Getting familiar with my students

As the weeks in this semester progress I find myself getting more and more comfortable in the classroom. My PPP and I decided that my first 3-4 weeks in her classroom would be used to get to know the children in the classroom and familiarize myself with their skills as well as where they need more work. One way I was able to do this has come from a lot of talking with my PPP about the students. She showed me the IEPs of all 5 students and gave me a rundown of what each student's goals are.
I am also interacting with the students quite a bit to both gain knowledge of their skill levels, as well as just get to know them. For instance while during centers I will get on the floor and play with them. While playing I am also asking them questions such as: "What is this?" "How many are there?" "Can we count these?" "What color is this?", etc. In this classroom learning through play is the most important thing the students participate in. Through this method I am constantly learning about the students in this class, I've learned which students can identify colors and which colors. In one scenario I learned that our new student could not only draw a circle, but he could also identify and say "circle" this was a very big deal because it was previously unknown to us before hand. Watching the students play and discover has been so monumentally important to get to know my students.

Thoughts on my first two weeks

The first two weeks of my practicum experience have been exciting, fun, and exhausting to say the least. I was thrilled to find out I would be working at Hunters Green Elementary for a second time and even more thrilled when I found out that I would be working with a pre-k teacher. The class I am working in is small, The first day I started (Tuesday) only 2 of 4 students were present. It was not until the third day (Thursday) that we had a full class. In the days that we did not have a full class we combined with another pre-k classroom in order to have circle time and allow the children time with other students. I have spent these past two weeks mostly as an observer. I watch the students and their routines, watch how my PPP teaches, watch how to conduct circle time, and other transitions; there is a lot to take in. I am in awe of what a different world EELP is compared to kindergarten. I was aware there would be differences but I do not think I was completely prepared how different it is. The differences are numerous but not overwhelming, I like them actually. There is more creativity in pre-k, more freedom in what is taught and how to teach it. Pre-k is more about getting students ready for academics rather than actually focusing on academics. I love that it is more play orientated and that students are encouraged to learn through discovery, play, and socializing. The population of students I am working with is also quite different than what I am accustomed to. The students in Ms. Maloney's class are all developmentally delayed. Only one of the students talks frequently, while the other 3 students are still developing communication skills. They all require intense one on one attention and are much more delayed than I have worked with in the past. Because of their delays Ms. Maloney uses a lot of technology in  her classroom that I have never seen in use before. Her class is full of communication boards, big mac buttons, ipads, sensory materials, and much more adaptive technology that I am so excited to begin working with. I think Ms. Maloney's classroom will offer a lot of growth in my teaching practices and can expand my knowledge on many subjects I do not have much experience in but have always wanted to learn about. There are so many things I am already learning and I can not wait to continue this year to complete.