#1: Grade 2 Classroom
The time I spent volunteering in a 2nd grade classroom was so much fun, and really cemented my certainty that I want to become a teacher. I worked with 2 different teachers. One was actually the mother of one of my friends, and the other was a teacher who worked across the hall from her. I had such a great experience working with them, and learned so much, especially about working one-on-one with kids who were struggling. I also got to practice my French skills, which was very needed because I have forgotten a LOT of it! She also gave me a ton of ideas and resources for my future classroom library, as she had an entire wall of books in her classroom (talk about goals!!).
#2: Kindergarten Classroom
Volunteering in a Kindergarten classroom was definitely an experience! I’ll admit it was pretty overwhelming at first. The kids in the class were really great, but there is no down time in a Kindergarten classroom. The kids need help all of the time, and very rarely do they just sit down and do independent work. That being said, by the time I was done volunteering there, I grew to really love Kindergarten. First of all, the students are very cute, and very sweet. But also because it’s so cool to see all the different personalities of these little kids, and their enthusiasm for everything is really contagious. Kindergarteners learn so much important stuff, and I feel like it’s extra challenging because they have short attention spans! I also learned so much from the teacher who welcomed me into her classroom. She had been a teacher for nearly 30 years, and her classroom management skills were incredible.
#3: Dog Walking
I know this might seem like a strange thing to include here, but I can explain. One summer when the forest fires were really bad (sometime between 2014-2018, I can’t quite remember), a bunch of evacuees had to take up residence in Kamloops. Many of them brought dogs that they couldn’t bring to their hotels, and so there was a place outdoors where volunteers were caring for the dogs. My best friend and I volunteered to walk dogs, hoping to help out. The first day was an absolute circus. The dogs were stressed and scared, everyone was disorganized, and I ended up getting roped in to corralling some escaped chickens because the other two volunteers were afraid of them. Throughout all that craziness, I had to learn to at least act cool and calm for the benefit of the dogs that I took out for walks. I quickly realized that my calmness kept them calm. I feel like this is really applicable to teaching, where my attitude greatly affects the attitudes of my kids. If I’m having a bad day and I show up grumpy, odds are my students will pick up on it, and it’ll affect their behaviour. Dog walking was a great way to practice my emotional control in stressful situations.