In honor of Halloween, I present you with WILD THINGS!! My
class adored making these puppets. They were so enthralled that it was almost silent
for once! In a room made for 20, but stuffed with 27 kindies, that is a rare
moment. One of my students commented “It’s quiet in here! I can hear myself
think for once! Let’s keep this up!” We read the book for a week and then as a
final project, made the puppets. As they were cutting, drawing and creating
sharp teeth and claws, some of them whispered, “They roared their terrible roars and gnashed their terrible teeth and rolled
their terrible eyes and showed their terrible claws” (Where the Wild Things
Are, Maurice Sendak, 1964).
27 Kids, 1 Teacher
I love life, teaching and food. So here I will share about them.
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Where the Wild Things Are
The Beginning!
It all started when I had a
practicum experience in a kindergarten classroom during undergrad. The joyful
chaotic learning of kindergarten grabbed me and never let go. I taught a small
group lesson to six boys and girls and was observed by my college mentor. It
was the first real lesson I had ever taught and I passed out whiteboards and
markers and wrote “at” on my board. “What rhymes with –at?” The children were
to rhyme and write down words in the “at family” on their boards. “Hat! Bat!
Cat!” “My cat lost a tooth!!!” And so it derailed into an at least five minute
conversation on teeth. Losing teeth, brushing teeth, how many teeth do you
have? The enthusiasm was catching. Although I was reprimanded for letting the
students go off on a tangent like that in the middle of a lesson, I still knew
I had found my calling. There isn’t any therapy like a room full of 27 five
year olds growing and learning. And now I know that the conversation was aiding
their oral language and social skills, so I’m not too worried if my students
take a few minutes to have a conversation.
I am so lucky to have a career that
I look forward to going to every day. From digging up worms to writing letters
in shaving cream, there is never a dull moment in kindergarten. Teaching is
hard. It is always different and usually challenging, but every day is full of
joy, laughter, and love. Here I will share my insights, lessons, stories and
joys from my kindergarten classroom.
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