Common Core Standards are driving me batty! Don't get me wrong, I think they are great and our kids can meet them and I don't mind teaching them BUT seriously trying to write each week is getting on my nerves. Our school decided it made sense (which it does) that Kindergarten should go ahead and use them this year since this group of kids will be the first group of kids tested on them in their third grade ISAT so here we go, and this year our superintendant decided for every lesson we as teachers have to write the objective/standard on the board and the students need to be able to say what it is for every lesson - which is a great idea - BUT (here is another but) in kindergarten where we change lessons every 15 minutes or there may by 5 standards that apply let alone center time where we have 5 or 6 different activities going at once and right now I can barely keep them sitting still or get them to stop talking let alone hop and down and write different things on the board and explain it, these are just random things that are worrying me right now...any thoughts??
OH! and the math standards for kindergarten where are the patterns????
(DId I mention I had a big class this year? I know some of you do too. What was in the water 5 years ago :) So many babies born - By the way my friend in Oklahoma is a labor and delivery nurse and she warned in August alone this year at her hospital there were 451 babies born (mostly boys) she thought that maybe in 5 years we'd all want to retire HAHA! Anyway I am just talking "outloud" trying to see if anyone else is mucking through this too. Have a great day!
Love ya! Jamie
Too funny! I appreciate your honesty and how you show that you are also human, Jamie! I know exactly what you mean. Just yesterday I was teaching my first lesson on the 6 Traits of Writing (something our district has adopted). Here I am talking about ideas, word choice, etc. when an adorable five year old boy looked up at me and said, "Mrs. Tweit, what's a word?" I have to slow down sometimes and remember they have only been on this earth for 5 years! We decided to finally split my large class in the mornings. This is wonderful but of course another change in kindergarten is always stressful, for the students AND their teacher! I feel like I am starting my first week all over again establishing procedures and routines. Thanks for giving me a place to go to that feels like "home"...the Kindergarten Konnection!
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Angie
That made me smile :) I am so glad to have friends who "get me"! (what's a word?!) classic...today I was gviing a talk mostly to myself because I had lost my mind and I was reminding them to speak in quiet voices, listen blah blah blah and here is where I went wrong...raise your hands if you know the answer we can't just all yell blah blah blah SO we all know what happened at this point...everyone raised their hand...UGH...know one listens to me...plus I know I was just talking to myself....it just made me sorta feel better to think I was trying...day 9 down...research says it takes at least 4-6 weeks before the routines are firmly established and we are on track...so we have to be like Dory "just keep swimming, just keep swimming just keep swimming, swimming...." We will get there! :)
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