Getting to know my classroom

My Philosophy

My philosophy of teaching comes from over ten years of working in classrooms in three different countries with very different approaches to the education of young children. I have experienced frontal methodologies where children were expected to sit at a table for long periods of time. I have also worked in schools that privilege hands-on, student-centered schools where mud, sticks, bugs and concrete experiences are the vehicle through which children learn to love learning. In all of these schools, the acquisition of a foreign language was held as the highest standard and goal of learning. Each of these experiences has shaped my philosophy of teaching into one that is child-centered and experiential with a bilingual and multicultural approach to education. 

We are not afraid of getting dirty! Color mixing with a partner

Introducing the children to building in 3D

Kate's model of the human body using playdough

Bilingualism and Multiculturalism

I have always had the opportunity to teach a second language to young children. I have experienced the benefit myself of being bilingual, and I see it first hand how important speaking more than one language is for brain and social development. In our current times we are more interconnected, and helping young children gain awareness of the fact that as a society we benefit from interactions with people from other languages, countries and cultures excites me. 

I am naturally inclined to like other languages and be curious about other cultures; I try to infuse that curiosity into my classroom and create a language and culturally rich environment. I have worked for a couple of years on implementing and improving a unit that explores the countries where Spanish is spoken incorporating culturally responsible practices. Year after year the countries that we visit vary, because I like to emphasize those that are represented in our classroom community. 

Did you know that potatoes originated in what is now Peru? When we learned about Peru we decided to grow this wonderful and versatile vegetable. The learning implications from growing something with the children are amazing. 

Cooking is an important part of my classroom. With cooking I can incorporate mathematics, science and social studies. We usually cook simple traditional dishes from other countries, and this allows the children to be exposed to new flavors and new experiences. Here we made Chocobananos, a traditional Salvadoran snack.

Learning about Diwali. We made Rangoli designs and diyas to decorate our classroom. 

Making Dumplings with my good friend Wei Ji after learning about Chinese New Year.

The Environment

As a teacher I try to make my classroom community strong; here children know they are an important part of it and can take ownership of their space. Part of guiding my students includes helping them gain social skills that will facilitate communication, negotiation, respect and kindness. I accomplish this through lessons in addition to a well designed physical environment, which to me is key to a successful classroom management system. 

The Reading Center is located in a quiet area of the room with comfortable mini sofas  and a new selection of books every two weeks. I like to make it an inviting space to promote interest in reading.

The sensory tables are really important to me, because it allows the children to have sensory experiences, which are essential for kinesthetic learners.  I try to change it on a weekly basis and incorporate materials or things that relate to the vocabulary we are learning in Spanish.

Spring is here, and so are the pajaritos, making nidos and poniendo huevitos. 

Child centered approach

The child centered and guided approach to education is one about which I am passionate. However, frontal methodologies taught me that having clear goals of learning is also a beneficial tool for teachers. I thrive when I have clear goals and help my students get there. Throughout my years teaching I have learned, and continue to learn, to follow the students' interest and incorporate them into the curriculum and couple them with the provided goals. Following the students' interests, and allowing them to inform our teaching is hard, because it requires us to give up our ¨power¨ and get out from our comfort zone. Even though this change in my mindset was hard at the beginning, it is one that I have come to see as a key part of my teaching.

I have a group of boys who are obsessed with trucks, so I tried to incorporate cars and trucks into the ABCs. They're tracing their letter and having fun at the same time, total hit!