Beginning teaching

My teaching career took flight when I volunteered to help at a Clarke County 4-H day camp. Since then I have made enormous improvements in my teaching strategies and planned many lessons.  Reflections

    On June 11, 1997, I volunteered to help at a Clarke County 4-H day camp for K-3^rd graders. The camp lasted from 9 to 3:30. I was in charge of five energetic 1^st graders and 1 kindergartner. My group was called the brown deer. As a small group, we made name tags, went on a Nature Scavenger Hunt, put together a nature collage, crafted reverse animal tracks from porcelain, played the spider web game, made pine cone feeders, played Hug a Tree, and had tons of fun.

I am assisting with the nature collage.

The group is putting on the finishing touches.

We are very proud of the final product!

Reflections about my first teaching experience

            I was exhausted at the end of the day, but it was so much fun. The children loved all the nature activities and were excited about the 4-H program. I found out that enthusiasm is contagious. I showed mine in the morning and by the afternoon theirs was keeping me going.

            This was a very rewarding experience. I gained the respect of the group members, yet I still had a fun day. I enjoyed spending the day teaching and learning from them. This was a stepping-stone toward doing more volunteer experiences with children of various ages. Those baby steps led me to my current path of becoming an elementary teacher.

   Now, my teaching skills have developed to the point where I can provide my own lessons.