FieldBlog 2- Bryden Elementary: Visit 1

Before my first visit to Bryden Elementary, I can honestly say that I was really nervous because I did not know what to expect and I was unsure of what I would be doing. I also have never heard of Bryden before and I was not sure what the school would be like. My first impression when I walked into Bryden was that it was definitely an elementary school. There are tiny little kids all over the place. Everything is small, and there is artwork and children's voices all over the place. Basically, it's adorable and I absolutely love it. The teacher that I get to observe is Ms. Ashley Mock. She is super sweet and she is a perfect elementary teacher. I really noticed how she knew so much about her students, and each of their needs. When I first arrived to her classroom, her students were in science class so she gave me a tour of the school and she told me about her students. First of all, her classroom is huge! And she only has seventeen students, and they are so full of energy and ready to learn. Anyways, one of her students is autistic so he has an aid in the classroom, but he was not there very much when I was. Ms. Mock also has a girl that is partially deaf and so there is a lady named Colleen that signs in the classroom. There are also two little boys that have ADHD or ADD. I noticed that Ms. Mock's students respect her very much, but they also respect the other adults in the room. One of the boys that has ADHD has a really hard time focusing on his work, and needs extra help to get it done. During Bison time, basically like study hall, but some students would go to the intervention specialist, Ms. Mock worked with the two ADHD boys so that they could complete their work, while making sure that the other students were either reading or doing some other work. Ms. Mock allowed me to help one of the little boys with his work, and he was so sweet. We finished one of his assignments, and he climbed into my lap and gave me a hug! Also, she allowed me to help two students with their reading! This really threw me back to when I was younger because I had to remember phonics and how to sound out words and things like that. Overall, I had a really great experience at Bryden and I can not wait to continue observing there!