Kindergarten Today

Summer Plans

Yes, I'm on summer break, but I plan to do some posting anyway. I'm going on vacation to CA in a little over a week. My daughter and granddaughter will just be getting out of school the week I arrive. I'll visit their campuses and hopefully have some good discussions about the differences in our school systems. Maybe I'll pick up some new ideas! They also have a "teacher store" I want to explore.

I've already encountered several of my students at WalMart and around town. Three have plans to move this month and of course they are children I will actually miss. Isn't that the way it works? I had hoped to monitor their progress in first grade.

In place of postings about my class, I will be posting some ideas for parents and teachers- about summer learning, about teaching techniques, about technology, and anything else that catches my attention.

We will start with a few tips for parents about math.

Math Around the House

           

 

            My granddaughter enjoys math! It must be a recessive gene, that elusive “math skill” gene, because I don’t have it. I always struggled with math. Word problems left me baffled. Multiplication facts slipped from my memory as soon as I heard the word “test”. I was convinced that algebra was a foreign language. If you had the same experiences you may be dreading those inevitable words “Mom, will you help me with my math homework?”  However, you may be overlooking some important ways that you are teaching your child about math right there at home. Even if your child is a kindergartner, you can help him do “math around the house”.

 

            Cooking:  I’m amazed that many children are missing this vital math and science experience. Cooking teaches measurement, one-to-one correspondence, and creating sets.  It teaches sequence and logical consequences. There are many excellent cookbooks for children, or you can simply let your child help you make something simple.

Laundry: Even something as simple as folding clothes can turn into a math lesson. You can teach your child to match socks, count items, sort by sizes or colors, etc.

            Shopping: Teach your child to recognize and count money. Teach him how to budget his allowance. Teach him how to make change. Teach him how to be a wise shopper. As you go through the store ask your child to carry a calculator and add up your purchases. Then compare totals at the checkout counter. Or ask your child to estimate the total in his head and see how close he comes to the actual figure. At home you can let your child figure out how much you spend on items in separate categories such as pet food, soap, toiletries, etc.

            Another good shopping technique for teaching math is to let your child comparison shop for you. Children love to do this on the computer! Let’s say you anticipate buying a new television sometime in the next six months. Let your child present you with a report of the options, prices, and “best buy”.

            Projects: Be sure to let your child participate in your next home decorating or remodeling project. Older children can calculate how many gallons of paint you’ll need for the living room. Younger children can measure whether the new sofa will fit in the space you have planned for it, or help you measure for drapes. Children can help plan the spacing for new garden plants, or where the swing set should be placed.

Just remember- if it involves sorting, measuring or calculating, it should involve your child.

                       

One Child

One child can make all the difference in the world. One of my students was absent yesterday. That changed my attitude, the noise level of the room, the dynamics of the student's interactions, our procedure for lunch, our playground experience, and our afternoon center time. One student. Just a reminder that each student is unique. Each one is important to the group. Each one affects the teacher in a different way.

Ready or not...

I just love this project!!

Seven Days and counting...

I suppose parents think that as teachers we are sometimes smug about our abilities. I’ve clashed with a few parents who thought I was too confident. It might surprise them to know that each year I get to the last few days and wonder if I’ve done enough for these children. My answer is generally “yes”, but for a few...I long for just a little more time.

If I had a couple more months I might actually get S to write “n” correctly.

If I had a couple more months I might convince C to stop hitting everyone who touches him.

If I had a couple more months I might get R to count beyond 15.

If I had a couple more months I might find out why T won’t do her handwriting without ten reminders.

If I had a couple more months I might hear P read his first book.

It’s the little things that drive you crazy! Yesterday one of my students did something he’s done almost every week since school started. He’s gotten in trouble for it. He’s been in time-out. He’s written an apology. He’s written a note to his parents about it. And he still does it!!!! I suspect that his first grade teacher will ask me why I didn’t break the habit. Why indeed…

I have another student who has terrible handwriting. I’ve done everything I can think of to help him. He still has terrible handwriting. I showed a sample of his work to one of the first grade teachers and her comment was, “He doesn’t make his ‘a’ correctly.” Duh! I told her that he wrote 20 corrected ‘a’ on a white board for me last week, and the next day on his handwriting paper he reverted back to the wrong one. He’s done that all year!! Until he is mature enough to be aware of what he is doing, and is motivated to change it, there is nothing more I can do to prepare him.

