Children Touching My Life

Victoria Praterhippyvicki@knights.ucf.edu

4/23/10EEX 4070

First Day Jitters The first time I went into the ESE classroom I was

nervous and a little frightened on how I needed to respond to the children and how they would respond to me. I was unsure how to communicate with the children, let alone go about preparing and teaching lessons.

In the end it all came down not to what I taught them, but what they taught me, which I could not even begin to express all that I learned from them.

Allow Me to Introduce You to Mrs.Tager’s Class

I performed my service learning hours at Edgewater Public School working with the students in Mrs. Tager’s ESE classroom.

Mrs. Tager’s class is for preschool children to prepare them for kindergarten.

Personalities of Mrs. Tager’s Class

Victoria Jean I graduated in 2009 from New

Smyrna Beach High School while also graduating from DSC with my AA.

I have been working with children at my church for 6 years by leading vacation bible schools, having a position in the nursery, teaching children’s church, and more. My heart and soul goes out to each and every child I have worked with.

I enjoy being a big sister to the three of my younger siblings and always being their cheerleader on the sidelines.

Exercising and Being Active Every Tuesday and Thursday I

would spend time in Mrs. Tager’s classroom from about 8:00-9:30am starting on February 9th till April 15th.

All the students and I would dance, play ball, or exercise to a variety of music I would bring.

Their favorite was watching and dancing to the music videos of Choo Choo Soul with Genevieve.

Cool Down After they had danced and

exercised to a song I would have them sit down and feel their heart beat.

We would cool down by breathing in and out and stretching. Then we would feel how our heartbeat had slowed down because it was not working as hard as it was while we were dancing.

All of the children had a blast exercising with me!

How Did I Get Involved at Edgewater Public School?

I attended Edgewater Public School as well as my three other siblings.

I helped Mrs. Wilson, my second grade teacher, last year with the talent show by teaching many of the girls the Hannah Montana “Hoe Down, Throw Down” dance. I have been actively involved in the school ever since!

Mrs. Wilson introduced me to Mrs. Tager who was more than willing to allow me to do my service learning project with her class.

Impacting Their World There are 16 children in Mrs. Tager’s class. The class includes 10 boys and 6 girls. Their ages range from 3 to 5 years old. Some of the children are developmentally

delayed, have speech or language impairments, physical or occupational deficits, or autistic.

I was able to work with all 16 children in the classroom and I will have the privilege of meeting their families at the summer celebration. Hopefully I have made a positive influence on them and they will be able to impact their world.

My Unforgettable Experience Before starting on this service learning project I had little

experience working with ESE children. Now that I have gained some experience, I realize the many challenges you can face with an ESE class, but also how rewarding it is. Working with these children during their group activities allowed me to see just how bright these children are. They can and are learning what every other preschool child would be learning. You definitely have to have more one-on-one time with the ESE students. The lessons and activities also have to be short, no more than 15 minutes, and rotate quickly between sit down activities with more active ones. This allows the students to have success in their learning experience as well as mine as a teacher when planning my instruction. As an ESE teacher you should not lower your expectations for the children, but give them extra time and attention so they can reach for the stars.

Not Wanting To Say Goodbye Even though my service learning project is over Mrs. Tager asked me to

help with their summer celebration that they will be performing at the end of the school year for the children’s families to come and watch. I have enjoyed working with the student’s so much that I was thrilled Mrs. Tager asked for my help. We have decided that this year’s theme is Rock Stars to go along with the Camp Rock song “We Rock” that I have started teaching the children to dance and perform to.

I am ecstatic that I can continue working and learning beside these incredible children. My time spent in Mrs. Tager classroom has been so worth while. I have grown more comfortable and more confident being able to instruct these ESE children during our exercise time and their group work activities each time I go. I know I won’t be able to ever say goodbye to these children and I am hoping that most of them will come back to Mrs. Tager’s class next year, or attend kindergarten at Edgewater Public School, so I can continue to visit them.