Kindergarten Today

Responsible

An incident occurred in another classroom this week that lead to a parent asking, “Why weren’t you watching her more closely?” It was a simple question based on ignorance. It wasn’t asked of me, but I’d like to address the problem here anyway.

One of the things that parents don’t realize is that teachers cannot be responsible for their child’s actions. Teachers can monitor. Teachers can supervise. Teachers can advise. Teachers can warn. Teachers can do a dozen things to try to motivate children to behave. However, they can’t actually control the behavior of children. Neither can parents, but they don’t like to admit it.

One of the major truths of life is that we can only control our OWN behavior.

Children are sneaky, manipulative creatures who will find a way to do whatever they want to do. If they are willing to accept the consequences for their actions you can’t stop them. I’ve had students steal from me, cut their clothes with scissors, hurt their classmates, and destroy school property because they found out they could tolerate the punishment for their misdeeds. A spanking is quickly over with. Detention is basically just work in a quiet room for a few days. If the misbehavior is enjoyable enough the child will continue to do it. Only their own shame and remorse will stop them. If parents don’t instill that early: with sound teaching and lots of praise for good behavior, and swift, harsh punishment for bad, then school isn’t going to solve their problems. The Bible says “train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old he will not depart from it”. It does not say “train now and next week look for results”! I also think that the phrase “way he should go” indicates a way of living, not step by step rules. Our children are going to misbehave and break a few rules. What we want is for them to develop a manner of living, and an approach to life that is basically sound and good.

What all this boils down to in the classroom is that children are responsible for their own behavior. Parents and teachers can teach children how to make decisions. We can model and explain the good choices they can make in a variety of situations. We can make the consequences for some actions unpleasant. However, I cannot monitor the actions of twenty children every moment of the day to insure that they never misbehave. I can’t even control the environment around them. One parent last year said to me, “Well, just don’t let him play with ____ ever again!” That’s totally unrealistic in a group setting. I have students who can’t sit together at lunch because they annoy each other. I have others who poke each other if they stand in line next to each other. I have some who can’t sit near each other in the classroom without talking constantly. But I can’t make each and every situation perfect for each and every student! There are times when they just have to control their little minds and bodies and voices and hands!! They have to be responsible for their own actions. I always tell my students that the real test of behavior is what you do when no one else is looking. Sometimes my students forget that we have cameras in the building and they think I have eyes in the back of my head! LOL  

So I would say to that parent, and others, that as teachers do all we can to provide a safe environment. We do all we can to supervise the actions of our students. We do our best to prevent misbehavior. But the bottom line is…where there is a will, there is a way.

Instructions

One of the most frustrating things about working with kindergarten students is that they just don’t follow instructions.

Yesterday we did a three-page mural project about American symbols. I had an example on the board. I had the “fill-in words” they needed written on the board. I gave verbal instructions- twice. Each “work page” contained two small pages about American symbols so when they glued their three pages together they had a six-page mural. Here is an example of a small page-

The American Flag. (color the flag)

The colors of the flag are  ___, ___, and ____. (fill in the color words)

Two of my students had to re-write two pages. Two of my students did every page incorrectly. One of my students glued the pages in the wrong order. One “lost” a page. (Where, how???) One cut out the wrong part of a page. One wrote her name on one of the fill-in blanks about the statue of liberty!

Good grief Charlie Brown!!

This is February. I know the capabilities of my students. Each and every one of them is capable of copying a few words from the board and gluing three pages in order!! In fact, my lowest ranking student completed hers correctly-yep, every page.

The others??

Just not listening…

Not paying attention…

Talking to their peers…

Playing with their erasers…

Tying their shoes for the umpteenth time…

It’s going to be a long spring!  

Do you want fries with that?

Watching a five-year-old eat can be disturbing. Watching twenty of them at the same time can be disgusting! LOL Sorry, but true. Breakfast duty isn't too bad, but I hate lunch duty and I never, never eat with my students. They are loud, messy, and sometimes just gross.

