Yesterday was our first day of school! For Kindergarten, we do something called staggered start--which is when half the class comes on Thursday and half the class comes of Friday. Yesterday I only had 6 that we able to come, and today I had 9. And I am exhausted. Monday--and everyday after that too, I guess--I will have the full class of 17.
I know this may sound strange, but I forgot how much they learn in Kindergarten. Two months ago, I ended the year with kids who were, for the most part, independent and ready for 1st grade. Now that I am back in the classroom with fresh Kindergarteners, I realized how much they really learn and how much they really grow in a year.
I am looking forward to this year for a lot of reasons. This is the first time that I get to teach the same grade two years in a row, and I feel like that gives me an opportunity to learn from and improve upon the things I did last year. I am also hoping to focus more on management. In my first year, I learned a lot, but I wish I had time to learn more about behavior and prevention of problems. I spent a lot of time last year just learning what to teach, keeping myself organized, and trying to get everything accomplished. There were a few times that I felt like I just survived the day, and I don't want it to be that way (at least if I can help it). I want to be able to manage my class effectively, so that things run more smoothly in general. Sometimes it felt like the only solution I had was to take time from recess because I didn't know what else to do--and it wasn't effective for the kids that I needed it to be effective for. So my goal for now is just to learn as much as I can--because I know I will never have a perfect class with perfectly behaved children, and I need to know what to do to prevent the behavior and what to do when I encounter problems.
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