The TRUTH About Teaching Kindergarten

“Kindergarten.
It is the  world of nap time, snack time and play.

Kindergarten teachers are the luckiest teachers in the WORLD.
They get to have so much FUN.
They do all kinds of art projects and crafts with school purchased supplies.
They have story time and calendar time.
It is the easiest and best job in the world.”

If you are actually a kindergarten teacher, you just shuddered and cringed.
We all know this statement is exactly how the world around us views our job.
And we know how inaccurate this job description is.

A few years ago, my principal asked me to let the other teachers in our building know how HARD it is to actually TEACH kindergarten. Our staff, at the time, was solid veteran teachers, some of which had taught kindergarten and first grade 25 or more years ago. They simply didn’t know the evolution that occurred in the lower grades over a few decades. Kindergarten was simply NOT the same. If our staff didn’t know how serious the rigor in the kindergarten program was at their own school, how could we expect our parents and other adults in the community to understand?

Here is the TRUTH about kindergarten.

1. We do not have nap time. We do have snack time, be jealous. But I personally do not have snack time… it is for the students. And we do a whole lot more than just play! If you think you can handle it, come spend the day with me. Start to finish. Let’s see if you even have time to run to the bathroom. I know I usually do not.
2. If it is done well, Kindergarten can look like the easiest grade to teach.
   The skill behind the master teacher who controls 20 or more 5 year olds is amazing.
   It is no small feat. And it is an art form. I can promote each and every activity like we are about to watch Disney on Ice. I can talk up a book like it is an award winning novel. Remember MOST of these children have never left their parents’ sides for the first 5 years. They most likely lack social skills needed in large group settings and peer situations. If management is not done well, it can {and will} look like a three ring circus.
3. Teaching kindergarten is fun. It is amazing the activities we plan and orchestrate through the  year. But, all of those activities take time. Lots of time. It also takes lots of energy. LOTS and LOTS of energy. It also takes lots of stuff. Kindergarten teachers are the masters at collecting and using “stuff” to make their classroom activities more fun.
4. Those art projects take three times longer to prep for little hands than most tests take to grade. Yes, our student complete the art project in around 30 minutes. It took about three hours to trace, prep, and collate all the parts to said project. Was it worth it? YES. That art project stays on the fridge longer than any worksheet. Did the school fund the supplies behind it? 9 times out of 10, the school did not. That teacher went bought the pipe cleaners, google eyes, various colors of construction paper. {Especially white construction paper because administration doesn’t seem to understand how thin, white copy paper measuring 8 by 10 inches long is completely different than thick, white construction paper that is 9 by 11 inches long. There is a difference.}
5. That art project was WAY more than just fun. It is a sneaky way the teachers worked on motor skills, positional words, following directions, spacial reasoning, and making an educational activity meaningful. And that is real learning. Not all the art projects turned out cute. Sometimes the teacher has to step in with glue rescue and scissor patrol. We also try to clean up and repair less that desirable creations from time to time.
6. We read books and have story time. BUT these activities are not just “pick a book and read it.” We work to instill a love for books with our students. We use story time to show our little learners how to hold a book, open a book, and turn pages. We model tracking text, sounding out words, understanding words with multiple meaning, and reading fluency. And guess what? We also teach our students to read independently by the time they leave us. At the end of the year, do we still read aloud? YES… all students regardless of their age love being read aloud to.
7. Students who start out in Kindergarten usually have no file or paperwork. This is good and bad. We can give students a chance at a regular classroom setting, which we all know EVERY child deserves. Sadly, we are also the first structured program for many who don’t understand that their student may have some hurdles in life to concur. We can sometimes break families hearts. It is awful. {I do not take that lightly because each and every soul I teach in uniquely and wonderfully made. I can’t always assess their strengths in measurable terms for promotion, which is sad to me and devastating to parents.} We also have to begin the paperwork process to those fragile flowers the help some of them desperately deserve and need. This typically takes a full school year.
8. Calendar is the secret weapon to teach each and every math skill that a 5 and 6 year old would ever need. The students just don’t know that is what the teachers are actually doing… at least not right away. By the time they figure it out, they simply don’t care because they love calendar as much as the teacher does.
9. It is the best job ever. I wouldn’t trade it for any other job in the world. Just don’t call it easy. Because remember what I said… if it looks easy, it is only because it is being done well.