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Last month, I wrote about 10 Things Your Kindergarten Student Wants You to Know. This month, I wanted to share The Truth About Teaching Kindergarten – a bit more about what Kindergarten teachers may want you to know!
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If you are a Kindergarten teacher, you likely already know everything that I am about to say in this post. You know what goes into a typical day in Kindergarten. You know what Kindergarten teachers and students do each and every day.
I used to think everyone understood what goes on in Kindergarten. At least, until I began to be on the receiving end of comments such as these: (Please note that I understand these were sometimes said with the best intentions!)
“Oh, you teach Kindergarten – that must be pretty easy, right?”
“You really like Kindergarten? I would have guessed you would like something a bit more challenging where you do more.”
“Ahh, Kindergarten is fun, you get to teach them the alphabet!”
“It must be fun to play with the kids all day.”
“What do you mean you can’t join us? School gets out at 2:30 right?”
“Oh, they are just so cute! They must be dolls all day long.”
“Back in my day, we had 30 kids in a class, 25 kinders isn’t many.”
“Kindergarten? Well, at least they don’t have to learn too much in Kindergarten.”
I used to (and sometimes still do honestly) get really annoyed at these comments and feel the need to defend myself and Kindergarten teachers everywhere.
Then I realized that the people making these comments actually aren’t making them to be rude. I’ve come to realize that honestly, they just don’t know the truth about Kindergarten.
They think they are just making conversation and actually perhaps giving compliments. People just don’t know, and can I fault them for that?
If I could guarantee that everyone in the world would read this post, that would be glorious. I know the reality is that the people who read this post are probably already teachers. But, I am okay with that! We can stand together and know what really goes on in Kindergarten.
For a good laugh, check out 7 (funny) signs that you are a Kindergarten teacher.
Here is the TRUTH about teaching Kindergarten (from the eyes of this Kindergarten teacher anyway) in direct response to those comments:
Kindergarten is most definitely not easy. I have taught 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade as well where, yes, the content grows and gets more complicated, but I find Kindergarten to be the hardest, in my opinion (and still my favorite) of all. (Not to say other grades aren’t hard – teaching is hard!) You are taking some students who come in literally not knowing any letters or numbers, and unlocking the keys to literacy and math!
Have you looked at the most current standards for what Kindergartners need to know? (I guess if you aren’t a teacher this probably wouldn’t be your weekend leisure reading. 🙂 ) It is not simply ABC’s and 123’s but rather things such as: fluently adding and subtracting within 5, decomposing numbers to 10, adding and subtracting within 10, reading CVC words and high-frequency words, and much, much more.
When I taught older grades, if a student was struggling, I could go back to “the basics” and build up from there. In Kindergarten, we kind of are the basics! If you ask me, sometimes the basics can be the hardest of all to teach, because they are the foundation pieces of future learning.
Forget academics for a minute. Some things we take for granted in a classroom (lining up, going to the bathroom, sitting down, putting things away, etc.) many Kindergartners have NO IDEA how to do at the beginning of the year!
If you think getting 25 Kindergartners in a line to follow you somewhere on the first day is easy, think again. I am telling you, they wander, they don’t understand to follow the person in front of them until many train songs and practice sessions later. If you don’t believe me, come visit me in September. 🙂
Forget routines for a minute. Let’s talk social skills. Kindergarten is a HUGE year for learning social skills.
Things such as taking turns, conversations with peers, how to handle when you don’t get your way, managing emotions. Those things are taught and fostered each day in Kindergarten and do not just “happen.” They also aren’t easy to teach.
This is different than having children at home, where yes, VERY important (perhaps the most important) learning is happening. This is a whole classroom of children at once, each needing social skills support in different areas.
I am not sure what you mean by “do more.” In Kindergarten, I don’t think I ever sit down, unless I am reading a story or working with a small group. Instead, I am constantly on the go, assessing, evaluating, teaching, helping, nurturing, and much more.
If you mean more challenging by more challenging content, see above about why Kindergarten content isn’t necessarily “easy” to teach.
Yes, I do get to teach them the alphabet, and that IS fun! I also teach them what those letters mean and how they relate to our everyday world and reading.
Phonemic awareness, number sense, patterning, life skills, social skills, are more ways I get to prepare them for their journey in school and life.
I do have fun teaching, and we do play in Kindergarten! I am very blessed to be in a school that supports the importance of play at this age. However, “all day” is a bit of a stretch, and I think the term “play” is not correctly understood.
When children are engaging with centers and toys (kitchen, blocks, legos, books, dramatic play, sensory) they are NOT “just playing.”
They are:
– building social skills
– taking turns
– learning how to have conversations
– learning real-life skills and applications
– doing math
– reading
– working on fine motor skills
– being inquirers
– making connections and much, much more
My students leave at 2:30 yes. I am allowed to leave at 4. Do I? Not often.
There is lesson planning, room preparation, paperwork, evaluations, data, and much, MUCH more. A teacher’s work is truly never done.
Yes, however, they are also 5 and 6 years old and learning how to navigate this world of school.
Their social skills are developing and depending on personalities each day can be very different from the next. They may cry, have tantrums, lash out, need more support with interactions, be tired, cranky, and more.
This is to be expected sometimes and it is my job to help them grow! It just, however, isn’t always so “cute.” 🙂
If you asked your teacher I bet he/she would disagree. 🙂 The higher the number of students means less one-on-one time with students. I can assure you I work HARD to ensure that my kids feel like they are the one and only and I ensure that each and every child’s individual needs are met. But I can guarantee that if I had a smaller class size it would be even stronger.
