Kindergarten Teacher Development

Kindergarten is an exciting preschool educational program based around playing, singing, constructive activity like drawing, and interactive socialization as a part of your child's transition to school. But did you know that there are some things to be avoided when it comes to Kindergarten? Below are three things that I think are important to remember when it comes to Kindergarten.

Kindergarten has some great dress up themes that fit in with the educational objectives of making the program fun and entertaining for both parents and children. The common shapes and animals that are featured on the dress up page for Kindergarten can be overwhelming at first, particularly for new Kindergarteners. One of the things that I do is remind my K-3 girl of the common shapes and animals by using "shape" words like sticks, circles, squares, cubes, and so on to talk to her. After a while she'll be able to recognize these shapes and animals on the dress up page.

Another common problem that occurs with Kindergarten is that it can feel very impersonal. I think of this as the "stick-person syndrome." Let's face it, with all of the other social and academic challenges that children face every day this could become a major handicap to teaching Kindergarten. The teacher must have a personal connection to each and every child, a sense of her or his unique personality and abilities. This is critical to building meaningful classroom discussions within a highly emotional environment. As a result it is critical that you as a Kindergarten teacher have a real "preschool teacher" experience - just like your fellow college degree holders.

The small group concept is critical in Kindergarten for larger classroom time and to assist those new Kindergarteners who are not very used to large group activities. Kindergarten can be a wonderful time for large group activities. In fact, many teachers find that this is the best time for large group activities outside of class. It is my belief that Kindergarten should always offer a small group or small activities experience for small children as well as large children.

Let's take the example of the sight word game that I recently had with three-year-old twins. The game was set up so that there would be five children present. Each child would place a dot on a large board and then the child would try to find the exact color, shape, or size of the dot. The child could stay on their line if they found the correct dot, but if they moved from their original line they had to go back on their line. This was a great way for us as the Kindergarten teacher to work with the Kindergarteners to develop independent decision making, problem solving skills, problem solving strategies, and overall critical thinking skills.

The concept of Social skills is also important when we introduce Kindergarten to the classroom. I have noticed that with some Kindergarten programs, the Kindergarten teacher is very involved in the daily activities and in some cases has more involvement in the curriculum and then is not really part of encouraging the social skills. I believe that all children need to learn to share and take turns. Kindergarten should foster a strong sense of socialization as well as decision making, sharing, and responsibility. We all know that every child can do one or more of those things, but when they are introduced early in their lives it makes them more likely to perform on a daily basis in school and in their daily lives.

One of the challenges I have experienced is that some Kindergarten teachers seem to place a lot of focus on academic knowledge or on passing tests rather than spending time with the Kindergarten students and allowing them to develop their personal learning style. While it may seem that a Kindergarten teacher doesn't have time for personal development as much as the teacher who has years of professional experience, I disagree. The classroom is an opportunity to bring the student into contact with the teacher and other students. It is an experience that can be inspiring and also very stressful. That's why I believe that a Kindergarten teacher must be very sensitive to the fact that the Kindergarten classroom environment is very different from the regular classroom environment. That is why I believe that a Kindergarten teacher should have a strong background in teaching with children who have the preschool level of intelligence.

We must not forget that in a Kindergarten classroom the teacher is required to teach small group activities, develop problem solving strategies, encourage independent thinking, and create a safe space for learning. All of these things are important. However, without developing social skills, independence, and the ability to self-monitor and control behavior that are necessary for healthy socializing, Kindergarten teachers will not be effective Kindergarten teachers.

Chatswood Early Learning Centre is Learning Centre for Toodles 0-5 ages. Our Childhood and Primary School Teachers hold 4-year trained university degrees with specialisations.