I think one period was spent having the rest of the class interview the author of the week about the stories she’d written. I also remember Author of the Week each student got a week during which all of the books they’d written during class were displayed on a bookcase near the front of the classroom. It was lovely! And it has stayed with me.
THE MEMORIES KINDERGARTEN 2 FULL
I loved the Quiet Corner! I remember it being a little structure made out of cardboard, very dark and full of pillows, where we could go when we wanted to spend some time being quiet. I remember sitting at a table drawing something and you telling me I did a good job and feeling very warm and happy. When I finally learned, I felt very accomplished. Your name went up on some board when you learned to tie your shoes? I was trying to learn and was struggling, and I really wanted my name to be on the board, but was also very conscious of it not being on the board. I remember being picked up by my Aunt on the day my brother was born, and some time later (a few weeks? months?) my mother bringing baby David into class so all of us students could take turns tracing him on large white paper! That was just when they opened, now they’ve been in the neighborhood for ‘as long as I can remember.’ Funny. I remember eating roasted corn with our student teacher (was her name Liz? I don’t remember now…I remember quite clearly that she liked to eat mango, and told us stories about eating it messily) at the restaurant. It’s funny what kids get really excited about, but I’m sure I received some special attention from my classmates because it was close/my family was there. I do remember our trip to Madiba, and feeling like a celebrity because the restaurant was near my parent’s house (.?). I also remember nap time, because what adult doesn’t reminisce about nap time. And I remember eating my pudding (dessert) first at lunch and it gave me a stomach-ache. I remember Backwards Day, which I always thought could be more backwards. It had a pillow on the bottom and cut outs on the side. There was a giant refrigerator box for time out. It was always better to choose the ‘special activity’ or the one all your friends chose. I also remember days when I would choose something like puzzles at Choice Time because I thought I wanted to do something quiet by myself, but then I’d be bored halfway through and regret my decision. We had a big tank with a bunch of bugs and we could pick them up with tweezers if we wanted to. Of course my fav was nap time on our phenomenal blue mats. I remember building block time with Nick and David. I think the singing is what sticks out most for me. I remember singing! I think we sang Blue Skies, and I think maybe the Banana Boat Song? I remember visiting the fire station on Union Street and getting to slide down the pole. And I remember smearing shaving cream on the desks. I remember choice time and playing at the fake kitchen/home area. When I think about kindergarten I remember performing plays, Billy Goat Gruff, writing poems, and Peter the turtle :):):) It was a lot of fun learning about the various bridges and building the replica. I think my most vivid memory is waking across the Brooklyn Bridge replica we made. Let me share some of what they shared with me. My former students are now in their twenties, perhaps a few almost hitting thirty! I wondered, “Would they actually remember anything at all after all of those years?” I finally decided to contact some former students and parents of students and ask them if they could write down one kindergarten memory. I have become obsessed with this question of what children will remember after spending the year visiting kindergartens, speaking with teachers, and listening to parents.
What will the children remember, years from now, about their year in kindergarten? When their days are filled with lessons in reading, writing, mathematics, and phonics, will they have fond memories of an exciting Fundations lesson? With days devoid of play, indoors and outdoors, will they lovingly remember the experience of reading “back-to-back” and then “shoulder-to-shoulder”?
0 kommentar(er)
