Keeping Up With K3!
Welcome to K3 at St. Peter's! The first school experience can be overwhelming for both child and parent, but I want you to know that I am here to make this transition as smooth as possible! I've outlined below my philosophies and approaches to learning and discipline:
I believe learning should be developmentally appropriate. The best way to support learning for the young child is to provide activities that incorporate as many of the 5 senses as possible and to encourage the child to learn by doing. Children are natural explorers and have wonderful imaginations, and research has shown that children learn best through play. So while your child may look like he or she is spending a lot of time with blocks or puzzles or playdough, or dressing up or playing in sand, he or she is really discovering how things work, analyzing and imagining, building their social and communicative skills, etc. I've posted around the room, the various skills and foundations that children learn by playing in various learning centers and I invite you to read an article on this very subject, which explains more thoroughly how and what young children learn through play.
I believe that discipline should also be developmentally appropriate. Maintaining a safe and nurtuing environment, with clear expectations is vital. In K3, and in many other classrooms at St. Peter's, the expectations are simple, but effective:
Be Kind. Be Safe. Be Neat.
Be Kind: Treat others the way you want to be treated. Be respectful of all.
Be Safe: Avoid causing harm to yourself and others. Be careful.
Be Neat: Take care of our classroom and materials. Do your best work.
Just about everything fits into those rules!
We are going to work toward getting ready for K4 and K5, so all the children begin the day with their star on the wall. When/If the child has been redirected several times for the same behavior (Kevin, please stop throwing your crackers) the child will be asked to “pull” their star from the wall. Behavior that is a safety threat (non compliance, tantrums, verbal or physical aggression) will require an immediate pull. There are many different reasons that children act inappropriately (fatigue, illness, frustration, etc.) and a few pulled stars a quarter is not a reason to contact the teacher, however, daily or near daily star pulling is a cause for concern, and a conference with the teacher, parents, student, or principal/vice principal may be needed to help the child. Whether a child receives their star or not at the end of the day will be recorded on a calendar that is to be kept in the take home folder all month. Please be assured that we exercise patience and understanding with all children, and usually any situation can be handled by redirecting the child and encouraging more appropriate behaviors. We want St. Peter's to be a happy place where all children feel safe and accepted.
Rewards for good behavior may include…
Verbal praise
Stickers or stamps
Special art activities
Extra computer time
Other special privileges
Consequences for inappropriate behavior may include…
Star pulled from wall.
Lose privileges to play at a center.
Removed from classroom to another classroom or Principal’s office for a specified time.
Other consequences may be required per the student handbook and principal.
I believe learning should be developmentally appropriate. The best way to support learning for the young child is to provide activities that incorporate as many of the 5 senses as possible and to encourage the child to learn by doing. Children are natural explorers and have wonderful imaginations, and research has shown that children learn best through play. So while your child may look like he or she is spending a lot of time with blocks or puzzles or playdough, or dressing up or playing in sand, he or she is really discovering how things work, analyzing and imagining, building their social and communicative skills, etc. I've posted around the room, the various skills and foundations that children learn by playing in various learning centers and I invite you to read an article on this very subject, which explains more thoroughly how and what young children learn through play.
I believe that discipline should also be developmentally appropriate. Maintaining a safe and nurtuing environment, with clear expectations is vital. In K3, and in many other classrooms at St. Peter's, the expectations are simple, but effective:
Be Kind. Be Safe. Be Neat.
Be Kind: Treat others the way you want to be treated. Be respectful of all.
Be Safe: Avoid causing harm to yourself and others. Be careful.
Be Neat: Take care of our classroom and materials. Do your best work.
Just about everything fits into those rules!
We are going to work toward getting ready for K4 and K5, so all the children begin the day with their star on the wall. When/If the child has been redirected several times for the same behavior (Kevin, please stop throwing your crackers) the child will be asked to “pull” their star from the wall. Behavior that is a safety threat (non compliance, tantrums, verbal or physical aggression) will require an immediate pull. There are many different reasons that children act inappropriately (fatigue, illness, frustration, etc.) and a few pulled stars a quarter is not a reason to contact the teacher, however, daily or near daily star pulling is a cause for concern, and a conference with the teacher, parents, student, or principal/vice principal may be needed to help the child. Whether a child receives their star or not at the end of the day will be recorded on a calendar that is to be kept in the take home folder all month. Please be assured that we exercise patience and understanding with all children, and usually any situation can be handled by redirecting the child and encouraging more appropriate behaviors. We want St. Peter's to be a happy place where all children feel safe and accepted.
Rewards for good behavior may include…
Verbal praise
Stickers or stamps
Special art activities
Extra computer time
Other special privileges
Consequences for inappropriate behavior may include…
Star pulled from wall.
Lose privileges to play at a center.
Removed from classroom to another classroom or Principal’s office for a specified time.
Other consequences may be required per the student handbook and principal.