Rating: 0 out of 5 stars
0 ratings
Loading
DS![]()
author
Deloris Suddarth
Ten years ago, I was asked if I wanted a new teaching assignment in the elementary school. After a twenty-year career in the middle school, I would teach kindergarten, prefirst, first, and second. ...view moreTen years ago, I was asked if I wanted a new teaching assignment in the elementary school. After a twenty-year career in the middle school, I would teach kindergarten, prefirst, first, and second. I accepted my new position and my first quest was to discover what the children were like. What do they like to do? How do I keep them busy and active?
They are short and tall, they are courageous and afraid, they are bright and they are dull, and they are slow and they are fast. Some have played Pee Wee Soccer; some have sat in front of the TV. They are strong and weak. They will do exactly what you say and are willing to please. They are all good guys. Some want you to hold their hands and others don’t want you to help them. They each have a unique personality that is relatively molded by the time they enter kindergarten. They have shoelaces to be tied and noses to be wiped; they are rough and rugged. They are gentle.
My first reaction was that children were darling. They want their own ball or other piece of equipment. They didn’t know how to share.
The children hear half of what you tell them and anything or anyone extraneous to the environment was a big distraction. I recall trying to teach a class outdoors on the first day the dandelions bloomed. All of my cows, chickens, and horses wandered off on their elusive search for the beautiful flowers.
If one child has to go to the rest room, they all have to go. They will all love you. They have no concept of space. Don’t expect a nicely shaped circle or the perfect line.
I remember organizing the class into groups and sending them to different stations to play on the big equipment. Soon they were all over the place. I had a student psychologist observing the class. As I was throwing up my hands, he reminded me they were having a great time.
Some children even though four or five will behave as though they are three. They love to run. There is always a screamer or two.
The teacher must repeat the directions several times. The first day, I asked them to stay in the pigpen. I had several pigs out of the pen. They honestly forgot.view less