5.+Creating+a+Postitve,+Productive+Classroom+Enviroment



Field Experience Two " A Day In Art"

As I pulled up to Lamar Elementary a tingle in my stomach arose. The memories of my childhood K-5 experience and the time spent with my mother when I attended school here many years ago flooded my mind. Walking in the school my nose was surrounded with aromas of apple cinnamon, pencil lead, and a big chief notebook. The hallway traffic signs and colorful murals of children playing covered the walls sets the atmosphere for school. As I entered the Science room which also doubles as the art class, the bright colors explode off the wall and the smell of craft paint flows through the air. The schedule in place for Mrs. Gunter’s class to attend Art is every Wednesday for two weeks followed by an eight week break due to the limited art staff for the school district. The area was crowed and cluttered, yet the structure seemed to flow very well. The teacher never lost control of the volume level or movements about the classroom. She had a very good technique to get the children’s attention to help them calm down. For example, she would do a clap series and the students would have to repeat. This would get their attention and immediately they knew to quiet down. The lesson today was about mixing colors on the color wheel to make new ones and also symmetry. Throughout this time Mrs. Gunter was incorporating other subjects in her lesson. For instance, the instructor sang the “Yellow” song in order for the kids to recognize the word. She also expanded on symmetry which would later help the students be more familiar with this word in their math courses. The clutter could have been more organized, but overall it didn’t seem to affect the children’s learning. I really enjoyed my time with Mrs., Gunter and her well-behaved kindergarten class. She gave me a whole new outlook on elementary school teaching. I look forward to the next time I go back. 