In just a few short weeks, a whole new crop of kindergarten students will join our school. Their parents will drive to school in their cars to welcome the buses, snapping dozens of pictures of their precious ones alighting on their own for the first time. These babies will enter our classrooms noisily, shyly, throwing temper tantrums, clinging desperately to brothers and sisters. Their shoelaces will need tying; their noses will require tissue. They will not know what a line is, let alone how to walk in one.
I will be tempted to, and in fact feel guilty when I do not, start teaching them right away about titles, authors, and illustrators; spines, covers, and pages. But, I will remind myself it is well worth the time invested up-front to let them discover that laying on a book shelf is a poor choice, that other people covet their personal space, that taking turns heightens everyone's enjoyment, and that we are all in this together. Happy 2013-2014 school year!
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I completely agree with you Amy. As a kindergarten teacher, I know how much work it takes to get these little darlings ready to learn. The types of knowledge you describe are essential for the children to become part of our school community. These first few weeks when we sometimes have to put curricula on hold to teach behaviors are like fertilizing the soil in preparation to planting the seeds. Hopefully, our crops will come in all the better for this preparation. See you soon. Cindy Walsh
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