Service Learning Reflection Belle Winsor

What:​ Mrs. Flores is my service learning mentor and her classroom was busy with a ton of

pictures and decorations. On one of the walls that you see when you first enter the room has a

cluster of shapes, colors, and calendar decor on them, and every morning the students go through

a routine using the posters. The students first add days to the hanging calendar and count the total

days they have been in school for that month. After that they say what day today is and what

yesterday was then what tomorrow will be as well as sing their days of the week song to the tune

of The Adams Family. There is also a weather chart where they look out the window and decide

what the weather is for the day. There are more activities that the students complete before going

over their sight words and phonemic devises. Next to the calendar activities there is a bookshelf

where their library is along with mini whiteboards where the students can draw their favorite part

of the stories they read.on the wall to the left the rules to writing a sentence are hanging and the

sink is also on that wall. In the corner is Mrs. Flores’s desk with a bulletin board hanging where

she displays pictures of her family, notes for herself, as well as pictures or notes her students

draw r write for her. On the next wall is a huge whiteboard and a projector. To the left of the

whiteboard there is a hanging display of the schedule for the day as well as the times of each

activity and lesson. Mrs. Flores loves to stick to a schedule and the students know what to expect

each day and what comes next after each activity. The last wall has all the sight words hung up

as well as a number line that counts all the days the students have been in school, and the

bathrooms are on the side of the room.

While I was completing my service hours at Cortina Elementary in a kindergarten class I

mostly assisted students when they needed help with class work. When the teacher would pull

students individually to test their recognition of sight words I would help the students while they
Service Learning Reflection Belle Winsor

did centers and rotated activities so that the teacher could focus on testing. Mrs. Flores would

give the students instruction on how to complete each handout and I would help the students if

they had specific questions. While Mrs. Flores would instruct the students would be expected to

listen, but they did not have to remain completely still in their seats because that is difficult for

young students and unnecessary as long as they know what to do with the worksheet. Most of the

time the students would ask me questions and it would seem like they wanted me to give them

the answers, but instead I would ask them questions that would lead them to the answers. The

students know how to do the assignments because it is close to the end of the school year and

they have been practicing these skills all year, so I just tried to reword the question in a way that

would help them. If a student glued a certain word or picture in the wrong spot and I had to

correct them and they were feeling sad or embarrassed I tried to tell them that mistakes happen

and are okay as long as we learn from them. I think that helped the students feel better and have

a better outlook on doing something wrong.

Most students were concentrated on their work while they were supposed to be, but

certain students tended to be more chatty and distracted. This kindergarten class is mostly boys,

and they seem to try and be class clowns and tend to distract others more than the girls did. Mrs.

Flores tries not to raise her voice, so she says “class class” and the students reply “yes yes”, but

when a substitute was in the class she would say “if you can hear me touch your head, if you can

hear me touch your nose, and if you can hear me touch your lips”. Both of those tricks work

pretty well with the class when they begin to have too many conversations and are too loud.

Overall, the class is respectful and they seem to adore Mrs. Flores.
Service Learning Reflection Belle Winsor

So What: ​The classroom environment was a positive space to learn and see how enjoyable

school can be. The students are in groups of four or five at their tables and each student has a

name tag that has the alphabet, numbers, and a wheel with different colors on it. Because the

students are sitting in groups it allows them to form relationships and become friends. I overhear

the students invite each other over for sleepovers and birthday parties which is great because

friends are important, especially at a young age and at school. There is also a basket at each table

that has glue, scissors, pencils, and crayons so that the students have everything they need for

their activities and lessons. Mrs. Flores often uses the projector and the whiteboard in her lessons

to provide examples and directions for the students to see and hear what they are supposed to do

to try and reach the different types of learners.

In my own experiences at school I remember sitting at individual desks and not in groups

majority of the time, but I am unable to recall much of kindergarten. My first grade class I

remember that there was the alphabet hung above the the whiteboard and that the color posters

that are in Mrs. Flores’s room was the same design as in my old class. There also was not a

bathroom in my classroom nor was there a projector. It is evident that there is more technology

being integrated into the classrooms which is great for students to learn basic computer skills. I

almost find all of the wall decor to be distracting, however everything on the walls makes the

classroom seem more fun as well as serves a purpose. I am not sure that I could change anything

to make it better.

I do think that the lessons are helping the students because they are able to read, write, as

well as identify 2D and 3D shapes. One of the students had a cylinder and sphere confused and

that was evident on the test because she kept mixing up the direction when it came to those
Service Learning Reflection Belle Winsor

shapes. Right now the students are learning some science because they are trying to grow beans

as well as making observations and making predictions about what happens when white flowers

are put in water with food coloring. Most of the students thought that the flower would not

change colors because of the dye, but then they were so surprised when they saw the petals

change. Mrs. Flores took that as an opportunity to teach the students how flowers drink water

and get their energy, so that was a success.

Some of the students work faster than others and have more confidence when completing

assignments, so the students that struggle seem to need more one on one instruction and

assistance, which is where I come in and help. One student in the classroom is slower at

completing worksheets and is easily flustered when his peers are all finished and he is still

working so he says he will just finish his work at home. I try to help keep him focused on

himself in order to build his confidence and show him that he is capable of completing the work

on class. Mrs. Flores also tries her best to help her students the way they need in order to make

them grow into well educated individuals. Most of the time the students just need to trust

themselves because they are smart, they just do not allow themselves to be at their full potential.

Mrs. Flores makes sure her classroom is encouraging to build her students up. Also, the lessons

build of of one another so that the students can make connections and piece things together. For

example, the students learned the alphabet, then put letters together to make words, then turned

words into sentences, and finally sentences make stories and books. I think that the lessons work

because the students read, write, cut and glue the words and shapes in order to cover different

learning styles.
Service Learning Reflection Belle Winsor

Now What: ​This experience was really positive and I love teaching students and helping them

grow. It is weird being called Ms. Winsor or having another teacher call me a teacher to the

students and I never really got used to it. There are so many tiny details that go into teaching

that I had not realized before such as wall decor, the way teachers speak to the students, the

function or theme of the room set up. The kindergarten teachers call the students “friends” and

say “no thank you” to behaviors that are not appropriate for the classroom like rocking in a chair

or humming. The teachers also ask the students to ‘make better choices” to show that there is a

level of responsibility that falls on the children’s shoulders on campus. Figuring out punishments

and consequences for behaviors is harder than I thought, also the children will complain about

others’ behaviors and deciding what is worth discipline and what is not. Sometimes the students

would say something to me and I would not know how to handle it, so I would tell the teacher

and she would either deal with it or tell the student to ignore the problem because it was

insignificant.

I think that I learned that I want to be a teacher that my students respect and listen to

because I have a softer voice, and Mrs. Flores has achieved that and she is an amazing role

model. I also learned that I need to be more assured in myself because the students look to me,

part of my nervousness was that this was my first time in the classroom as a teacher and that I

did not know the routine of the classroom because it is the second semester of class for the

students. Mrs. Flores also is very routine and I appreciate that, I also feel like that puts the

students at ease because they know what to expect each day. The students quickly became

comfortable around me and asked me for help which was great because the first day I felt like an

outsider. I also became comfortable with my mentor teacher and I was able to ask her why she
Service Learning Reflection Belle Winsor

did things a certain way, how she decided what lessons to do, what seminars and meeting she

was able to attend to keep her up to date on teaching. I honestly feel like I could email her

months or years down the road and that she would be happy to help me be the best teacher I

could be.