Moving to the Kindergarten Classroom April 06, 2005 For anyone
moving from middle school or upper primary grades to
kindergarten, be prepared for a vast difference in attention
span and level of independence. Especially at the beginning of
the year, many children will not know much about this new social
situation. On the plus side, you have greater freedom to
specialize your curriculum and will see an enormous amount of
growth over the year. As you plan a schedule, remember that most
activities will need to be changed every 15 to 20 minutes at the
beginning of the year. Vary from large group, to seat work, to
active exploration frequently. Encourage parent volunteers,
after the first couple of weeks for adjustment, to assist you in
play centers to engage students in language and guide social
development. Later they can listen to beginning readers and give
struggling students more experiences with learning. Classroom
management begins with a few rules that are role-played and
discussed often in the early days.