Some of my students love mayo on anything and everything. Since they have the option of a sandwich each day, there is always mayo on the side table if they want it. They ask for mayo on fries, on pizza, on chicken nuggets, whatever. Sometimes I can't even watch.

Children get ideas: "Hey, what if I put mashed potatoes between two graham crackers?" Then everyone on their end of the table tries it. :)

Children do not have manners yet. They eat with their fingers, lick their plates, pick up things off the floor and eat them, share food, and do anything else they can get away with before I stop them!

Children think catsup is a vegetable and will actually cry if it is not on the menu.

Children drop, spill, and smear anything that can be dropped, spilled, or smeared.

Welcome to the "dark side" of teaching. Is today spaghetti day???????????????

Great Day, Great Project

I love Valentine's Day. We do so many wonderful things this week! Everything is pink and red and sweet! The children are excited and happy. What's not to love?

Today we made our "Friends" books.  We color a heart-shaped cover, put five blank white hearts behind it and finish with a pink back cover. Do whatever you like. It doesn't matter how you make them. What matters is what you do with them. My students gather autographs and short notes from every student in class! It is so, so much fun to watch them and listen to them.

Once they have all their classmates names, they bring their books to me and I write the same thing on each one, "Mrs. Maurer loves you!". One little boy went to his friend and whispered, "Did you see what she wrote?? She LOVES us!" LOL

Just How Stupid Do You Think Your Child Is?

There have been so many times, especially in the last four years, when I have wanted to look a parent in the eyes and ask that question. I’m beginning to think it should be on the enrollment form.  Then I wouldn’t have to hear all the excuses parents make for why their child can’t learn _____ in my class! (Note: for this post I’m going to use “he” for two reasons: 1. it’s just easier than “he/she” 2. I have found that the majority of parents who need this information are parents of boys. Sorry, just my experience. ) It seems to me that each year parents expect a little less of their children. As parents become more concerned with the happiness of their children they seem to be more and more willing to entertain them rather than educate them. Take a close look at how much time and money and effort is put into extra-curricular activities and sports rather than academics and homework. This is beginning to worry me. I’m all for having happy children, but public school wasn’t intended to delight our children. It wasn’t intended to entertain our children. Its original purpose was to educate and enlighten our children so we could build and maintain a country of knowledgeable and productive citizens.

During the past few years I’ve heard some interesting excuses from parents, especially after the second report card. Here are the most common excuses I’ve heard for poor student performance:

1.       He’s five. Okay…so are most of my other students, including the ones who are doing twice the work, giving me twice the effort, and learning twice as much as your child. I have been assuming that he is five, and capable of learning as much as any other five-year-old I’ve taught in the last ten years. Just how stupid do you think he is? I’d be happy to lower my expectations to say, a three-year-old, if you truly don’t think he can do this.

2.       He’s been sick. With what, brain fever? I understand getting behind in work. I understand missing some concepts. I do not understand a three-day case of strep throat becoming an excuse for not knowing anything we have covered in the past six weeks.

3.       He’s a boy. Yeah, I noticed that the first day when he climbed on top of his desk and you had to bribe him with candy to get him down. How long are we going to go on condoning aggression and defiance in our boys? I’ve asked this child each day, for over 100 days, to stop talking during lessons and pay attention to what we are doing. If you used the same excuse at home he wouldn’t even be potty trained!

4.       You expect too much. So does the state where I teach, the President who endorsed “No Child Left Behind”, the college your child might wangle his way into someday, and the boss who might consider hiring him. It’s ironic that this excuse most often comes from the parent of a boy who can tell me all the stats of his favorite pro team, excruciating details of the latest horror film he just watched, or the rules of his favorite video game. If I could just make reading and math more exciting I’m sure I’d have no trouble with him at all.

5.       He’s just like his dad (mom, aunt, grandpa, grandma, whoever serves as the family scapegoat) - he never was no good in school. Okay, so you not only cloned the kid, but you did it from someone you knew was defective? Please people…this one does not work at all. Children have a combination of genes and experiences that work together in a unique way to become a new person, not a copy of you. Many similarities in learning style or preference are learned from you in the environment you create at home. Do you think I sat around doing math problems with my children? No way! We read hundreds of books because I HATE math and LOVE reading.  Turns out they are still better at math than I was as a child.

