Kindergarten Success

There has been much conversation about kindergarten since we are taking the trip on Friday. The children are excited. It even tends to amp up their energy when it comes to tasks that they know kindergartners usually do like writing.

As a teacher I am also doing things to help them be successful. Last night I was in a meeting discussing kindergarten transitions. Trying to figure out if there are things that our program may be able to do that will help parents and children transition easier into kindergarten. You know we do not have long large group ( sitting ) times. They are just not developmentally appropriate for his age group. However, the children will be the same age when they attend kindergarten in the fall and still not able to sit still for long periods of time but it will be expected. So we are starting conversations with the children about how they can be successful during large group times in kindergarten . Last night a friend sent home a tool that is sometimes used to help children be more quiet and more focused during group time. See the little orange pillow underneath Annalise’s bottom ?

We tried it today and it was such a novelty that it wasn’t very successful. I’m not even sure that children are allowed adaptations to help them be successful; they may just be told to sit still and be quiet and tough it out. That is one of the questions I will be asking on Friday. During this time of year we also start to play school games. We pretend we are in kindergarten and practice standing in a line. We practice holding a tray and practice raising our hand but is all done in the disguise of a game.

As much as I will miss my kids I hate this awkward but very quick and sharp change they will be making. I wish kindergarten was what it used to be.

In the meantime –