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When I told people I was moving to Kindergarten last spring anyone with experience teaching K said
"If you can make it through the first 6 weeks, you'll be fine".
.. and here we are!
And I have been asked many times in the last 6 weeks- "So? How is it?"
People are much more interested in whether I like teaching kindergarten than any of the other 5 grades, French or Library roles I have previously held. People are very naturally curious about Kindergarten, and Kindergarten educators, so it would appear.
I wonder why that is?
Is the Kindergarten program still such a mystery to so many people? Is the thought of playing and exploring all day overwhelming? Is it their size and all the little shoes, socks, and increasingly tiny mittens as the colder weather approaches? Is it the bathroom issues that may arise?
Whatever it is, people are curious. I have never been asked whether I like my job so much as I have in the past 6 weeks.
The good news is.... I love it.
In some ways, my daily work has never been more routine and predictable. I have learned that the slightest deviation from our usual schedule can really throw off the rhythm and harmony of the day.
Our usual day is as follows:
Welcome/Outdoor Play
Land Based Learning or Math Provocation (Outdoor Classroom or Forest)
Gather inside for quiet reading, number talk or calendar and then snack (although many students self-regulate and choose to eat outside with friends).
Free play
Literacy focus/Story time
Second and last snack
Free Play
Music and Movement
Outdoor Play
Our table provocations and centre materials have changed almost every week since we started and despite the best of intentions, I have not taken pictures of all of them. We have had water and water beads in the sensory bin. We now have dyed pasta (expired) and steel-cut oats with leaves, pine cones and mini pumpkins.
As a class, we have explored apples by making apple sauce, apple crisp, and soaking apple slices in various liquids to see what might happen. We have had a home centre, a grocery store, a farmer's market and starting next week, a veterinarian's clinic.
We have played and played and played in the little "forest" at the edge of our schoolyard and had a letter hunt, created letters of natural materials, explored patterns using body movements, climbed trees, played tag, watered the garden, done a scavenger hunt for signs of fall and looked for lines in nature.
We have gone on two community walks- one by ourselves and one with our Grade 7/8 buddies.
We have painted and coloured and drawn. We have cut paper, ripped paper and glued paper. We have made self-portraits and made our names using glitter and other loose bits. We have explored watercolours, oil pastels, chalk, sharpies, highlighters and markers. We are skywriting our letters and exploring the sounds in our names.
What haven't we done? What haven't I done?
I haven't assessed all the Year 2 students with their knowledge of letter names and sounds yet. I'm maybe halfway through. As with all grades, there is a range of abilities and I have some students ready to start exploring CVC words and beyond while others are working to consolidate their knowledge of the alphabet.
I still haven't figured out how small groups will work.
We have done a little work with subitizing and counting and it seems like most of the students are strong in this area and enjoying exploring numeracy and mathematical concepts. I still haven't sat with each student to see exactly which numbers they know and can accurately count.
When free play starts almost every student has a clear idea of what they would like to do and finds a preferred activity. Some stay in one place building, tinkering, exploring and diving deep into their play. Others move through the room trying each different activity for a few moments (making a mini mess in each area) before finding an activity that sticks. A few children look to us for guidance and direction for each moment of their day and struggle to self-regulate their play. There are small disagreements that sometimes get solved before we are even able to make it across the room to provide support. Other times we have discussions about sharing and inviting friends into their play. We have a few students learning English for the first time or haven't been to school consistently during the first 6 weeks and they are still finding their way within the space and the dynamics of the class.
I still haven't figured out how in the wonderful chaos of free play to do more than document through pictures or notes what the students are exploring. The concept of "notice and naming" through prompts and questions has not happened (at least I don't think so) because by the time I try to settle in to watch, discuss or work with some students someone else needs help in an entirely different part of the room. I know which students are drawn to the construction area every day but I haven't been able to settle in with them and hear their talk or questioning of each other as they build and develop their play.
When I think of some of the Kindergarten educators I have admired and followed in the past I can't help but wonder, "HOW?"
How did they settle in to notice and name so they could go deeper with students and their play? How were they not pulled in a thousand directions every day?
I keep telling myself it will come.
After all, it's only been 6 weeks!
Stay tuned, friends. I know many of you are curious about how the rest of this year will play out. :)
In the meantime, you can follow along on Instagram (or Threads/Bluesky) to see photos and reflections of our class.
