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!