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Kindergarten Teachers Chatboard

Ideas for small gift for parent helper?

by Jacque/WA/K-1/nbct 2006

Feb 4, 2015

I am in the process of renewing my National Board certification this year and have a parent who has filmed many different days/scenarios--she does photography for a hobby, though used a school camera for my work since I needed a video. She did amazing work on this and I'd like to give her something to show my gratitude. The problem is, she and her ...See More

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Jannyteach Maybe you can have your class make a book to give her. Each student can make a page. You could have a sentence already started- Thank you Mrs. ____. I will always remember.... and then they can illustrate it. Bind the pages with a cute cover.

On 2/07/15, Flacka wrote: > Since your volunteer doesn't "need" anything, then get he...See More

Feb 15, 2015

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Karen M. Idea #1: Does she like to cook? A cute plain apron, the canvas-like kind, with #1 Chef written on it and signed by all the kids and you.

Idea #2: Along the same vein, a plain canvas tote bag with everyone's names on it. Who doesn't need another tote bag? To carry camera equipment around in!

Idea #3: If she uses a digital camera, y...See More

Feb 17, 2015

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4 year old not in school yet

by Cfor

Feb 15, 2015

My niece's little girl went to Jk the first day of school and maybe tried another day and then told her mother that she didn't want to go back. She told her mother to tell the teacher to take her name off the class list. When the child is asked about school she says she will go to school when she turns five. My niece has three older children who ha...See More

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maureen may have gotten the vibes that her > mom wasn't ready to let her "baby" go or maybe the little > girl just wasn't ready to go, didn't like the place or any > number of other reasons. So many preschools have > gotten on the "academic train" and make the kids sit and > do worksheets, give them homework, etc. which ...See More may have gotten the vibes that her > mom wasn't ready to let her "baby" go or maybe the little > girl just wasn't ready to go, didn't like the place or any > number of other reasons. So many preschools have > gotten on the "academic train" and make the kids sit and > do worksheets, give them homework, etc. which is totally > inappropriate IMO. >

I would lean towards Flacka's possible reasons. The little girl went willingly the first day or two so I would think it had something to do with the way the classroom was being run, or something similar. I think young children are very intuitive and we adults should honor those gut feelings more often then we do. My oldest walked up to the classroom door of first grade, turned around and announced that she didn't want to go in there. She had been in Montessori for three years so it wasn't the thought of school that made her feel that way. We had her visit the classroom the previous spring thinking that would give her a positive impression of the school where bigger kids went. She just had a feeling that this was not going to be a good place to be. Unfortunately, she was right and it was a horrible experience for her (and the other children in that classroom). It set the tone for attitude towards school for the rest of her years in school. She was intuitive about doctors and dentists too and was always right I would find out years later. We had to deal with a lot of resistance about even leaving the house each day just to go the block to school until she finally gave in and went through the motions of going because she had to. She never could say what it was that she didn't like about the class except that the teacher made rude body noises and never said excuse me. This community still allowed spanking of students if given permission by parents and they were doing that outside the door of the classroom with the one boy who was terrorizing the classroom. There were all sorts of little things that added up to a classroom that didn't "feel right" to a little one. I am not saying that was what necessarily was happening with the niece's child's school, but children catch a lot of little things that adults just miss or have grown thick skin to ignore.

Our grandchild was taken out of K after several months of really disliking school and being forced to go. When she changed schools the following year for first grade, there were no issues whatsoever and she has been happy ever since. The school she goes to is more relaxed and a lot less stressful academically. Different children do better in different types of settings.

I bet OP's child she is talking about will do just fine when she goes back to school when she feels ready.

Feb 16, 2015

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Terri "children catch a lot of little things that adults just miss or have grown thick skin to ignore."

That is so true! They also don't tell us everything, for a variety of reasons, so all we have really is their intuition, and perhaps a change in their behaviour or attitude about school. My son faced a lot of bullying from a Teacher'...See More

Feb 16, 2015

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sympathy gift for janitor

by Jannyteach

Feb 15, 2015

Hi All, I am in charge of care and concern for our social committee. Our janitor's dad passed away. He is going out of state for the service, so it doesn't seem feasible to send a plant. Any ideas for a simple bereavement gift for a man? My budget is 25.00 dollars.

Thanks, Jannyteach

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send the plant when he gets back (nfm) On 2/15/15, Jannyteach wrote: > Hi All, > I am in charge of care and concern for our social > committee. Our janitor's dad passed away. He is going out > of state for the service, so it doesn't seem feasible to send a > plant. Any ideas for a simple bereavement gift for a man? > My budget is 25.00 dollars. > > Thanks, > J...See More

Feb 16, 2015

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RE: Attendance/ Gradebook

by Ashley

Feb 13, 2015

My School doesn't have a software for attendance and Grade book. Please help !!

