This week we’re going to bring your attention to an important part of theselfregulatedteacher.com, and that is the category of Kindergarten Basics.

Here we categorise the posts we believe form a basic part of Kindergarten life at Ridgeview.  We cover many different topics, from what we might do on a typical day in Kindergarten, to reading with your child, to the importance of play.

At the beginning of the school year, here are three important blog posts that you may find informative to help you understand what we’re thinking about.

Start the Kindergarten Day Off Right! (February 16, 2015)

Like the routines we create and follow at school, having routines at home helps us to be organised so everyone knows their job, mom, dad and kids.  We establish a strong classroom structure to provide predictability and ultimately, security for our children:  when the boys and girls know what’s expected of them and the other children, they feel much more confident in knowing what’s going to happen.  It’s very exciting when they remember the routines and it all just seems to magically happen!  We know it’s not magic, but rather the result of methodical planning and consistent behaviour on the part of the teacher.  The same can be said for home where the children have afterschool, dinner time and bedtime routines.  In the same way classroom routines make for a smoother and more enjoyable day, so can the ones related to getting up in the morning, preparing for the school or work day, and probably the most important, getting to bed on time!  Click here to read the original post.

Waste Management, Revisited (October 19, 2015)

You’ve probably already heard from your child that we are asking them to put specific items in the organics garbage can in our classrooms.  Right now, it’s mostly just wet paper towels after handwashing.  The odd fruit pit or cupcake wrapper ends up there which is ok, but we really need everyone to participate fully in the waste management system at school.  We’ve been doing this for three years now, and we need to ensure good habits are in place in Kindergarten as this will be the system for your child’s Ridgeview school life.  Currently, we are asking children to put the food packaging garbage back into their lunch bags to take and sort out at home.  Better still, please send your child’s food in recyclable containers to eliminate any garbage.  A small ziploc bag, or vegetable plastic bag might be more preferable for your children to take home fruit peels and pits if they don’t want them loose in their lunch bags.  Click here to read the original post.

A Day in the Life of Kindergarten

This is probably one of our favourite pages in the Kindergarten handbook that we’ve ever written because it sums up what a day in our Kindergarten life looks like.  It can be hard to imagine what we’re doing all day, although we will reassure you that your children are playing and working extremely hard.  By the end of last week, the children were very tired; indeed, there were many small heads drooping at the morning assembly.  Sharing, turn-taking, negotiating, compromising, cooperating, speaking kindly to your neighbour, listening to your teacher and paying attention to the many social cues that go on around you telling you what you should do next takes tremendous energy and self-regulation.  We do as much as we can through play, within our classroom structure, as the children become better acquainted with each other, their teacher, and themselves as a learner.  As the days go on and the temperatures become cooler, we will see remarkable growth in our Kindergarten students!  Click here to read the original post.