Third Lead Teaching Reflection

My third time lead teaching I was the most nervous. Looking back on it I think I was

really worried about being entirely in charge. Confidence is something that I’ve struggled with

and I questioned whether or not I could actually do everything that needed to get done. I tend to

like to be a support rather than a lead. However, I reminded myself before the day started that I

needed to focus on the toddlers. This helped me stay focused and not so nervous.

Overall I felt my plan for the day was successful. I tried to plan activities that I felt the

toddlers not only would be interested in, but would also help them work towards their goals.

Throughout my toddler lab experience, I’ve learned the importance of intentional planning. I felt

that my classroom procedure implementation went well and while I was nervous about being in

charge of everything, I thought things worked out well. I was thrown off when another teacher

came late and had a lot of activities to set up. Oftentimes it’s hard for me to figure out how to

problem solve when something does not go quite the way I had planned. I decided that it would

be easier if everyone helped this teacher complete the tasks she needed to and found that when

everyone worked together, it made things go smoother.

As I reflect on my experience in toddler lab as this was my last time lead teaching, I can’t

help but feel an immense sense of gratitude for all that I’ve learned from this experience. I’ve

learned so much this semester from how to plan intentional activities to how to implement

classroom procedures. Going in to toddler lab, I had heard that it’s important to not focus on

your grade but to focus on the toddlers. I’ll be honest, I didn’t think this was true and did not

think that switching my focus would even matter. However, I learned the truth of that statement

and found that when I focused on helping the toddlers, it made my experience significantly

better. I’m so grateful for the experiences I’ve had in toddler lab and know that they’ll help me
so much in my future career as an educator.