Teaching Kindergarten

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Teaching Kindergarten

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Many American children participate in all-day kindergarten programs, and there are some kindergarten programs that are only ½ day. But how kindergartners spend their time in the classroom is more critical than the amount of time children spend in the classroom. Longer days filled with less effective activities will yield no educational advantages. In some ways the traditional half-day kindergarten program is the best way to teach kindergarten.

Specialists have emphasized the central role of play in young children’s learning for some time now. It is obvious for parents and teachers to see that spontaneous play is a natural way of learning. Playing provides a wide range and real depth of learning in all domains of development: physical, emotional, social, and intellectual. Thus, play is essential in teaching kindergarten.

Lessons can be games, in fact, many lessons can be games when teaching kindergarten
· For example: you can divide the group into teams and have the lesson prepared on a large easel pad (which will be available at most office supply stores).

Depending on the lesson (letters, colors, simple words etc.) set up various examples of what you are learning.
On the first page will be a picture of a cat. The cat is gray. The cat has a pink round ball of string. Underneath the cat are the letters CAT.

One team will be asked what color is the cat. If the answer correctly they will continue (if they answer incorrectly the next team will try). Then the children will be asked what else is in the picture (the ball of string) they will be asked what color and shape it is. The next page will have a similar task for the next group. You should keep score so that whatever team gets the most points wins.

Many specialists have said that young children are “natural scientists”. Children devote much of their energy to learning all aspects of their own culture: i.e. language, stories, music, etc. Children investigate with all their senses and emerging skills what people mean when they speak, when certain behaviors are appropriate and when they should refrain from certain behaviors, where things come from and what they are for etc. Appropriate curriculum and teaching methods for teaching kindergarten feature the importance of children's feelings, behavior and emotions in classroom and other group settings.

· For example, kindergarten children can undertake projects in which they investigate a real event or object.
The best advice for teaching kindergarten these types of projects is to use integrated topic studies, rather than whole-group instruction in isolated skills.

In teaching kindergarten provide opportunities for the students to learn by observing and experimenting with real objects; There should be a balance of child- and teacher-initiated activities. You can make a lesson from a child’s question or observation. Specifically: in outdoor excursion little Suzie finds two leaves that are different shapes. She asks you about the leaves and all of a sudden you have a lesson. You can explain to the class that there are many kinds of trees—that they are al the same in some ways and that they are all different in some ways. Have an open discussion—and ask the children what is different about the leaves, and what is similar.

For children who stay in class all day teaching kindergarten is different than teaching kindergarten for children who come to class for a half-day. The children who come all day will require recess, lunch, snacks and even naps. Remember, most children in your kindergarten class have short attention spans. You need to break up your day so that none of them gets bored and “tunes out” you lessons. One of the most important things to remember when teaching kindergarten is to keep it fun!

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Kindergarten
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