And that is my hope. Many of the lessons I’ve taught will “sink in” once my students are a bit more mature. For some that will be next August, for some it will be October, and for some it may not be until next spring. But I am confident that sometime during first grade all of my students will be successful- in reading, handwriting, math, science, art, social studies, and behavior- in part because they have been in my classroom. It’s a dream, I know, but I cling to it…

Waiting...

The Tipping Point

I suppose I’m getting more cynical as I get older. Or perhaps I’m just getting more realistic. Wiser? That would be good wouldn’t it? We’ll call it that until someone challenges me. J Anyway, a group of us were talking the other day about student behavior. We start the year with a group of children who may or may not know each other. Some have been to a pre-k program and some haven’t. They are from different environments and have different experiences. They certainly have differing abilities! But we throw them together in a group, give them all the same information and opportunities, and see what happens.

What happens is surprisingly predictable. The class will almost always divide itself into three groups. The first group is well-behaved, hard-working, and generally intelligent. They are usually the older students, and many are “first born”, although there will be an exception now and then. There may be one or two in the group who struggle academically, but not for lack of effort. As long as they are well-behaved the rest of the group will be quite helpful and understanding.

The second group is not quite ready for the structure and demands of kindergarten.  They have to spend at least a few weeks or months testing the rules, rebelling a bit, and finding out where they fit in the group.  Some are very smart and just want to show off a bit. I had one such child who sat down in my very first “circle” discussion and announced, “I love to get in trouble!” (He changed his mind in a week.) Some have problems with the work and are afraid someone will notice, so they draw attention to their behavior instead. Others just don’t have much experience with structure or responsibility. Most of this group will align with the first group by Christmas break. They may act out once in a while in frustration, or spend a day being lazy, or just have a bad day, but generally they adapt to school.

The third group is thankfully the smallest group, but unfortunately gets a lot of attention. I try not to let them become the focus of the class, but it is difficult to ignore them. The third group is the group that makes a career out of getting into trouble. That sounds harsh when I’m speaking of kindergarten students, but I’ve found my predictions to be sadly accurate. Each year I try new ways to break the cycle. Sometimes I’m successful, but most of the time I’m not. Many of my former students from this group are the ones now in high school detention or jail.

I’ve found that April is the “tipping point”. If a child is still misbehaving by April, especially if he or she is repeating the same behaviors, the chances of significant change are small. With each grade promotion the child becomes more entrenched in the system of behavior/reward/punishment. I include the term “reward” because the child is receiving a reward- attention, personal satisfaction, reputation, power, control- something that encourages them to continue. And obviously they have learned to endure the punishment.

I wish I could find the magic wand that changes these children. But I would have to change their genetic makeup, home environment, and personality. Not within my power. I do the best I can, but by April I have to admit defeat. Perhaps the next teacher…

Lesson Learned

This is how you know a child has been listening and learning. You walk around the room during "free choice" time and he is drawing a ladybug, "like the one in the story".

Independence

 

“There are two lasting gifts we can give our children-

one is roots; the other is wings.”

author unknown

 

           

 

            Responsibility is a major component of parenthood. The health, safety, and education of our children is in our hands and sometimes we feel compelled to just take over their  lives. It’s tempting to carry them lest they fall, to do things for them that we’re afraid they can’t manage. However, since the goal of parenting is to produce a confident, educated, independent adult, we have to maintain a delicate balance between control and freedom, between supporting and smothering. Let your child do “anything, anytime” and he feels confused and abandoned. Exercise too much parental control, make too many choices for him, and your child not only becomes overly dependent, turning to you to solve every minor mishap, but resents you for being so controlling. Proverbs 22:6 says “train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.” We’re to lay the foundation so that in adulthood our children will know how to make wise decisions and live their own lives.

