Before September rolled around, I was introduced to my two teaching partners, Valerie and Nicole (see photo below). We met alongside other Phase 4 (2013-4) FDK educators and began to discuss how our philosophies might interact. Since that moment of our first interaction, Valerie, Nicole and I have continued to have powerful conversations about our students, full-day kindergarten implementation/news, the learning environment, “covering and uncovering curriculum”, and implementing new, less “traditional” aspects to kindergarten that are engaging and rich in nature. We each bring very different, but strong experiences to our team. In fact, the best part about our team is that we are so different!
Valerie, our classroom Kindergarten teacher, has been working with WRDSB for approximately four years. The enthusiasm, generosity, and encouragement she has demonstrated in her teaching and partnership with others this year has changed me as an educator and an individual. Not only does she put everything she has into our classroom, she finds ways to support others along their FDK journey by inviting them in for visits, explaining our processes for choosing certain designs and materials in our classroom, live tweeting (@UrquhartVal) about the learning that occurs with our students, and captures beautiful stories that she displays through documentation on our bulletin boards and using the classroom blog (kindergartenatnewdundee.wordpress.com/). Valerie’s communication skills have exceeded my expectations. There has never been a moment that I feel “less than” or “unequal to” in our classroom because we constantly discuss and collaborate in our team. In many ways, Valerie has been my mentor this year and we have developed a beautiful friendship!
My other teaching partner, Nicole, has a kind and open attitude toward the growth of our classroom and the experiences as an Early Childhood Educator thus far in her career. She has been working with the WRDSB as a Designated Early Childhood Educator for approximately 2 years. Nicole and I graduated together from the Early Childhood Education program in 2012 at Conestoga College and were exasperated when we learned we would be working alongside one another through the 2013-4 school year! What a treat it has been to have her at the tips of my fingertips to “show me the ropes” of our individual roles. Nicole makes our classroom a fun place to be with her sense of humour and patience. She enjoys communicating with our classroom families and sharing anecdotes about our students with them. In our extended day program, Nicole and I have partnered in creating exciting experiences for our students and sharing our learning with other DECE’s in our board on professional development days and networking occurrences. I feel fortunate to have had shared so many learning opportunities with Nicole so far, and I truly value the partnership and friendship her and I have established throughout this year!
I have been extremely fortunate to work with both of these educators. It seems as though each day we encounter together, we are teaching and learning from one another as well as with our students. Learning – from one another, our students, families, administration, and other educators – is truly the only “theme” that occurs in our classroom! This is why I think a team environment in education is so powerful! We play off of one another’s ideas, push each other to our limits, and we support decisions and choices that are made in our learning environment. With a class of 27 students, it has been so beneficial not only to the educators, but especially to our students to have three of us in the classroom to ensure optimum learning opportunities for each of them. I couldn’t be more thankful to be undergoing the experiences I am having this year in FDK and I especially owe gratitude to my wonderful teaching partners.
Nicole, Valerie and I on Anti-bullying Awareness Day
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