This was shared with me a long time ago. I keep it in my files to refer back to with parents and co-workers to explain how important a variety of activities can help their children/students. Once again, another reason to let the children play with small parts and experience different materials to manipulate on a regular basis. Get out of the desks/tables and chairs. Always ask the question, when planning your lessons, "How can I get the students involved to physically do something and move their body?"
Development in Kindergarten goes beyond just reading, writing, and arithmetic! When I first started teaching in K5, I had to fight for that thought process. Everyone thought the students were so smart because they could read or add or even multiply...but I saw the gaps that made me very concerned that the parents and school directors were missing! We even had to deal with parents who thought their child was "too smart for Kindergarten" or "they are just bored and I want them challenged" and they wanted their child to be moved up to First grade. WHOA! Everyone thinks their child a genius, and I agree, children are smart. They learn things quickly...look at how much they learn and develop in a short 5 years! But as parents and educators, we cannot be one dimensional! Children are developing mentally, emotionally, physically, psychologically, socially, and spiritually. There is a progression in development and if you skip through or around certain milestones, you are setting your child up for difficulty in another developmental stage. SLOW DOWN...in this age of social media and a life lived based on LIKES...STOP! There is no one who can make a child learn faster than what they are developmentally ready for at a given time. And from this teacher, if these same little genius students are the same ones who cannot hold a pencil and write, use the bathroom correctly, obey other authority, or sit and pick their nose and eat it during lesson time...then I submit to you...they need to finish Kindergarten and let time help mature them in more ways than just the ones that parents want to focus on because it makes them feel good. Teachers, do yourself a favor and spend time researching and reading! You need to understand the what, why, how, where, and when of all the things you are teaching...no matter the grade level! Stay balanced in your approach. Be confident in what you do by always taking time to learn!
Kindergarten is more than just fine motor skills or a single academic skill...it is the foundation for the whole educational journey! Make it productive and fun!
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