I have transitioned from helping out with the older kids to the 5- and 6-year-old classroom. On Monday I shadowed the class for the day and assisted the teacher. The switch up from older children to kindergarten age kids was something else. The pace that they move at is a lot slower but somehow twice the amount of energy is present. They’re great kids; it was just quite a bit to take in at first. One activity we did was a collage where they decorated a paper robot and then pasted it together onto cardstock.
At one point we also stepped outside to look at the fountain near the front and give the kids some sun. It is so pretty!! I think it might genuinely be my favorite spot at MOAS. There are plenty of tadpoles and snails in the fountain, and beautiful lotus flowers that will pop up at random.
I came in an extra day on Thursday to watch over the class with another intern and volunteer since the teacher was out for a couple days. I improvised some activity ideas to go along with the week’s theme of science, and it went surprisingly well!! We did “fossil” imprints with air dry clay, mini lava lamps, and paper airplanes. For last minute ideas and my first time overseeing a class to this degree, I think I really knocked it out of the park. The kids had a great time, and I got genuine experience in how draining but rewarding managing a young class is.
On Friday, my supervisor and I did a fun skittle activity to compare if food dye dissolves faster with hot or cold water.
We also took the little ones outdoors to draw with chalk. Here’s a couple of their masterpieces –
“Twice the energy at half the speed” is surprisingly accurate way to describe working with younger kids. I’ll have to remember that! It’s great that you are getting experience with multiple age groups and observing what works best for each of them. Such adaptations are important if you find yourself in a role that works with kids.