I'm sure many of you have heard me extol the virtues of Holy Cross, since it's a subject I never tire of :-)... I decided to tell you guys about a typical school day for David. I think it will be a good journal post to look back on one day and I think it will also help clear up any misconceptions about what they actually do in kindergarten.
On the drive to school we talk of random things. Friends, travel, the sky, experiments, what dissolves in water, planets, cars, speeding, cops... And we also sing. David loves all the popular songs like Airplane, Billionaire, Alejandro, etc. so I bought him the Kids Bop CD of the songs and we jam to that on the way. It takes about 12 minutes to get to school so after this burst of conversation and a few songs we pull up at school. David is a drop-off kid - heaven forbid if you want to walk him in. That is NOT COOL!!! So I pull up to the car-pool line and Coach opens the door and watches (no help, mind you) David jump out and put on his backpack and stroll confidently in the door.
If he’s dropped off before 7:50 then he goes down to the Extended Day room and visits with friends until the first bell. If he’s dropped off at 7:50 or later he goes straight to his classroom. Upon arriving in the classroom he turns his “I’m present” card around, hangs up his backpack and heads to his seat. Once in his seat he plays with math pattern cards or blocks or links. Once everyone is seated his teacher goes through her morning greetings and then has them line up for Chapel. They go outside and walk the short distance to the Chapel and have their daily 20 minute service (on Wed. it’s longer because of visiting priest and Eucharist).
After Chapel they return to the classroom for lessons. Some of this is taught at their desks, some is taught on the floor in circle-time style. Some is taught in centers. They learn a concept with lecture, interactive talk and activity; sometimes a craft type, sometimes a worksheet, sometimes a game, sometimes by acting, sometimes on the computer, sometimes in centers, etc. One of the funny things to me is if you go to the board and are asked to choose an answer from what is up there you can swat the correct answer with a flyswatter. That is so smart – what 5-year-old doesn’t want to swat something!!
After lesson they have morning snack. This consists of whatever you send from home. Snack is either at their desk or right outside their room at the picnic tables on the veranda.
Following snack they head to their 2 enrichment classes of the day. Each enrichment has its own teacher and its own classroom so you get a change of pace. As I said there are 2 a day and they are 30 minutes each. The enrichment classes are: PE, Spanish, Music, Art, Computer and Library. Now this doesn’t mean they don’t have recess everyday and Spanish, music, art and computer in their actual classroom. These enrichments are just concentrated times on that activity with a teacher who specializes in that.
After enrichment you come back to the classroom and usually recess. Recess ends a little before noon, which is dismissal time for Kindergarten. A small handful of children are picked up at noon and the majority stay for lunch bunch. A different teacher takes over for afternoon care. She does lunch with the kids, takes them outside to play and then brings them back in and gets them settled for quiet time. Some kids are picked up after lunch bunch, but again the majority stay for the day. Quiet time lasts for an hour – some sleep, some don’t. However, you have to stay quietly on your napper during the hour. Once quiet time ends you have snack and then go outside again. After outside you come in and play.
David loves every aspect of this. I don’t think he ever gets bored. He is on the go all day long. When I pick him up each afternoon he is always mad that I didn’t let him stay longer and lately he’s been asking to spend the night there.
When we load up to go home he is talking non-stop about his day – he can’t hardly get a breath he is talking so much and so excited. It’s just amazing to me!! And we have had some serious behavior issues with David at home and also at his 3-year-old preschool, but here we have none. Twice in his 4k year he was put on yellow and so far this year he’s stayed on green. I really believe all the components of his day keep him so occupied that he doesn’t get bored, which leads to his bad behavior. Also there are only 12 kids per K class so he gets plenty of attention.
Well, if you’ve stayed with this post I am really impressed. It went longer than planned. But – if you’ve ever wondered about kindergarten, now you know. And I hope I have covered the concerns re: too much structure, too much time at their desks, kids need to be kids, etc. I know that was a concern I had before becoming a part of the HC family and now I know there is much more to a great school then the desks!!!!!!!
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