6.       School just isn’t as much fun as he thought it would be. Well, neither is life. We sing songs, we play games, we laugh, we talk, but it all boils down to one thing- our children must learn how to read and think. Somewhere along the path to adulthood our children have to learn, as we did, that a few things just have to be done. Some basic concepts and skills just have to be learned. Some are not as easy, or as much fun, as others. If your house is fun and games 24/7 then you must live at Disneyland. And I’m sure even at the big castle someone has to take out the garbage. I can’t compete with the special effects and animation that your child gets from television and other electronics. I can’t give him the instant gratification he’s obviously come to expect in your home. However, I can teach him about the rewards of hard work and the self-confidence that comes from true achievement.

This is not meant to just be a put-down of parents. Most of my parents are hard-working folks who go out of their way to help me with their child. They have high expectations for their children and want them to do more and have more in life. But I have to be realistic about the others, and to give you a warning if you have been making excuses for your child. If you think your child can’t learn, then you are setting him up for failure. Just because you haven’t said the words doesn’t mean he hasn’t gotten the message. If you think he is too stupid to learn, he will too!

 

 

Learning to Write Stories

Writing is a process I begin with my students in September. I start with the simple concept of creating three sentences about something. My goal is to get my students to understand that we “write the way we talk”. I want them to understand sentence structure by using it, not analyzing it. They are far too young for rules and grammar. I want writing to be a way to express their ideas. I want writing to be enjoyable.

 

For the beginning of each writing session my students sit on the rug and I write on the board:

                        (Title)

 

            I see the _________. (I start with animals.)

 

            It is ____________. (size, color)

 

            It can  ___________. (jump, run, roar,etc.)

 

Students supply the words.

 

Here is our first story:

 

Cat

I see the cat.

It is yellow.

It can purr.

 

( I draw the animal or use a photo or poster if I have one.)

 

After we have written and discussed two or three stories, I write the first sentence of one of the stories back on the board. The students go to their seats, copy that one sentence on their paper, and draw the illustration to go with it. I always stress that they are writing a story.

 

I have several story papers that I use later, but at first I just have them fold a plain piece of paper in half. Story goes on one half and illustration on the other. (I always tell them to draw with the pencil first, then color with crayon; that way they can erase mistakes. I tell them to think about shapes when they try to draw something. Is the head a circle or an oval? Are the ears circles or triangles? Is the body a circle, rectangle, or square? Don’t let them get discouraged about this part of it.)

 

I try to judge the capabilities of my students at each session, and move to copying all three sentences as soon as they are ready. I also try to keep things interesting by using silly words or big words or unusual words from time to time.

 

Next progression is to write the sentences with the blanks and give them two word choices for each.

 

I see a _______________.     cat     bear

It is _________________.     big     small

It can ________________.    run     eat

 

Next progression is to write the sentences and a general “word bank” box. I usually give them eight word choices.

 

Next progression is to change the sentence structure to include “and”. The word bank can include eight to ten choices. I never use more than ten.

I see a __________.

It is _________ and __________.

It can __________ and ___________.

 

Final progression is to start writing more creative sentences at the board and making the stories up to six sentences long. Then I erase everything. I give the students the title we are going to use and ask them for words they think they might need. I write ten of them on the board and they write three sentences of their own. I never ask them to write more than three sentences. I never correct spelling. I never correct handwriting. This is about writing the story. I do ask them to read their story to me and if it doesn’t make sense I ask them “Is this what you would tell me?”

 

This process takes a while to master. We usually write two stories each week and we spend as long as we need on a progression. Students are writing pretty well by April. Many will ask to write four or more sentences. By this time we have also discussed and used question marks, exclamation points, commas, etc. Their best stories are saved in their keepsake folders. Some stories are given as gifts. I love it when one of my students comes to my desk and says, “here, I wrote you a story”.