Day 5: Kindergarten and 3rd grade (again)

The kindergarteners are really getting the hang of things. They know what to do when they get to the classroom in the morning.

I don't have a lot of new stuff to talk about today. However, one of the kiddos got hurt on the playground today.... to the point where his lip was bleeding. After an ice pack and some clean clothes dropped off by Mom (his other ones were covered in blood), he returned to class and finished the day.

It amazes me how much variance there is in how much these kids do or don't know. We are working on letter recognition. Some kids recognize all their letters and can spell their names. Others don't know any of their letters.

I'm still tying *way* too many shoes every day! And as the kids are getting more comfortable, we are seeing more behavioral issues: lots of talking and touching other kids and their stuff. It's been a long week for both kids and teachers :).

I again subbed for an hour in 3rd grade (same class as yesterday). That class is reading a book called Vampires Don't Wear Polka Dots. Yesterday, the kids decided I was a vampire because I didn't have polka dots on. It became something of a joke. Today, it was a bigger joke! Some kids even dubbed me "Vampire Teacher." I played along. My job with them today was easy: monitor the room while they did silent reading.

Because of a new math curriculum in kindergarten this year, I've spent part of every day cutting out materials that have been copied. Today, we worked on matching pictures of socks: sorting them into plan, striped, and dotted piles. The kids did great!

Tomorrow is my last day helping out in kindergarten. For this year, I've asked to work M/W/F at one of four schools. I'll be assigned 24 hours ahead of time, which seems like a better system than they had last year. The school I've been at so far this year is the biggest of the elems I've asked to work at, so I suspect I'll be there a lot.

Oh! Two kids drew pictures for me today. Unfortunately, I left them on the desk at school. I'll bring them home tomorrow and scan them to show you all.

Day 4: Kindergarten and 3rd grade

I was not at school yesterday, so when the kids arrived this morning, some asked, "Where were you yesterday?" I was kind of touched that they'd noticed I was gone. I doubt they realize I won't be there after Friday.

One thing I've noticed this first week of school is that when teachers talk about the rules, they often say things like, "When we walk down the hall, do we talk loudly?" (in other words, they say what the kids shouldn't do to illustrate the rule). I keep wondering whether they are just giving the kids ideas! LOL

Math went OK today, but we did have a funny thing happen. We are learning to count to 5. The teacher asked the kids to sit in a circle and then count up to 5 and begin again. They did OK the first time around. Then, she asked the person who said "3" to stand up when they said the number. Well, that changed everything! Kids got so confused. Almost no one stood up when we got to 3, and often, the next kid would start with 1. The teacher and I could not figure out why this kept happening, and we were trying SO hard not to laugh! At recess, we were talking with another one of the K teachers, and she had the same problem.

In the class I've been in, today we had our first walker at recess. He got in trouble for mimicking the teacher and then lying that he'd done it.

In the afternoon, I got to teach a 3rd grade class for an hour while their teacher attended a meeting. We talked about what made a good sentence: starting with a capital, putting a space between all words, writing neatly, and ending with a punctuation mark. They then wrote a sentence and then we used the document camera to show the sentence of each child on the screen and we decided whether the sentences met those rules. Well, one kid refused to write a sentence. I kept telling him that the assignment was not optional. Once we started sharing the sentences, he finally wrote one. But, when we got to him, he refused to share. At this grade, the kids switch classrooms (one teacher does ELA for both classes, and the other teacher does math), so this was the other teacher's kids. When I started to walk out and get his teacher, he relented and shared. But, wow! I haven't seen that much defiance in many classrooms.

Day 3: Kindergarten

This morning, the kiddos didn't start out in the gym. They came directly to class. And, they did great! They remembered most of the morning chores with only a little prompting from me and the teacher.

New things today included going to the cafeteria and learning all the rules there and using white boards and dry erase markers!

During the math portion, the kids did a great job passing the bins. We worked on counting up to 5 today. A couple of observations I had:

1. The math portion went on a long time. Even with a short "dance break" in the middle, these kids were restless and bored by the end. They were not paying attention at the end (and we didn't make it through the lesson). 
2. The lesson started to teach them to count on their fingers. The teacher said they'd use this method through first, second, and probably third grade. The method they teach is that "one" is signified by putting up your pinkie; two is pinkie and ring fingers; three is pinkie, ring, and middle fingers. Kids that are 5 and 6 years old can't put up those fingers very easily! Kids really struggled and even had to use the other hand to hold down the fingers not being put up. 

After math, the kids watched a video about the alphabet and traced their letters on a piece of paper with a crayon. One kid immediately broke his crayon and would not do the assignment because the crayon was broken. He whined all through this session. He was not allowed to do the white board activity until he finished.  

