I spent a day in Kindergarten on Friday, thanks to a teacher acquaintance who kindly allowed me to volunteer all day so I could observe her classroom management style.

I have substituted a few times in kindergarten, once in preschool (fortunately for me that was the time the most-amazing para S.H. was there, and since she knew the routines and songs she led the class and I assisted her!), and a few times in primary grades. Almost every time I have felt myself lacking in the ability to anticipate student needs and provide the nurturing environment the children are used to. I wasn’t sure how much children in the youngest grades could handle in terms of being asked to sit still or listen quietly. I wasn’t aware how much time it took to transition from one task to another. And I wasn’t sure how to explain tasks to children whose vocabulary and academic experiences were pretty minimal.

So my experiences in those classrooms tended to be less-than-satisfying, for me as well as for the children.

I determined to get some actual experience with a teacher who could discuss with me rationales and expectations. I just wasn’t sure at first how to do it, since my own mother has retired, until I was at one of my regular haunts and almost spontaneously asked this teacher who has always been so encouraging and positive. I was so happy when she said yes!

First off: even kindergartners can be expected to listen politely, keep their hands and feet to themselves, and participate in discussions. It’s a matter of timing — they can’t sit for long, or listen for long, and their speech is often not well organized yet. So it’s important to allow for movement in the middle of almost anything; a short song, moving while they chant (alphabet, math facts…), or just enough room to wiggle a little while they listen to a story or watch a short video.

Second: transitions take a LOT of time – don’t expect kids to have their materials put away in five minutes, to line up in three minutes, or be ready for anything in under ten minutes. A warning that the activity is about to end, notice that it has ended and what they need to do next, supervision and assistance (and reminders), and expect it to take a little longer as a substitute or at the beginning of the year! It took the regular teacher between five and seven minutes for most transitions, I think my record in kindergarten was ten, and that was mostly luck.

Third: SONGs and short videos WORK! They capture their attention, allow the students to interact and think about materials (and memorize basic facts and ideas), and give the teacher a minibreak from being completely “on.” I think I will preload some appropriate primary-level math and language arts videos or songs on my ipad so I am prepared. If all else fails, the kids will probably know a couple little songs their teacher has taught them.

Fourth: Routines are very important (at any age, but particularly in primary grades). I won’t know them! The kids will know the routines, but they CAN understand that I don’t. SO… I can think about how things normally go, look at the teacher’s schedule and then talk with the kids first thing in the morning about how I know it will be different and that it will be okay even if it’s different. As much as possible, I want to keep things pretty normal for the students, but I also want to be clear with them that there will be differences. Once that is in place, I CAN and will expect the kids to listen, to do their best to do what is asked, and to be safe at all times.

Last: I don’t have to be the perfect teacher. It is more important that the kids are comfortable, safe and getting along. Even once I have my own classroom it will be important to help the students feel safe and wanted, and to have positive feelings (as much as possible) about education in general, and their learning in particular. The teacher I was with on Friday says that for her, relationships are the foundation for instruction. She focuses on helping the students learn routines, feel comfortable in the learning environment and be comfortable with her and with each other.

I reviewed my personal teaching philosophy just before I wrote this, and found that the last item is high on my own list as well. But I hadn’t realized how important it is at the youngest grades. Relationships build trust, trust in a teacher’s intention helps students become more comfortable with the learning process which can be confusing at times.

Ultimately, I found that I can relax. The kindergartners are going to be okay. The day will be different from their normal, but they will be okay. All I need to do is help them know what is going on throughout the day and be flexible. In other words, the same thing I do with older kids, but in shorter time increments.

I can do this!

And it is fun.