This month we are highlighting Ms. Meza’s class! Ms. Meza teaches one of our “Preschool for All” classrooms. This is her second year teaching in District 45 and third overall.
When Ms. Meza’s students arrive in the classroom they hang up their backpacks, wash their hands, and go to table time. As they arrive at their tables, the students practice writing their name and then they answer the “question of the day”. Today’s question was “Would you rather go on the swing or ride a bike?”. The students place their picture under their “vote” and return to their table to engage with their activity. Ms. Meza’s class is following an “apple” theme so some of her students played “apple bingo” where they focused on apple vocabulary and talked about their experiences with apples. After table time the students transition to their first circle time; which is followed by “center time” where the students play at the different play areas around the classroom. “My favorite thing (in the day) is going to centers,” said one of Ms. Meza’s students, Justus. “I like blocks,” said Gustavo.
About one hour later, center time is over and the students clean up and prepare for their second circle time. Once all the students are seated at the rug Ms. Meza leads everyone through some calming exercises. Now that the students are ready to learn they practice counting their friends, talk about their day, and listen to a story. The last activity on Ms. Meza’s schedule is gross motor time. The students love going outside and playing on the playground. Once gross motor time is over the students get their backpacks and are ready to go home!
Ms. Meza’s day is jam-packed with fun activities and opportunities for learning. When asked about her favorite thing about teaching preschoolers, she said “My favorite part about teaching, truly, is watching them grow and learn! I love being able to teach based on the interests of my students and seeing them get so excited about it! Teaching preschool is so important because their school career is just beginning, so I feel like it’s my responsibility to make sure that they have the most enjoyable and welcoming start!”
Thank you to Ms. Meza for letting us peek into her room this month! It was awesome following her students throughout their school day.
