Wow, has it really been half a year since we started?! I’m literally amazed at how the time flies during the school year. Starting back the school year after a LONG break followed by two extra winter weather days was tough for me! It seemed like we needed to get back in the groove of things, but I didn’t feel rushed. We took a few days to slow down and ease back into our routines, which worked out really well for my sweet four and five year olds.
As I look back over the seemingly short month, we’ve accomplished QUITE a bit. For one, my students transitioned into doing small groups outside of centers and and that meant that we incorporated independent groups, which quite honestly, I thought it would be a HUGE disaster. It wasn’t. It was wonderful. My students were calm, produced great work, and had fun. I was relaxed about small groups and I felt less guilty because I knew each child was getting some smaller, structured learning opportunities for them.
We also had a new student, Audrey start with us in the beginning of January. She was welcomed with open arms by my class! They were so loving and accepting of her, and helped her learn the routine. She even found a heart friend that stuck close by for the first week of school. I was so proud and amazed at the class community that I witnessed during this time. I can’t help but think back to the work I did with my class using Becky Bailey’s Conscious Discipline method and how making the classroom a safe and inviting place allowed this kind of culture when Audrey came in.
Even though we’re making a lot of progress, there’s still so much to work on. A lot of my lows were interactions I had with students, or interactions I witnessed between peers. I got a little sad thinking about how there was one student who frustrated me to NO END with his arguments when I asked something of him. I wanted to avoid interactions with this kid (he’s 5!) because I had a hard time articulating my ideas to him. After reading the Assertiveness chapter in Conscious Discipline, I realized that wanting to escape confrontation was deeply rooted in my personality and came out during my interactions with my students. I wanted to do something about it and decided that if my students are going to learn how to be assertive and stand up for themselves, they needed to see me do it. Even though I’m not going to necessarily “stand up” to a 5 year old, I needed to do something about my interactions with him. Instead of ignoring his behavior, I decided to try and make a connection with him. A real relationship. I started sitting next to him a lunch, and finding him in centers to invest in his interests. I’m not sure where this is going to take us, but I hope I can establish a mutual respect and relationship between us--because at the end of the day, I don’t want to prove how right I am to him, I just want him to be prepared for real relationships the remainder of his life.
There a few other highs and lows, such as morning meeting being on the ups, and incorporating some different multiple intelligences into my practice, rushing around to have my lessons in order, planning lessons that weren’t very interesting to my students, and our class pet dying. But all in all, it’s been a great month because even though vacation is awesome, I missed my kiddos and love getting to spend every day with them and growing together!
***This post is dedicated to Mr. Cho Bing, beloved hamster of Suburban Nursery Pre-K. Mr. Cho Bing passed away on January 23, 2014 and is survived by 22 loving Pre-K students!***