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Rita/PA What kind of help do you need, Ashley?

Feb 14, 2015

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Ashley On 2/14/15, Rita/PA wrote: > What kind of help do you need, Ashley?

I am looking for a website, to records attendance and grades.

Feb 15, 2015

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She typed "My students are" into Google and was shocked

by Teachers.Net Gazette

Feb 15, 2015

The author of this article typed "My students are" into Google. Read what happened and the author's remedy.

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Picture Clues

by Jannyteach

Feb 4, 2015

Hi All, What do you use to assess your students for their picture clues skills?

Jannyteach

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Balancing Act – A Lesson for Helicopter Parents and Teachers

by Teachers.Net Gazette

Feb 1, 2015

There’s a lesson in this balancing act—for the parents of our students and for us, the teachers at the front of the room...

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Making a move to TK

by Paige

Jan 22, 2015

As a 26 year K teacher veteran, I know I should not be so nervous about a change to TK for next year but for some reason, I am terrified. I am sure this sounds silly. But.... the developmental growth between young fives and the traditional K students is huge. I adore teaching reading and I know I will be missing this huge part of what has become so...See More

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Nadine Hi, Paige - I've been teaching about as long as you have and considering how much K has changed in just the last ten years-- you may be going back to what K was Once Upon a Time ..... You'll still teach reading-- just the way you did Way Back When... The more I think about it -- the only thing about your upcoming change I don't envy is "young ...See More

Jan 23, 2015

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myrose On 1/22/15, Paige wrote: > As a 26 year K teacher veteran, I know I should not be so > nervous about a change to TK for next year but for some > reason, I am terrified. I am sure this sounds silly. > But.... the developmental growth between young fives and > the traditional K students is huge. I adore teaching > reading and I know...See More

Jan 24, 2015

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whole-group math counting activities

by MV/BC

Jan 15, 2015

Hi! What are some of your go-to activities for having kids do simple counting/making sets to 10, add and take away etc? Looking for whole-group activities to start. Thanks.

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Jacque/WA/K-1/nbct 2006 I teach full day kindergarten and though I have a district mandated math curriculum that is whole group instruction, I manage to provide "Math Groups" after that which are open-ended or higher level.....higher kids may have to use two dice rather than one for lower students, I use Math Tiles from Joyful Noise and children progress through...See MoreI teach full day kindergarten and though I have a district mandated math curriculum that is whole group instruction, I manage to provide "Math Groups" after that which are open-ended or higher level.....higher kids may have to use two dice rather than one for lower students, I use Math Tiles from Joyful Noise and children progress through these at their own pace--higher ones fly through, others slowly progress at their own rate. I also do Math Journals for story problems which also has them matching an equation to the story problem. We talk a great deal about "mucking around" with a problem in order to solve it and have everything match the words. I also include a great deal of math in our student of the day, from naming 3-D shapes to having an equation of the day made up from what children have on that day and an activity called "Missing Number" where they find a missing number on a 100's chart then have to follow directions on the board to add or subtract a certain amount and write that amount on a post-it note to put in a bin---these are gone over during the Student of the Day routine. In the beginning we solve the equation with unifix cubes, then eventually use the 100's chart to count it off.

Here our gifted programs begin in First grade. Your grand- daughter sounds like she'd be a good candidate. Truly gifted children will find ways to extend their learning--I had a boy once who asked me if he could write the number words instead of just the numbers and I, of course, told him that would be fine-- he was the only one who COULD do that. So...don't worry too much about her regressing---a truly gifted child will always find ways to challenge themselves. I have a girl this year who always does more than I ask, very fast at any task, but always willing to add more without my asking her to.

As others said, Kindergarten is more than academics, despite her high academic skills, she is still chronologically 5 or 6 years old and needs to balance her high academic skills with real world skills of dealing with a group of children that are her peers (age-wise). And kindergarten these days is much more academic than ever before. I still hold onto Choice Time (free play), but many schools have had this taken away in the quest for higher test scores---very short-sighted because Choice Time is where the best critical thinking skills are developed. I imagine she will enjoy kindergarten no matter what...but kindergarten teachers do vary quite a bit. You might inquire about a teacher's early childhood background, is she National Board Certified, philosophy, etc.