The introduction to the white boards and markers was fun to watch. This teacher gives each kid their own marker (with their name on it) and for an individual eraser, she gives them a colored child's sock, which I thought was pretty nifty. The marker goes in the sock for storage. She spent lots of time going over what could be done with the markers.... no coloring, only writing ABCs and 123s, no scribbling, don't press hard, this is your marker; if you break it or lose it, no more white board for you. She did each step at a time: get out white boards, talk about them, pass out socks with markers, talk about them, finally write. As you probably guessed, some kids skipped ahead in the steps :). 

Overall, my impression today was that all the kids were easily distracted. It was hard to get them to pay attention for more than a few minutes at a time. 

It was a long day... for the kids and the teachers! 

Day 3: Kindergarten

This morning, the kiddos didn't start out in the gym. They came directly to class. And, they did great! They remembered most of the morning chores with only a little prompting from me and the teacher.

New things today included going to the cafeteria and learning all the rules there and using white boards and dry erase markers!

During the math portion, the kids did a great job passing the bins. We worked on counting up to 5 today. A couple of observations I had:

1. The math portion went on a long time. Even with a short "dance break" in the middle, these kids were restless and bored by the end. They were not paying attention at the end (and we didn't make it through the lesson). 
2. The lesson started to teach them to count on their fingers. The teacher said they'd use this method through first, second, and probably third grade. The method they teach is that "one" is signified by putting up your pinkie; two is pinkie and ring fingers; three is pinkie, ring, and middle fingers. Kids that are 5 and 6 years old can't put up those fingers very easily! Kids really struggled and even had to use the other hand to hold down the fingers not being put up. 

After math, the kids watched a video about the alphabet and traced their letters on a piece of paper with a crayon. One kid immediately broke his crayon and would not do the assignment because the crayon was broken. He whined all through this session. He was not allowed to do the white board activity until he finished.  

The introduction to the white boards and markers was fun to watch. This teacher gives each kid their own marker (with their name on it) and for an individual eraser, she gives them a colored child's sock, which I thought was pretty nifty. The marker goes in the sock for storage. She spent lots of time going over what could be done with the markers.... no coloring, only writing ABCs and 123s, no scribbling, don't press hard, this is your marker; if you break it or lose it, no more white board for you. She did each step at a time: get out white boards, talk about them, pass out socks with markers, talk about them, finally write. As you probably guessed, some kids skipped ahead in the steps :). 

Overall, my impression today was that all the kids were easily distracted. It was hard to get them to pay attention for more than a few minutes at a time. 

It was a long day... for the kids and the teachers! 

Day 2: Kindergarten

I was back with the same teacher today. Once again, we started with the kids in the gym. Once again, all the kiddos showed up. :)

I was really surprised that the teacher assumed the kids would remember what to do for the morning routine... and for the most part, they did! Some needed some prompting, but overall, they did a great job.

The "everything is lame" kid came back today with a great attitude. Someone had explained to him about putting a bubble in his mouth and being quiet in the hall. Everywhere we went today, he made sure to point to his "bubble" and show me he was being quiet. The teacher had moved all the stuff within arm's reach away from the seat of the kid who couldn't stop touching things, so he was better too.

Before the kids arrived, the teacher asked me to sharpen pencils. I sharpened so many (with a manual sharpener) that I have blisters on my hands tonight.... really! (I also cut more laminating out today.)

We had more time today for singing and dancing (both very important kindergarten activities!). Today's Special was gym, and I filled mailboxes during it and put out snack (graham crackers today).

I couldn't believe how much better the kids were today at passing the buckets down the rows during math! They did it almost perfectly today... with very little help from me and the teacher. Even end of the day pack up went more smoothly. You'd never know this was only the second day of school for these kids. However, there were kids in the other kindergarten classes who had to walk during recess (which is the punishment for breaking a rule). One kid even had to have a talk by the head teacher. Discipline problems on the second day of school! Which leads me to this:

I do want to talk a bit today about some of my observations about how we educate kindergarteners these days. Do you remember graham crackers and juice and naptime during kindergarten? And I'll bet you didn't go all day either! Furthermore, I'll bet you played a lot during school. Most of that is gone. Kids do still get a snack, but there's no juice, no naps, and almost no time for unstructured play. I noticed this last year: every minute of the day (except the two 15-minute recess periods) is scripted for these kids. By the end of the school day, they are done. They are tired and restless. Today, at the end of the day, the teacher gave the kids about 15 mins of unstructured time to play (like yesterday). She was chatting with me during this time and shared that beginning last year, "they" took away this time. She has decided that this year, she is reinstating it at the end of the day. That way, she can say that the kids who need more time to pack up can have it and the ones who finish early can play. She noticed last year that when play was eliminated, it crept into academics, specifically math. Many math lessons have objects (chips, bears, dice) that are used, and the kids would just play with them instead of doing the assignment. She remarked that play is taken away by people who don't understand early childhood development/education. I find it really sad that a teacher feels she has to hide play in her curriculum to avoid being punished by administration. Kids this age (2 of them are still only 5 years old) need time to play, and anyone who thinks unstructured play is not of educational value has never watched kids play. I watched them share, negotiate, learn patience, and learn to occupy themselves--all skills that will be useful later. This school makes kids who have discipline issues walk at recess (on the sidewalk that surrounds the play area). Other places I've worked have kids sit at the side of the playground; I can't understand that punishment. The kids who need to run around and release some pent-up energy are the ones who have to sit quietly during recess.

