Kindergarten is often looked down on as a less important grade in school. Some questions I’ve received from friends or people I’ve discussed my career with are: your students are so young and so small, what can you do with them anyway? Don’t you just take naps and play all day? Can they read or write?
When I’m asked these questions, I feel like I’m forced to defend my job in order to feel important and like I’m making a difference. Kindergarten IS a necessary grade and more valuable than one may think. Kindergarten teachers: You ARE making a difference!! This post explains why it’s an important year in a students life.
Kindergarten is an introduction to school.
When kindergarten students walk into a classroom, that room is often their first classroom. If they didn’t go to preschool, a kindergarten class is their first experience of school. It’s in these classrooms that students learn what school is like.
School Rules
Students learn school rules in and outside the classroom in kindergarten. Often, a kindergarten teacher will spend weeks and months training students on expectations. Where do you think a student learns how to raise their hand? Or sit in a rug square? Not climb up the slide? It’s in our classrooms that students learn what is appropriate school behavior.
School Schedule
Kindergarteners get an introduction to a school schedule and all the different subjects they’ll learn in their school career. I display my schedule at the front of the classroom and I tell my students each day what we’ll be doing throughout the day. Usually, during the first few weeks, I’ll announce what we’ll be doing for the day and students will say “What’s science?” or “What’s math?”. It’s our job to teach students what kinds of things they’ll be learning in these subjects.
Passion for Learning
When we show them what they’ll be learning in different subjects, we help them develop their interests and their strengths in certain subjects. Kindergarten teachers pave the way to show children that school is an amazing place where you can learn through fun and engaging activities. I wanted to be a kindergarten teacher because I wanted my classroom be their first classroom experience so I could help my students fall in love with learning.
Kindergarteners learn social skills.
Learning social skills is crucial in a little one’s life. This is what helps them make friends, learn confidence and be an overall kind and caring human. Students learn social skills both in the classroom and on the playground. They learn how to express their feelings and how to talk to a friend. They also learn that they don’t get everything they want all the time. This is where learning how to share comes into play. Kindergarten students need to learn these skills to be successful, kind, communicating adults.
Kindergarteners learn the basics.
Kindergarten builds the foundation for other grades. Students learn many basics like letters, numbers, reading, writing, addition, subtraction, the list goes on and on. All of these skills are necessary for students to learn so they can be successful in first grade, second grade, on and on until the end of their schooling. Kindergarten teachers help build this strong foundation and trust me when I say, it’s no easy task!
To my Fellow Kindergarten Teachers:
You are making a huge difference in your students’ lives! Kindergarten is a tough grade to teach because there is so much to teach, academically and socially. When your #teachertired, ready for a break, or counting the days until the next weekend, just remember that you’re so appreciated by students, parents and other teachers because you’re setting your students up for success in school and in life.
Where are my fellow kindergarten teachers? Do you agree with this list? What other reasons make kindergarten such a crucial time in a child’s life? Leave a comment below!
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