Centering in Kindergarten

Last Wednesday, my last kindergarten class of the day was sleepily traipsing into the art room.  As one student walked passed me on his way to the carpet, he through his back and said, "Ugh. School is rough!"  He wasn't looking at me or his teacher.  He wasn't seeking a reaction...granted this was from a student who has a flare for the dramatic...even taking this into account, I still felt that his comment was genuine.  It made me stop and think.  It also laid to rest any uncertainty I was still feeling about my quest towards Choice-Based teaching at the kindergarten level.  School IS rough for many students in many ways.  Period.  Especially during these early months of the year when kindergarten students are learning and testing...and learning again and testing again...the boundaries.  The kindergarten school day is much more academic than it used to be.  This means that the time left for simple behavior and social education becomes limited.  It doesn't go untaught by any means, but with the added pressure of getting students up to speed academically, these basic lessons about what it means to be a person out in the big world don't get the focus they need...in my personal opinion.  In order to feel as if I am making some effort toward rectifying this imbalance, it seems the least I can do is bolster our students' awareness of their surroundings, their community, and eventually the concept of a greater good in general.  Sounds like a lofty goal, I know.

So, with an eye toward the greater good, I'm finally making some headway on the next steps in the slow-but-sure implementation of Choice Based Centers in my kindergarten art room.  I have resigned myself to the fact that it is going to take some time.  In fact, it is better if it takes some time.  I have also started gearing my projects and classroom procedures towards the eventual roll-out of full student choice.  I have found tremendously helpful insight in the book Engaging Learners Through Artmaking: Choice Based Art Education in the Classroom by Katherine Douglas and Diane Jaquith.  They very clearly state that the progression for teacher driven curriculum to full student choice should happen over time...for obvious reasons; though, for those of us who sometimes have trouble being patient when it comes to processes of this sort, fortitude is key.