I have heard before, “You are doing great with that many kids!” So my response is, “Well, then imagine what I could do with less!”
While I wouldn’t trade any of them for the world, I know for a fact that smaller class sizes have a significant impact on teachers and students both.
I don’t think I need to answer this one actually. See above. 🙂
No matter if you are a teacher or not, each job in this world has its place and is special in its own way. I truly believe that we can’t fully understand someone’s job unless we do it ourselves.
My hope is that these thoughts can provide a bit of a glimpse into not just a Kindergarten teacher’s day, but really any teacher’s day!
I love teaching. It is such a huge part of me that I can’t really imagine doing anything else! So, for all you teachers out there, Kindergarten or not, keep on doing what you do best!
This post was not meant to just defend or share the hard things I do in a day. I want to end on this positive note with the many wonderful things I do (and every other teacher too) every day!
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80 Responses
Elementary Teachers teach children. Secondary Teachers teach subjects; The general public has no idea what it is like to be a teacher. I think (after 26 years) that the hardest thing about our job is the fact that we are never finished. It doesn’t matter who or what your teaching there is always more that could be prepared and there is never enough time. Thanks to each of you for your opinions.
Yes! This is my first year in K (after 7 in 2nd, 3rd, and mainly 4th) and wow is Kinder a totally different beast than the upper grades! As a teacher in general I’ve come to realize that if our job description were actually accurately written, it would be thicker than a Sunday newspaper.
Thank you Sarah!! Well….I used to say Kindergarten must be the easiest grade to teach….Until I became a K teacher. Truly the most CHALLENGING, yet the MOST rewarding grade I have ever taught! After teaching from college all the way down to K, I would NEVER trade K. Days I laugh, I cry (for good and bad reasons), I rejoice, I get angry. All worth it! The payback is HUGE in so many ways! My kids teach me as much as I teach them, and some days they surpass me. I LOVE MY JOB, not a job, a BLISS! Love the comment of taking my work for a ride😄.
Hi Lanie. I am a college teacher and now I’d love to study a degree in childhood education. May I ask you what makes you changing from college all the way down to K?
Hi Alex
I loved this post it says it all in a nut shell. I currently teach PK and those statements are said to me all the time with the added ones ” So its like babysitting right, playing with the preschoolers all day” and ” I don’t know how you do it you must just tie shoes and wipe noses all day.” I cant help but get angry sometimes and want to get on my soap box and reiterate the words you posted but then I realize these statements come from people who have a complete misunderstanding of what early childhood is all about. I just smile and say ” I love my job how about you?”
I SO understand where you are coming from – aren’t those comments frustrating? We do get them in kinder, but I agree you get added ones on Pre-K. My mom was a preschool teacher for 35 years and people always had those types of comments. She finally got the attitude like you did – just realizing they simply don’t get it. I love your response! Exactly – how many people can say they honestly love their job? We know we can! 🙂
The definition of “play” has been changed. Directed activitiy is not play! Free play is child choice.
Loved this! I’m 31 years in…K since fall of 2005. It is by far the hardest, most rewarding grade. The only thing you missed that I’d add is teaching the parents what school is all about from a usually new perspective. Making them comfortable and earning their trust is so key in September, as well.
Loved reading this.
I taught kindergarten for 3 years and this war I’m in grade 2/3, by choice, but I have to be honest… I really miss my K’s and I’m not really enjoying the older grade.
I think it’s important to note that Kindergarten is a child’s first taste of school and I every time a parent tells me “thank you so much for making his/her first year so enjoyable! He/She absolutely loves going to school” it makes my heart bubble over. Kindergarten is the basics, and if they don’t get the basics, the journey through school will be much harder.
I’m hoping to get through this eat and move back to K next year.
Best of luck on your journey this year! I hope it goes so well, but I also hope you get to go back to Kinder if you want – it is definitely a special year! You are right, it is so wonderful when they enjoy school and love to be there – definitely makes my heart happy too! 🙂
A wonderful post, Alex. Behaviour issues can be frustrating, especially at the beginning of the year. All it takes is one child being disruptive and there goes the next 15 mins you were going to use for phonics. That’s why older grade teachers don’t want Kinder… it can be completely unpredictable at times!
Thanks so much Liz! Kindergarten is definitely unpredictable at times! Such a special grade and so rewarding!
Thank you so much for such an acculturate post describing what teaching Kindergarten is really like. I think those who do not teach do not grasp how a teacher's day is spent. I think there is little understanding of how much of our time also goes to educating and teaching parents. Kindergarten is the introduction to elementary school. Sometimes we spend as much time teaching parents as we do their children.
That's true in Finnish preschools as well. 🙂 Though our kids might be there from 8 to 17 and the teachers may not have any time for planning etc. That's a really negative thing in our Early Childhood Education system… And still I love being a teacher, as crazy as it sounds. 😉
– Susanna
I'm in my 13th year in Kindergarten and I wouldn't trade it for anything. One thing that many people don't know is that not only are we introducing the students to elementary school but we're also introducing their parents! That can sometimes be more work than what we are doing in the classroom. Such a great post! Thank you for this!
I teach kindergarten and can't imagine teaching anything else now. However, I do get frustrated by comments on occasion. The best was while I taught Early Childhood Special Education. It was a self-contained and a cross categorical classroom. All my students had IEPs and I actually had another teacher say "Come on, you're just babysitting, right?" Your post is great and I too, wish that everyone would read your blog!