Observation Blog#4

I did an observation in Kindergarten last week. My 4^th grade class was unavailable – so I went to my son's kindergarten class, it was fun to be in there with him. I know the teacher pretty well, and she shared with me that this class has been a challenge. There are lots of high energy little boys in this class. Some are still working on “being good friends”. So I was curious to be in there. I spent three hours with them from 9-12, phew... there was a lot of energy in the room!

A few things are very different from 4^th grade to KG. Those KG teachers have to be going every minute. They do not have any down time. It is one 10 minute activity to the next all day long. Whereas the 4^th grade teachers can give the class assignments to do on their own. She doesn't always need to be in the front entertaining the class. One of the pro's for KG is that they get to do FUN things. Art projects, centers, lots of in class reading together. It is a tough exchange. Luckily there is good in all grades.

The connections for this blog posting are in regards to assessment and clerical/preparation responsibilities.

While I was in Kindergarten they did centers. She had each table designated a color, and that color had multiple bins that matched their color. They would do the task in the bin for 10 minutes and then when they heard the bell, put it away and go get the next bin. They had 3 rotations for a 30 minute center time. I helped with the preparation AFTER the centers were done – planning for the next center rotations. Just making sure the bins were put back together, pieces in the correct bags, etc. The teacher was very good at expecting the students to clean up, take care and organize the pieces... but they are still just 5 year olds.

I have actually substitute taught in the past in classrooms for teachers who were doing assessments during their class day. Mostly in the Kindergarten class. I remember talking to the teacher about going through all 28-30 of her kids in her 3 hour block trying to get the testing all done. It made for a long day for her, but she liked to just get it done vs. stretching it over a longer period of time. I know the kids were really good and actually thought it was fun to have some one on one time with their teacher. This teacher always presented it to her class as “playing some games” together. They always were anxious for their turn!