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. 

Being a Good Listener

Over the last week or two I've made a discovery--or more realistically, I finally faced a problem area in my teaching day that has needed attention.  I realized that in the frenzy to keep up with all the logistics of my day--class to class, school to school, paint spill to untied shoe--I wasn't being a great listener.  One of the things about my job that I find most rewarding is the fact that I get to teach a class that allows room for socialization and a lot of sharing.  My most favorite thing to do is to step back and listen while students are working.  Over the last few weeks, this aspect of my job somehow fell out of the forefront of my mind and priorities.  In all honesty, I'm somewhat in mourning for all the fascinating tid-bits of thought I've missed over the past month or so.  To rectify this problem, I took a few steps that have been fairly helpful.
1.  I've geared my morning routine so that it now includes more exercise and less coffee.  I have more energy and patience which means I have more room in my brain to deal with the day to day things that may come up and can stay calm, able to listen and in the moment.

2.  I've structured sharing moments into every class.

3.  I've become more in tune with the rhythm of my classes--that sounds odd, but no two classes are the same so can't be taught exactly the same.  I have kindergarten classes at the end of the day every day.  The first in line starts art immediately after their afternoon recess.  This means their energy is really high and scattered.  I have to start at their level, grab their attention, and then bring them back down to an operating level that is more conducive to a successful, not-crazy art class.

4.  I've started keeping a little notebook near me all the time so I can quickly jot down kid quotes and thoughts as they come out.

5.  Above all, I'm constantly reminding myself to remain calm and comfortable and to not latch on to too much power in the classroom.  This alone creates an open and comfortable atmosphere where students want to share ideas and thoughts.  It's taken me some time to really see this but, power and control are not the same thing.  Students need room to guide themselves freely and to THINK their way through a series of given tasks.  This doesn't mean I let them go at it with no direction.  It means I let them veer from the plan if they want to or if they have a better way of doing something that I hadn't thought of.  More often than not their ideas are successful, and when they aren't they've learned firsthand that some ideas are better than others--and that's OK!

In reviewing the success of these few steps, I think they're working fairly well.  If not for paying closer attention to these aspects of my day listen to what I would have missed....

Kindergarten conversation 1:
Carson:  "My step-mom's cat died because blood was coming from its privates and he went to heaven.
(side note: there is no such thing as TMI when you're 5!)  

Jim: "What's heaven, Carson?"

Max: "Heaven is a place in the sky by God and the dead angels.  You become a dead angel when you go there.

Kindergarten conversation 2:  (On the opposite end of the insight spectrum....)

Javin: "Pee-pee."

Austin: "You can say that again!"

Javin: "Pee-pee."

Austin: "You can say that again!"

---Repeat about 5 more times....you get the idea!---

Long story short, when you start listening, there is no end to the fascinating things kids say.  No, there not always insightful, but in my opinion, any thought that a person between the ages of 5 and 8 (as is my clientele) can commit to words is worth listening to.