School: CSN Early Childhood Education Lab School at Charleston Campus

Telephone:

Beginning & Ending Time of Observation: 8:00 am - 9:30 am

Teacher: Stephanie/Tina

Grade/Age: 3-5

Number of Children: 8

1. The first thing I noticed about the main classroom was a quote on the wall that stated “If you

cut it for me, paste it for me, draw it for me, or paint it for me, all I learn is that you can do it

better than me.” This was the feel of the classroom throughout the entire day. The general

atmosphere was calm and felt very individualizing. The instruction was very direct, and the

students were “in charge” of most of the activities while the teachers inspired. I would feel lucky

to attend class at the CSN Early Childhood Education Lab School.

2. Feel about the teacher: The first teacher I was introduced to was Stephanie. She has a very

calming voice, and all of the other children were very comfortable with her which in turn made

me feel comfortable with her right away. Stephanie made sure the children were aware of how

the classroom worked, and invited them to participate with things like turning off the lights as a

5-minute play warning, or getting to hold the check in clipboard during outside time. She also

addressed all conversations with questions for the children. Questions such as: How do you

feel? What words can you use to describe the sand? Can you explain to him why you are upset

so he can understand?

Towards the end of my visit, I met Tina who was an additional teacher for the 3-5-year-old

children. She introduced the beginning of the class with songs to get the children to calm down

from their outside play time, and to have them all participate. The songs are repetitive, so it is

easy for newer students to catch on and feel like a part of the class. She then used educational

techniques to introduce their “jobs” for the day. She would ask whose name starts with a
specific letter, and the class as a whole would answer. While Tina was picking names,

Stephanie explained the rules of the job placement as I’m sure they repeat each day to ensure

their full understanding.

Everything that went on in the class was very well explained by the teachers, and from a

student’s point of view, I felt they had everyone’s best interest at heart and made it easy to feel

comfortable and excited to be there without knowing they are learning in the process.

3. Feel about the other children: All the children were very interested by a new face being in the

classroom. While I observed, they would look at me through binoculars or sit near me. I

immediately felt comfortable with the children in the class, because they were willing to show

me things and talk to me about how it works. I tried my best not to interfere with the class, but

the children were very excited that I was there. I can only imagine how they would feel if I was a

new student joining them. All of the children interacted well with each other, and they took it

upon themselves to play with everyone in the class instead of picking one person to spend time

with.

4. Follow the routine: The routine of the classroom was very easy to follow because

announcements are made in advance to the next step of the day, or songs are introduced that

explain what the next activity is. The teachers made the transitions very simple, and made sure

to involve the students every step of the way.

Routine Feel: The daily routine flowed smoothly, and it was easy to catch on. If I looked

confused on where we were going next, a teacher would kindly give me directions. The entire

environment was based on using your words, and not pointing or gesturing. This made it much

easier to understand what was going on, and what activities would be next.

5. Emotionally Safe: I felt very emotionally safe in the classroom. The general feel was that the

students were supposed to express themselves through words and figure situations out for

themselves without the idea of punishment or time out. During my time in the classroom, one of

the younger students continued to scream “NO” at another student, and the teacher took it upon
herself to say, “Instead of saying no, try to explain why you are upset because he does not

understand.” This version of responsibility for your own actions made me feel even more

emotionally safe than I did originally walking in. Another reason it felt emotionally safe is

because the teachers continued to count all of the children outside as playtime went on. This felt

individualized to each child feeling as important as the next.

6. Know and Understand the rules: There were no clear rules stated during my time in the

classroom. It seemed as though the students were familiar with a routine, and did not deviate.

During their time outside, all students are free to choose their own activities and are monitored

more for safety purposes. Inside, the students seemed to know where to go and when to do

certain activities, and the only rule was that you had to express yourself through words so you

are properly understood.

7. Enforce the rules: As I stated above, there did not seem to be a clear sense of rules, or any

listed on the walls for view.

8. Be different: Being different is encouraged in the classroom at CSN Early Childhood

Education Lab School. I happened to volunteer on a day where they were dressing up for a fall

event, and as each student walked in the teachers would exclaim how great their outfit was

even if they just chose to wear an orange t shirt. Everyone was given the same amount of

attention for their efforts.

Each student is asked their opinion about topics, and the communication between students and

teacher is inspiring. Many of the students I observed created their own games, and invited other

students along the way explaining their imaginative games with the other. Each student invited

would ask, “Okay, how do you play?”. Each student is also encouraged to make booklets with

information about their families, and their lives outside of the classroom so that they can look at

them and also so they can share their lives outside the classroom with their classmates.

9. Boys or Girls: The class was mostly made up of girls, but the teachers seemed to pay more

attention to the boys of the class. The boys seemed to need more attention and guidance than
the girls did. Many of the girl students would come up and try to speak to me, where they boys

were less likely to do so; they would stare from afar. There was one boy in the class that

needed more attention than anyone else, and actually had one of the assistants play with him

and him alone during the entire half hour of play time.

10. “Learn” in your class: Learning in the class was based on asking questions and providing

guidance for the students to discover new things on their own. Creativity and the use of wording

seemed to be the main point in the classroom. Many of the students I encountered were only 3-

5 years old, and their vocabulary was amazing. The whole class seemed to be Intrapersonal

learners. The teacher gave slight instructions to what assignment was next, and the students

took those instructions and used their own creativity to comply.

11. Changes: There aren’t many changes I would make to the classroom setting besides maybe

creating more group activities for outside play so everyone is included. As I mentioned, the

teachers seem to need to pay attention to the boy students rather than the girls, and that may

have made the girls feel more attended to.