Well, it turns out that the teacher that currently teaches the class level I used to teach is having all 4 of her wisdom teeth pulled out next week. (!) Needless to say, she was strongly advised to rest instead of trying to teach next week's class. The principal of the school asked me if I would substitute for her, and I was happy to do it, as I actually did not have to attend class next week. I also had this week off of classes, so I went to Chinese School with my husband and girls, and sat in on her class. (I also took the opportunity to log 2 hours of observations out of the required 15 for my field experience class). While watching her teach her class, an idea began to percolate.
I have always wanted to try "centers." Many activities that I would like to use in class work much better in smaller groups. However, almost all of my classes at school during the week are only 25 minutes long, and I only see the students twice a week. I haven't been able to figure out how to make centers work in such a sThe room that the teacher has class in is a pretty good size, and I started to map out how I could set up centers, and which ones I could do. The great thing about the way Chinese School classes are set up is that there are 2 fifty-minute periods. So...I can spend the first period on content and review, and after the break, have the centers set up for the students to rotate through. Her class has 18 registered students, but usually only 13-16 come to class at any one time. So I thought that 4 centers would give nice sized groups. Also, with 4 centers, then we can take 5 minutes to orient and explain the centers and transition procedures (see? My classroom mangement class and Dr. Wong is working)! ;-) Then we can spend 10 minutes on each center (which is probably the ideal length of any single activity for most 4-5 year olds) and then 5 minutes to wrap-up and do a closing/dismissal.
So, I'm thinking of focusing on reviewing colors and numbers with the centers activities. I have the game "Twister" which is great for reviewing body parts and colors. I also have color bingo and number bingo. I can put together a fun color craft (or a simple one--where the students make color flash cards using label stock and construction paper). Finally, I have these giant dice--the students can roll them and count the dots and then say the numbers in Chinese. Even better--for this class, because many of the students are so young, there are several parents that stay in the class with their children. I can enlist their help to supervise the centers to keep them running smoothly! It definitely has a LOT of potential and I'm so excited to be trying it! I've also run the idea by the current teacher and she's not only OK with it--she's very excited about it too! She told me that if it works, she may want to try it as well! So...I'll let you know how it works!
I just love that what I sometimes viewed as a chore (having to teach on Saturdays) is now a really cool opportunity. I love having that shift in perspective. :-) I'll let you know how it works!