Kindergarten!

I LOVE KINDERGARTEN!!!!

it is GREAT! if I could go back and do it again I would!
Being a kindergarten teacher is soooo much better than daycare! I know that when a fourth grade teacher drops to kinder they probably think they are such babies, but after working with actual BABIES and toddlers and pre-K kids... kinder kids are so grown up and independent!

we start off the day in the cafeteria on morning duty from 7:30-7:50.. school starts at 8am. the kids k-2 all sit in lines divided by their classes. We take them to our classrooms around 7:55. This is another difference from the daycare... the kids stand in line, and the teacher just walks on.. I am used to constantly counting heads and looking at faces and making sure all kids are accountable... kinder kids can keep up on their own!

they walk in and usually have some small assignment... They colored and cut out a picture of a school on friday, then the announcements come on.. they are done through a camera!!! HOW COOL IS THAT! kindergarten has changed drastically since I was in it. no more writing on calk/white boards, we have document cameras, macbooks in class, projectors from the computer. it is amazing.

Then there is circle time. This consists of going though the days of the week and discussing a LOT about what day it is. Today is FRIDAY.. yesterday was THURSDAY.. tomorrow will be SATURDAY. what's today?? FRIDAY... what month is it? AUGUST.. and the day? 27. back and forth and repeat ad repeat... how many days have we been in school today? we discuss the weather and the season... then we do a run through of the alphabet with sounds and the kids all stand up and get moving to it. its fun.

at 10:30 its Lunch already! not for teachers though.. we do lunch duty.. luckily I dont have to set up or clean up the lunch! I just walk around opening yogurt and talking to the little ones... its quite nice.
the come back in and we read a story and do another small project... we color and cut out a picture of ourselves...

then it is time for specials! specials is either computer class, art, music, library, and counseling I think... this is a 30 minute time period.. and when the teachers get to eat their lunch. the whole kindergarten team eats together. iced tea is provided free to the teachers everyday! score for megan for sure.

The kids come back.. we do centers and listen to soft music with the lights turned down. on this particular day, all of the students did the same center called "write around the room" you take a clipboard and pencil, and just write the words you see around the room.. you dont have to know how to read it.. (however, one boy is already reading on a second grade level)

Recess comes next! this eats out another good half hour of the day!

then comes snack since lunch is so early... and Mrs. Falter talked to the kids about Ashley live.. its an assembly they do at 2:30 every other friday (school is out at 3) its okay I guess... teachers just sit and watch the kids have fun.

School is over before you know it! we then prepare for dismissal.. this part is tricky! but is over within 15 minutes... you have your car riders, your walkers, and your daycare kids. (we dont have busses that come to this particular school) then you hve kids that have to go to the other pods where their older brothers or sisters may be. (there are 3 'pods' or wings to the building.. kinder and 1st are in a pod, 2nd and 3rd in another and then 4th and 5th) then we take our kinder car riders out to the 2/3 pod. parents have these yellow cardstock things with rubber bands to put on their rearview mirror (i put them all together last week) the card has their child's name on it and we walk the student to the car, open the door and shut them in. they have to buckle it themselves.. Dismissal is the most complicated part of the day for parents... there is a strong system in place.

so 3:20 comes and the day is over! there are a couple of times during the day when we take the class to the restrooms... but if they have to go.. they can just go on their own! how weird to me.. and if I have to go somewhere (bathroom, office, printer, etc) the teacher can just leave their class if they are working!

I love kindergarten and am actually looking forward to going back tomorrow!!!