Once again, I had about 15 minutes to eat lunch. The cafeteria routine is not something they have down yet. And, my feet have blisters too tonight. Kindergarten teachers are on their feet (on hard surfaces) all day! It's a physically demanding job. I sometimes think I'd like to do it full time, but most days, I'm really glad I'm the--as the kids call me--"assistant teacher!"

Oh, and I've tied A LOT of shoes the past 2 days. I really wish parents would buy Velcro shoes until their kiddos know how to tie them. :)

Day 1: Back to School

My Back-to-School Picture

I started this school year where I ended last year: helping out in kindergarten. Two subs were hired to help the four kindergarten classes. I was excited to be back, and it was gratifying to have staff and teachers both tell me they were glad I was back. Our district has all-day kindergarten and kids attend from 8:45 to 3:45.

The kindergarteners and first graders were all escorted to the gym where their teachers were waiting. The kindergarteners had tags that had their name, their teacher's name, and their bus number. The teachers had already met the kids in their classes, so they greeted each one by name. All 22 kids for the class I was helping showed up the first day of school.

After we got to the classroom, we taught them the morning routine: Make a lunch choice, remove their home/school folders from their backpacks and put all notes in the teacher's mailbox, put lunchboxes away, and hang up backpacks. This process took a LONG time! LOL

The kids then sat on the rug and we sang the "Good morning" song and sang the ABCs. They learned how to line up, and we took a tour of the building. That took us all the way up to lunchtime. A half hour is allocated for lunch, and on this first day, although we left early, it still took both me and teacher to help the kids figure out the cafeteria and get the ones buying lunch through the line. I had about 15 minutes to eat my own lunch!

After lunch is the first 15-minute recess. This is one of the few times that is unstructured for the kids, so we teachers hear a few comments such as "I want to swing and all the swings are taken" and "No one will play with me."

Back inside for a quick drink of water. Then, it's calendar time. We learn about the month, the day of the week, and the date. We color in the number of days we've been in school on a "hundreds chart" (the 100th day of school is a special one, with lots of cool activities!). We also add a scale to the "snake" that marks the total days of school.

Next, it's math time. Yep... even on the first day, we do academics. The teacher had the kids sit on the rug, and we had bins that needed to be passed down the row. Each child was to take one mat and one basket of red/white chips. It took some creativity to get all the kids to understand what was required. Most didn't understand the concept of rows and the bins got passed all around. It was good that there were two of us to manage the four rows! The teacher taught a math lesson using the numbers 1 and 2. We then managed to get the bins filled and put back on the shelf.

Then, it was time for second recess! Usually, two teachers cover each recess session, but on this first day, all four of the teachers, plus we two subs, were outside with the kids. At the end of each recess, we teach the kids to line up correctly and enter the building quietly.

After recess, it was Specials time. For 4 of every 5 days, the kids go to a special activity (art, music, gym, and library). The fifth day, they stay in their classroom and do an activity with their teacher. Our kids went to the library this first day, and each of them got a free book they could take home and keep (courtesy of the local Rotary). I cut out stuff the teacher had gotten laminated, and put things in the kids' mailboxes.

After Specials, we have snack time. At this school, all the kids are fed the same snack (provided by parents). We had Goldfish crackers today! (At some schools at which I've worked, each kid brings a snack from home each day.)

This first day, because the kids are still learning the routine, we next pack up. The kids learn where their mailboxes are, how to put those papers in their home/school folder, and how to retrieve their lunchboxes and backpacks.

We ended the day with about 15 minutes of free play. Kids can choose among playing in the kitchen, playing with blocks, coloring, reading, or playing with action figures. The thing is: each "center" (except coloring) has a limit to the number of kids who can occupy it at once. The teacher calls on quiet, well-behaved tables first to choose, so some kids don't get their first choice. We had several kids who were really disappointed that the center they wanted was full before they got there. This time of day teaches lot of skills to kids: sharing, patience, following directions.

After that, the kids are asked to sit in a specific place in one of the 4 rooms to wait for their bus to be called. At the beginning of the year, two 4th graders who ride each bus come down to help the kindergarteners get to the correct bus.

Throughout the day, the teacher taught basic classroom management techniques: signals and songs that got kids' attention, the "quiet sign" kids should show when lining up and walking in the hall, how to walk and stand in the hall, and how to ask and use the bathroom.

There were some notable moments: the kid who asked at 9:30 when he could go home, the kid who asked me after first recess when nap time is, the kid who during the morning routine took out his lunch and ate half of it before I or the teacher realized it, the kid who declared everything was "lame" (the blocks are lame, the books are lame, the rug is lame), the kid who could not keep his hands to himself, the kid who would not follow directions.

I was exhausted and was sound asleep by 9:30!