Daycare

In grade twelve, I complete my work experience class in the local multi-aged daycare. Here I completed over 100 hours of work experience in five months. I worked with the daycares teacher to look after eight children, aged five months to five years old. My main role was to create and conduct art projects with the students, read tons of stories, and of course, play. This was my first look into a classroom experience, and this is when I decided I wanted a career in education. I loved being able to observe the development the children made in the time that I was there. This experience will always have a place in my heart and my education journey because it taught me so much about being a positive role model in children’s lives. Since this experience, I have continued to want to be that positive link to education in students lives and this positive experience will remind me of that passion through the good and bad times of this career.

Tutoring

In 2018 I spent the summer as a tutor for a seventh grader and a fourth grader. I really enjoyed this one-on-one experience. Most of my experience working with children has been with children around grade one/kindergarten or younger. Therefore, this was a great chance for me to work with students that were a bit older and see some of the course work in those grades. Therefore, I think this experience helped broaden my horizons. What is more, this experience allowed me to see that I could excel and enjoy working with older students. My dream has always been to teach kindergarten, but I know that if I ended up in older grades in elementary, I have this experience to remind myself that I can enjoy teaching any grade.  

Kindergarten classroom

I completed most of my volunteer hours for the program in a kindergarten classroom at the French emersion school in Merritt, British Columbia. This was my first look at a classroom in a school district through a teaching lens. I learned a lot through volunteering in this classroom and loved being there. The best thing I took from this experience was the structure of the class and classroom management techniques. For me, classroom management is something that always needs to be worked on. I know as young teachers we struggle with this probably the most and therefore, I am constantly wishing to learn about new techniques and ways to run a classroom. This volunteering experience started my first look at this, and now I strive to continue to learn more as I further my teaching career.

Grade 5 Girls’ Intramural Basketball Volunteer Co-Coach

During my certification practicum I volunteered to co-coach the grade five girls basketball team. This was a four week commitment, where we had practice during lunch each week and a game once a week afterschool. This was a great experience for me and I enjoyed coaching and helping all the girls on the team.