For the First Year Kindergarten Teacher
Wow! Being a first year kindergarten teacher is so incredibly exciting! Along with the excitement, you have loads of planning and preparation to accomplish. Even if you have experience in other grades, the first day of kindergarten is, by far, like no other! In this post, I will provide you with tips for a first year kindergarten teacher and a free routine checklist download!
At the beginning of the school year, when you take your little kinders under your wing, they are still just babies. Some kindergarteners have no experience in a structured school setting, and some may want to run the class for you! There is a wide range of experiences and abilities, and it is our job to figure out how to reach them all.
One of the most rewarding parts of teaching kindergarten is seeing how much your children grow from the beginning of the year to the end of the year. Your students will go from being just “babies” to confident, big(ger) kids! Kindergarten is an important year in every child’s life, setting the foundation for each subsequent school year.
Here are my tips for a first year kindergarten teacher! (free routine checklist download below)
1)Baby Steps
Break it down.
Although you think you have already broken it down, break it down again.
Some of these little bodies have never been in a classroom setting before and have NO idea what to expect. Most kiddos have NO idea how to sit on the carpet, sit at their seats, use the bathroom properly (yup!), walk, sit for more than 10 seconds, follow a half-step direction, and I can go on.
For example, you can’t just say, “Cut out the square”. Some kids may never have held scissors before. You would need to break this step down into teeny, tiny steps – Pick up your scissors, thumb in the circle, fingers in the oval, pick up your paper with the other hand, and so on. You may even want to back up and just teach how to hold scissors first! Then practice this many times.
Another example, and always the most fun to teach, is using the bathroom! This is always one of the first things I teach my students because someone always needs to use the bathroom first thing in the morning! As you progress through your years as a kindergarten teacher, you will acquire many funny (and not so funny) bathroom stories. Be sure to break down and explain bathroom rules and expectations early in the day.
In kindergarten, you can never break it down enough in the beginning. The more you practice these simple, broken down routines, the more automatic the routines become and easier your classroom management routine will be in the future. It is much harder, say in a month or so, to go back and teach these beginning steps.
2) Classroom Daily Schedule
Before the school year begins, take time to think about what you want your daily classroom schedule to look like. Take into account:
- Your school schedules
- Duties
- Student pullouts and support
- Push-in support
- Breaks
- Daily specials
For kindergarten, I like all of my literacy-based subjects to be in the morning. Morning is when I find my students most attentive to low-key tasks, like independent reading and writing, and I can get my guided reading groups done. In the afternoon, we do more hands-on activities like math groups, science, specials and social play centers. Just remember, your schedule could always be adjusted once the school year starts if something isn’t working out.
3) Kindergarten Classroom Routines and Procedures
Before the school year begins, think about how you want your classroom to “run”. What classroom routines and procedures do you think will help your classroom to run smoothly and will maximize learning? When thinking of your routines, you do not want to make your day more difficult by adding more to your plate. Try to construct routines that help students to become independent that that
As always, you may plan out a routine and think that it is great! But find out later that it isn’t working with your specific group of kiddos. THAT IS OKAY! It just means you need to adjust your plan and try something different.
For example, each of my students has their own reading bin with their “just right books.” They use them for independent and partner reading times. When it is time to clean up from reading, my students place their book bins back on the shelf, one after the other. This is so students are not placing the bins randomly on the shelf or trying to be next to friends. This worked great for a few years! Then, the next year I had a group of children that needed a bit more, let’s say, “direction.” I taught the students the same routine, just as I always have done. After a few weeks of constant practice, review, and more practice, this routine just didn’t work. I had to change my routine. I placed name labels on the shelf, and when cleaning up, the students placed their book bin on their name label. Then we were in business!
It is okay to change your plan and routine. Actually, it will most likely happen with some aspect of your classroom routine. As teachers, we “roll with the punches” and adjust as needed.
4) Make Time To Play (for the kids)
Kindergarteners NEED to have played in their day. Play in kindergarten provides students with real-life opportunities for social-emotional, and academic development. Children need to have real experiences communicating with peers during cooperative play. All districts may differ on the outlook of play in the kindergarten classroom, so check on your district’s or schools positioning. Here is a great article from NEA Today about the importance of play in kindergarten.
There are countless ways to integrate academics and standards into play-based activities. For example, students can create a menu for the kitchen/restaurant center. Creating the menu incorporates both reading, writing, speaking and listening. Another example is a puppet center. Students can retell stories using puppets, incorporating reading, speaking, and listening. Get creative with how you can use play in your kindergarten classroom!
5) Take a Break (for the teacher)
Although taking a break sounds easy, it most definitely is not! I never followed this piece of advice as a first year kindergarten teacher. The excitement and drive to create the classroom of your dreams can very easily consume you.
After being hired for my kindergarten teacher position, I would eat, sleep, and breathe classroom and routine creation. One thing I had always loved was going to the gym, but I completely stopped going because I had a new love – my classroom. I also stopped watching movies and TV with my husband at night because I was absorbed with creating for my classroom. My husband was happy for me and supported me, but ALL of my time being exhausted on everything kindergarten, and it was causing a distance between us.
I am happy to report, and it took me until my third year of teaching to realize this, that home-life and work-life needs a healthy separation. Be sure each day to take a mental break; take a walk, go to the gym, watch a movie, read a book, take your kids to the park, go out to dinner, whatever you enjoy doing. Have a life outside of teaching and thinking about school.
A Fun Classroom Management Resource
Sarah, at the Little Learning Corner, explains how she uses “smelly spots” for rewarding positive behavior in the classroom! It is absolutely genious and there is a whole psychology behind it! Smelly spots are a fabulous idea for a first year kindergarten teacher. You can read Sarah’s smelly spot blog post here!
Sarah also writes about the 2o Basics of a Kindergarten Classroom, helping new kindergarten teachers with classroom setup, transitions, and so much more. It is an informative read!
Using Social Media As An Educator
Social media is a big part of education inspiration and connecting with like-minded teachers. Evie, from the Introverted Online Teacher, has a 4-part blog series about Mindful Social Media for Educators. She also has a printable social media questions and reflection freebie!
Sensory Bin Kit
Some of the most difficult parts of sensory bin implementation are the gathering and preparation of the bins, aligning activities to curriculum and standards, and then the storage of all the materials. I have heard your struggles and been in the trenches with you! This is why I have created the Ultimate Sensory Box.
The Ultimate Sensory Box is the complete sensory bin toolkit that helps preschool and kindergarten teachers teach state standards while remaining developmentally appropriate and adding more opportunities for students to learn through play. Each box contains 16 intentionally-planned and creative activities along with everything that is needed! The only item not included is the sensory bin itself.
You can view the Ultimate Sensory Box listing on Cratejoy here!
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Get started planning and download the free workbook below!
First-year kindergarten teacher, you’ve got this! Your training, experience, and preparation will help you to overcome anything! Understand that no matter how much planning and organization you do, there will be some things that need to be tweaked along the way. That is okay and recognizing that you need to make a change or deviate from your plan is being a GREAT teacher.
Before you go, be sure to download your free routine planning workbook to help you get started thinking about your classroom routines and which routines will be important to you. I also have a post about ideas for fun, essential products for your classroom here if you are looking for some recommendations and ideas. Grab this workbook below!
Be sure to tag me on Instagram with any tips you are using from the post today @sparkling.in.primary. I love to hear from my readers! Have an amazing school year and check back in with me!!!