On 1/23/15, Grandma wrote: > Thanks. This child has older siblings and is a very > outgoing and confident child. Here K is full day. We kept > three children and grandchildren out of K and just started > them in first and they did just fine as a six or seven > year old. The one we did start in K, there was a lot of > the craft type stuff and he needed the fine motor > practice. Since this particular child is already at a > level to be needing to progress beyond 1-10, I was just > wondering what teachers who teach whole group math do for > kids like this one. The last thing she would want to do is > have me 'work" with her after being at school all day. The > intention sounds good, but in reality she will want to > just chill out or play with friends and siblings. > > We have two schools to consider by next week for > enrollment and right now we are leaning towards one that > offers more academically and socially then the school her > siblings attend. Again, thank you for a response! > > >

Jan 23, 2015

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Grandma Thanks, Jacque: What you describe is what I would be looking for, but I know at the school her siblings attend, that whole group math is all they do with the children. There is no gifted program at that school either. None of the K teachers there are nationally board certified and all of them have been teaching K for several years. The school resem...See MoreThanks, Jacque: What you describe is what I would be looking for, but I know at the school her siblings attend, that whole group math is all they do with the children. There is no gifted program at that school either. None of the K teachers there are nationally board certified and all of them have been teaching K for several years. The school resembles a Play based K" much more then other public schools in the area, but in math in particular there is little open ended ness in math. Everyone cuts out and glues the same projects - in smaller groups as they rotate through the centers. There wasn't any differentiation involved for any children who were beyond the concept being addressed. I would love for all children in our nation to have that open endedness to explore concepts in K, but I just haven't seen that as much like they do in first grade up. I think she would enjoy K just because she enjoys just about everything in life, but I was most concerned about math for her since that is where she seems cognitively blessed already. I am just concerned that if she isn't presented with opportunity to do more and grow from where she is right now (and I haven't been too impressed with elementary math curriculum as a whole), it is a missed opportunity to not get it in school. Fortunately we live in a a city with an internationally recognized engineering university so there are enrichment opportunities available to the community for children, especially girls, interested in this area.

I think the school we are leaning towards to use for the K year is a good balance of social and academic and all the academic areas are open ended. I love reading how you do things in your classroom. Those children are fortunate that you are able to meet their diverse needs in such fun yet meaningful ways. Thank you so much for your response!

On 1/23/15, Jacque/WA/K-1/nbct 2006 wrote: > I teach full day kindergarten and though I have a district > mandated math curriculum that is whole group instruction, I > manage to provide "Math Groups" after that which are open- ended > or higher level.....higher kids may have to use two dice rather > than one for lower students, I use Math Tiles from Joyful Noise > and children progress through these at their own pace-- higher > ones fly through, others slowly progress at their own rate. I > also do Math Journals for story problems which also has them > matching an equation to the story problem. We talk a great deal > about "mucking around" with a problem in order to solve it and > have everything match the words. I also include a great deal of > math in our student of the day, from naming 3-D shapes to having > an equation of the day made up from what children have on that > day and an activity called "Missing Number" where they find a > missing number on a 100's chart then have to follow directions on > the board to add or subtract a certain amount and write that > amount on a post-it note to put in a bin---these are gone over > during the Student of the Day routine. In the beginning we solve > the equation with unifix cubes, then eventually use the 100's > chart to count it off. > > Here our gifted programs begin in First grade. Your grand- > daughter sounds like she'd be a good candidate. Truly gifted > children will find ways to extend their learning--I had a boy > once who asked me if he could write the number words instead of > just the numbers and I, of course, told him that would be fine-- > he was the only one who COULD do that. So...don't worry too much > about her regressing---a truly gifted child will always find ways > to challenge themselves. I have a girl this year who always does > more than I ask, very fast at any task, but always willing to add > more without my asking her to. > > As others said, Kindergarten is more than academics, despite her > high academic skills, she is still chronologically 5 or 6 years > old and needs to balance her high academic skills with real world > skills of dealing with a group of children that are her peers > (age-wise). And kindergarten these days is much more academic > than ever before. I still hold onto Choice Time (free play), but > many schools have had this taken away in the quest for higher > test scores---very short-sighted because Choice Time is where the > best critical thinking skills are developed. I imagine she will > enjoy kindergarten no matter what...but kindergarten teachers do > vary quite a bit. You might inquire about a teacher's early > childhood background, is she National Board Certified, > philosophy, etc. > > > > > On 1/23/15, Grandma wrote: >> Thanks. This child has older siblings and is a very >> outgoing and confident child. Here K is full day. We kept >> three children and grandchildren out of K and just started >> them in first and they did just fine as a six or seven >> year old. The one we did start in K, there was a lot of >> the craft type stuff and he needed the fine motor >> practice. Since this particular child is already at a >> level to be needing to progress beyond 1-10, I was just >> wondering what teachers who teach whole group math do for >> kids like this one. The last thing she would want to do is >> have me 'work" with her after being at school all day. The >> intention sounds good, but in reality she will want to >> just chill out or play with friends and siblings. >> >> We have two schools to consider by next week for >> enrollment and right now we are leaning towards one that >> offers more academically and socially then the school her >> siblings attend. Again, thank you for a response! >> >> >>

Jan 24, 2015

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