so excited.  Another room I spent a lot of time in was the school age room.  The kids in this room age from five to twelve years old.  This classroom was definitely my favorite, and this is the room I had my “A-Ha” moment in.

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I have always known that I wanted to work with kids, even from a young age.  I knew that I wanted my future career to be working with children, but I never knew in what field.  Back home I work at a summer camp for kids with disabilities and it has changed my life.  When I found out that I could get a degree in early childhood education and special education at Keuka I applied right away, even though I did not know if I wanted to teach.  But, after this experience, I definitely know that I am at the right place.  Working in the school age room changed my life, I went from unsure about my major to loving it.  During my time at Kids Kastle in this classroom I was mostly an assistant, but as time went on I was able to conduct the class a little bit.  I was terrified when I was asked if I wanted to lead the Spanish and sign language lesson.  I wanted to do it so bad, but I was so scared.  I was afraid I might mess up or forget all of my Spanish and sign language words, it was horrifying.  But, the teacher told me to take a deep breath and calm my nerves because it is not as bad as it may seem.  She said I did not have to do it, that it was totally up to me, but I knew I had to.  I had to push myself out of my comfort zone and face my fears, and I am so glad I did.  It was amazing, I loved every second of it.  It made me realize that yes, I am in the right field and I would love to be able to do this everyday.  I am excited now, thinking about having my own classroom in the future, and I can’t wait.

I have not had many education classes, only one to be exact, as I’m only a freshman, but that one class taught me some useful things that I used during my Field Period.  EDU 105 taught me what makes a good teacher great and how to teach in an effective and engaging way.  We also talk a lot about passion in EDU 105, and Kids Kastle has plenty of it.  You can tell that all of the teachers adore what they do and that it is their passion.  I have that passion in my too and I am excited to show it in my own classroom someday.

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This Field Period helped me learn so much more about myself.  It made me realize that things can be scary and you might not want to do them, but it can turn out to be the best thing you’ve ever done.  I have gained a confidence in myself that I did not have before this Field Period.  I’m not saying that I am not scared anymore, no, I am still terrified, but I am now on the right track to becoming the best teacher I can be.