Hi! I am a PreK teacher, and am working on a policy proposal for upcoming full day kindergarten being implemented in my state soon. My question for you all is A) If you CURRENTLY have a play-based kindergarten program (full day) can you let me know HOW you implement this? Is it a 50-60 min block of free play? Play based academics? Manipulatives? Also WHO told you to use play based strategies ? Did you receive training from your district? Was it a hard rule? B) if you do NOT have a play based program would you LIKE to have one? What questions do you have? What supports would you need as an edu ..read more

We have had an AMAZING kindergarten teacher for my son. I know she knows how much we (and every other parent) appreciates her.. but I'm drawing a blank on a gift for her. I did get her favorite candy and a candle that smells like the candy. I'm trying to stay away from mugs because she has a TON displayed in her classroom. What does a kindergarten teacher always need? What's probably running low now that it's the last month of school? I did get a GREAT deal around Christmas and bought/gave more than enough crayons probably for this year and next..? submitted by /u/thatjessgirl91 [visit reddi ..read more

I've been trying to look online what a Texas public school is required to tell parents but have not been successful. I recently heard from a parent that an older student had brought a knife and hit list to school. The student was suspended for a few days. The school campus is just one building. Younger students eat in the cafeteria directly by the older students so there is daily prolonged interaction. Parents volunteer to monitor the lunch room. There is one school resource officer. Anyway, the admin emailed parents with students in the same grade as the student who brought the knife and hit ..read more

I'm not sure if I'm overthinking or not, but I have to teach a mini lesson in front of a school board to kindergarteners in 2 days. I keep writing lesson plans and scrapping them because I think they're not good enough. One of the ideas I came up with is a lesson about shapes and counting their sides, but that's too early kindergarten, right? I'm trying to think of a standard that applies to late kindergarten that I could fit into 10-15 minutes. What did you do that was successful? submitted by /u/royalwoods07456 [visit reddit] [comments ..read more

My daughter does not understand boundaries. We talk to her about it constantly. Last week her teacher had to talk to me about how my daughter is pinning down kids on the playground. We talked to her about it and wouldn’t let her go to gymnastics that week. I thought she understood and then today we were outside and she smacked our neighbor on the butt as hard as she could. We sent her to her room the rest of the evening and have threatened to take her completely out of gymnastics. None of this seems to bother her. I’m not sure I’m doing enough to get through to her. Does anyone have any advic ..read more

we try to teach our students good hygiene habits when it comes to coughing, sneezing, nose blowing, keeping hands clean, etc but without fail I’m still getting colds every 2/3 weeks. I started taking zinc, I drink plenty of water I eat pretty healthy. I wash my hands thoroughly before eating, I use hand sanitizer multiple times during the day, I don’t touch my face. No matter what I do I can’t stop catching colds when working with the little ones. submitted by /u/asleepinthealpine [visit reddit] [comments ..read more

Looking for a little advice here. Maybe just reassurance. My 5 y/o daughter is very well behaved, excelling at school academically, loves her teacher. She is very introverted and sensitive. The only problem is another girl who was in her VPK class and is now in Kinder with her. In VPK, I didn’t care much for this classmate. She was always on the mean side and would always say hurtful things. My daughter liked her, so I figured I’d invite her and her mom over for a playdate. Things went well and the girls mostly got along in school. The mom never really talked to me again and avoided eye conta ..read more

How many of your schools do some kind of kindergarten graduation ceremony? It wasn't even on my radar until I saw a Facebook friend's pictures of her son's kindergarten graduation from another school, in the same town. So I reached out to my son's teacher to see if his school does anything special because I hadn't heard anything yet and she said the school wasn't putting anything on. She was planning on taking some pictures with print out certificates on the last day but there wouldn't be any cap or gowns or anything. I decided I really liked the idea so bought the certificates and a paper ca ..read more

Hi! I was just signed up for my child's mandatory "kinder ready assessment." Does anyone know what type of things will be assessed? I'm probably over thinking it but I'm wondering if I should make my kids (I have twins) practice before their assessment? What kind of things will they need to know? What if they fall? First time mom here and I'm already stressed about kindergarten... ? they have been in preschool for two years and know how to spell mom, dad, brothers name first and last names. They know their address and letters and numbers and shapes. They don't know math. My son is in speech t ..read more

Hi Friends, Norse-Gael Books is giving away five copies of its picture book, BAXTER AND JEFFREY, about a young boy who wants to become a knight - all by himself - and a young dragon who is determined to help him! The giveaway is being conducted by the Children's Book Review and you can enter once per day through May 31st. Good luck!! submitted by /u/arianeerickson [visit reddit] [comments ..read more