Student Teaching- Prep for Kindergarten

I am excited to say that my first eight weeks, for student teaching, I will be in a Kindergarten class! I am very excited to teach in this grade because I have not had the chance to work in this setting before. I have been doing a little research on how to prep students for kindergarten and what school will be like for them. I have been looking at some of the things that I would need to prepare in the classroom, and I found a great tool that can be used at Parent Night or Welcome Week, or be sent for parents and kids to watch at home before the first day of school. The link below, to Brain Pop Jr., includes a video on introducing and showing students how to prepare for kindergarten.


Link-Kindergarten Prep


Scholastic also provides parents and teachers with tips and strategies to helping children get ready for Kindergarten, and where children should be in development for their age. The link below gives a great article on the seven important parts of a child's development that they should be at when entering Kindergarten. This article helped me to see how I might assess my students at the beginning of the year and what I need to be looking for in their strengths and abilities in the classroom. This will help me to find a starting point and see what kind of support or accommodations I must make to help guide these students in developing Kindergarten-level skills and abilities. The link below provides the full article.

Link- Ready for Kindergarten?


I also started following another teacher's blog that focuses a lot of her information on Kindergarten and primary grades. I found her article, "How to Survive Kindergarten" heartwarming and encouraging. She gave many helpful pointers on how to "survive" Kindergarten and how to teach without losing all management in the classroom. She also provides other teachers with materials she has used and gives support to other teachers who have helped her along the way. I really encourage any teacher to read her article on Kindergarten, it is helpful and supportive for first year and seasoned teachers.

Link- "How to Survive Kindergarten"


I hope some of these tools you find creative and helpful for starting Kindergarten! Keep following all summer long and I will continue to dig deeper into learning more about Kindergarten level and what to include in my plans for teaching and classroom management.

Swtiching Over-Student Teaching/England

As some of you may know, this blog has been used in my last semester to blog on my experiences during my clinical setting. I will be shifting my blog to talk about my student teaching experience which starts after this summer. I will not be blogging much until that starts in August, but I will be using the blog to talk about my student teaching experiences, and to blog about my trip to England in the fall. I will not be doing much blogging until student teaching starts, but please feel free and I encourage you to continue to follow my blog to read and connect with me about my students teaching experiences and keep in touch with me while I am in England. There will be a lot of good pictures and reflection on my trip and the work I am doing, so don't miss out! Stay connected and have a great summer!

Chantal

Saying Goodbye...

After this semester, I had grown so close to my students, working with them and teaching multiple lessons in the classroom helped me to see ho much effect I have on my students. Saying goodbye is never easy, but this year my students gave me so many great gifts in return and I wanted to share them with everyone. Here are some of the things they gave me: 

 I will definitely miss this great group of students I worked with and have learned so much from! Have a great summer everyone!