Back to the Basics

Today I am doing something that is totally out of my comfort zone...I am volunteering at Jeter's Kindergarten class. A number of you may balk at this based on the fact that I am a teacher, I love to throw fun birthday parties for my boys, etc. However the details missed here are quite important - I taught high school which means teenagers not 5/6 year olds!!! Also I am the master planner of the birthday parties, Simms is the one that interacts more with the kids on the scheduled day.

Many Hours Later...
What a great experience! I almost could enjoy teaching Kindergarten...almost! I am very impressed with Jeter's teacher - even more so after seeing her in action. She is very organized, has many activities that are planned for the students, and monitors their behavior well. My purpose was to help with "Kid Writing". The students draw/color a detailed picture. Then they tell me (or their teacher) their story which results in a sentence that summarizes their tale. Finally, I help them sound out the words and they write the letters that they hear - or think they hear. This takes a lot of attention from the teacher to meet with every student one-on-one...especially when she has 24! So, she splits the class in half - and half work on Kid Writing while the other half are assigned to one of the 5 or 6 various learning centers around the room. When students complete their assignment there are yellow cards that they are allowed to choose from - kind of like a "free play" activity which includes things like puzzles, blocks, etc.

One little girl drew a picture of me. Another one just came over and gave me a hug while I was working with a little boy and then went back to her work across the room. The children were not shy. You could tell they were as grateful for my help as was Jeter's teacher. Needless to say I am so thankful that I have volunteered. As it was with my 8 years of teaching, I cannot tell who was more blessed through the experience - me or the students. Obviously I am looking forward to volunteering at least once a week.

On another note, I was surprised how many children did not know their letters or their sounds. I have heard about this (Kindergarteners that don't know their ABC's, colors, numbers...) but did not fully comprehend the reality of it until today. This fact has very little to do with the teachers or our educational system (this IS their first year of school) and a lot to do with the parents/home life of these students. Granted, some children may have difficulty for various reasons (which could include processing skills, learning styles, etc.) and there may be some families that believe that this is what school is for...but for me, these basics come up when I play with the boys - you can make learning FUN!!! My next thought was maybe parents aren't aware of some tools that are available to them - ones that are easy to purchase (not too expensive) and use. LeapFrog has created some wonderful tools. The Letter Factory is a great video that teaches children letters and the sounds they make with songs that adults can sing (and therefore reinforce the learning) with their kids. It, as well as other great learning videos, is available online or at a variety of stores. I actually purchased mine at BJ's (a club store) for a fraction of the cost, but I know that it is also available at Wal-mart and Target. Children might/might not pick up on the letters and sounds right away but it is helpful to give them a strong foundation before they start school. And if you are wondering if it works...my two year old knows all his letters and sounds and I am NOT an el.ed. expert!