Each year at Wesleyan, I had become accustomed to checking the classrooms my courses would be held in before the first day of school. Only this time –during my sophomore spring–I found myself stopped in my tracks in front of an enticing poster in the psychology building. It caught my eye with the words “preschool,” “teaching,” and “credit.” I could not think of a better way to get credit for a course while gaining more experience in a field I love: early childhood education. Little did I know that this volunteer work was part of professor Shusterman’s lab, Wesleyan Preschool Math Games. 

About Wesleyan Preschool Math Games

As a professor within the fields of psychology and education (the two majors I’m pursuing), I had heard wonders of her endeavors. The lab I was joining was a long-lived project aimed at improving the numeracy skills of preschoolers residing in the wider Connecticut community. Based on the idea that preschool is a fundamental period of one’s life–particularly for acquiring skills that can determine future outcomes–professor Shusterman was passionate about introducing mathematics through play. Her mission was to familiarize children with numbers and simple arithmetic (ex: addition and subtraction) through a set of ten simple games. I was responsible for presenting such math games to preschoolers during weekly school visits.

First Classroom Visit

About a month into the start of the spring semester, I was cleared to come in for my first day of teaching. At the time, I had never worked in a school setting. My passion for mentoring youth had grown via summer camps and other extracurricular programs, but this was a completely new ballpark. Though I was nearly halfway through college, I felt nervous beginning this journey with minimal prior experience. Other participants in the project were mostly upperclassmen and exuded a level of confidence I could not imagine having at the time. 

During our initial class visit, the lab coordinators suggested we focus on getting to know the students we would be teaching for the remainder of the semester. When I arrived at the preschool, I did just that, jumping from group to group of 3-4 year-olds as they had free-play. Books, blocks, and art projects were found in every corner of the classroom– each of which I explored with students to collaborate in their learning. Upon leaving, I felt significantly more comfortable and relaxed than before, but still sensed a tinge of uneasiness from my place as an outsider in the classroom.  

Teaching as the Semester Progressed

I kept visiting the same classroom of fifteen students, slowly integrating math games into their class sessions by splitting students up into small groups. Each activity was interactive, allowing every student to share their background knowledge of math, while connecting over the fun game topics. One of the games, for instance, was designed to count the toppings of a pizza pie and each time I introduced the game to the children, I would start by asking their favorite pizza toppings. 

Takeaways

By the end of my time with Wesleyan Preschool Math Games, I transformed from a timid, unprepared educator to one that formed meaningful relationships with students, valued individualized support, and gained experience working with children. Such values of working in schools formed the onset of my teaching style and expanded the bounds of my education knowledge.