2 Grades 1 Classroom

For Day 3 of Catholic School's Week the kindergarten class (which is located in a separate building) came to our school to take part in the day's activities. The students were at our school from 9-1:30 and the first grade classroom was their new "home" for day. Going from a class of 9 to a class of now 26 with all of the additional students was slightly overwhelming. A class of 26 may be fairly average for some schools so it wasn't so much the number of students that I was overwhelmed by. There are actually 2 specific reasons I would like to discuss.

Reason one: Growth Gap

From the beginning of kindergarten to the end of first grade there is astounding growth in a student. When you are with your students daily, it's hard to notice that growth day to day. It is also challenging to think about where they were academically and developmentally a year ago. Well, today I had the opportunity to see (approximately) just how far my students have some in a year. The lack of self-control and independence was what stood out the most to me when it came to developmental growth. The kindergarten students could not resist from getting out of their seats and moving about the classroom; they could not complete their assignments unless an adult was working with them and a small group; they couldn't walk on the stairs one foot at a time, and the list could go on. Academically I was absolutely astonished when comparing the writing samples of the kindergarten class to my first grade less. I was able to see a great example of how much a student's handwriting, sentence structure ,and  letter and word formation develops in just a year. This experience of working with two grades of students at once was a brand new opportunity for me and not something I ever was exposed to before (in a classroom setting). I kept catching myself comparing two students from the two different grades which was unfair. I was holding the kindergarten students to the same level I was my first graders. My class was in kindergarten at one time too. They acted and performed academically just like these students did today. And that is okay! Growth is a part of education.

Reason two: Teaching Styles

I have been in this classroom since August. This is without a doubt the most exposure I have had to one teacher (not counting being a student). I am used to her teaching styles, her classroom and behavior management and her organization. I actually see a lot of myself in her. The kindergarten teacher that joined our classroom today was opposite from my co-op in almost every possible way. That also made the day more difficult. I was used to managing the classroom how my co-op does. When you add 17 children to our classroom, classroom management is that much more necessary. However, you now are managing a majority of students that aren't yours AND that are not used to following any similar type of classroom management. It was a challenging day but it was a great learning experience.

On the upside of thinks; Luckily, I don't think this is a situation I will ever regularly be in.