            Raising an independent child requires time, patience, and trust, but it is possible. In order to be independent your child needs skill and self-confidence.  And he needs to acknowledge and accept his responsibilities. Sound impossible? The secret is to begin early.  There are basically five stages of independence. These stages can be seen in your child’s progress toward accomplishing even the most ordinary daily tasks. They also form the structure of his progress from baby to toddler to child to adolescent. For some tasks the stages will all be completed in a week. For other tasks each stage may last a week to several months.

            Stage 1- You do everything.  When your child is a baby you are totally responsible for him.  You feed him, clothe him, rock him to sleep, keep him out of danger. His only “choices” may be letting you know that he is hungry or unhappy. As your child learns new skills this stage will be repeated, but for shorter time periods. You may only have to show a toddler something once  before he quickly says “me do it!”

            Stage 2. You provide help as needed.  As he gets older you can serve as helper, but you need to allow your child to do as much as possible for himself. It means waiting patiently while your toddler puts on his shoes, then tying them, slowly, while he watches, so he’ll soon be ready to do that, too. It means watching him try five times to put his books on the shelf, but not interfering unless he asks for help. This is often a difficult transition for parents. There are so many times when it is so much easier and faster to “do it yourself”.

            Stage 3. You watch.  Soon you only monitor your child’s activities. You supervise while your child picks up his toys, brushes his teeth, gets his pajamas, etc. You watch while he does his homework. You watch him set the table. You may even be in another room and monitor a task by listening. This is sometimes a tough transition for the child. He may ask for help with a task you know he can do independently. He may refuse to do something and say it’s “too hard”.  This behavior may simply reflect a longing to spend more time with you. Make sure that as your child’s independence increases, you are developing your relationship in other areas.

            Stage 4. You ask.  Next you move to the stage where you ask your child if he did his homework, brushed his teeth, fed the dog, etc. You know your child is capable of completing the things you ask him to do, but you’re not sure he remembers to do them, or wants to.

            Stage 5. You  trust. Finally, you expect certain tasks to be completed and you trust your child to do them. You’re sure he has the time and skills, and he acknowledges his responsibility. Now leave him alone. This last stage is usually the hardest one for parents to accept. Often it’s difficult to know when to “let go”. However, you’ll know you’re interfering if your child lets out a huge sigh and says “I know Mom!”

            Once you understand the stages of independence you can build small steps toward that independence into your child’s daily life. Keep in mind that many of the stages will overlap. You may be helping with homework, trusting him to make his bed, and asking him if he fed the dog, all in the same week. You may know that he can fix his own bicycle, but he can’t yet be trusted to cook a meal. He can skate like a pro, but still forgets to wear his helmet. It’s a delicate balance, supporting without smothering, but if you want to raise an independent child, you have to try.

 

           

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spontaneous learning...

When I posted the photos of our table centers I mentioned independent exploration as one of the ways children learn. Yesterday was a great example. Earlier in the month I purchased ten calendars for ten cents each at a clearance sale. They’ve been sitting on top of the bookshelf in science center ever since. I’ve just failed to mention them.

Yesterday one of my girls asked me why they were there. I said, “Well, I just thought they would be fun to look at. You can treat them like a book- take one to your seat or sit on the rug with it.”

Within two minutes I overheard excited conversations all over the room.

“Look, here’s March just like our calendar on the board!”

“There’s my birthday!”

“Mrs. Maurer! Look! Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday! All of them!”

“I’m looking for November. That’s my birthday!”

On and on. I just listened and watched in amazement as my students “studied” excitedly for at least fifteen minutes.

Now I’m wondering what other teaching tools I’ve overlooked at the discount store!!

Busy Hands- Busy Minds

There is always a temptation in kindergarten to do more and more paperwork, especially in the spring when students are beginning to read independently. However, I still try to maintain a balance and let my children learn by experience and exploration. I hope you enjoy these new photos of my students during art and "table centers". You'll also notice that one of my students chose to "just read a book"- her words.