What's it like to teach kindergarten?

I have been teaching since 2010.  I have taught Kindergarten, First, and Second grades.  I also taught a little bit of high school French.

That’s too hard to answer! I think I learn something new all of the time from them.  Every year I learn the important things to them.  They keep me young and always thinking about how to make learning like playing.  You don’t have to be super serious to learn.  There are so many ways we play throughout the day with silly character voices, math games, and social skills.

I think our favorite memory as a class was making vegetable stew together during our plant unit.  They LOVED growing their lima beans and observing the changes each day.

I love teaching math because it is so applicable to their daily lives AND there are lots of fun ways to learn it with games.  I also like reading to them and doing character voices.  Hearing their laughter makes this job great!

I love seeing the scholars’ growth from the beginning of the year to the end. It is AMAZING how much growth they have (physically, emotionally, and academically).  I love seeing the look of pride on their face when they overcome a challenge too.

I wish I had the energy of five and six year olds!  It’s a good thing I get a good night’s sleep each night to keep up with them!

I think that God has put everyone on Earth to live in His image.  I believe that one of my purposes in life and in this job is trying to model this.  I am trying to help raise another generation to appreciate others and contribute to society in a positive way.  It’s great that in Catholic schools we can share our faith and talk about Jesus’ teachings.  We can raise kids with a strong foundation built on biblical truths that they can bring to the people that they encounter throughout their lives.

Fall of 2021 will start my 39th year of teaching.

Teaching kindergarteners has taught me to be patient, firm but gentle, and to laugh at myself, because they call you out if you make an error.

I enjoy teaching all the subjects but enjoy Religion the most because I get to share the Love of God with my students.  We read through the whole Children’s Bible in a school year. They really pick up on if you do it. God’s way life is better after reading the Old Testament stories.

The best part of my job is seeing the delight in my scholars when they understand a new concept or accomplish a new skill.

The most challenging part of my job is getting in all the fun lessons and learning in the time we have together.

I think of my job as a Mission because I feel I was called by God to be here at Ascension to share my talents and to help the families on their scholar journey through education. I have found that I have been more than blessed by the relationships with the scholars and families throughout my time here also.

This is my eighth year teaching at Ascension, and 10th year teaching overall.

I have learned that you have to be ready to roll with the punches. Sometimes lessons don’t always go as planned, and kindergarteners can be the funniest, thoughtful, most joyful people to be around.

The day we all came back to in person learning in January, all of the scholars were so excited to be back in the building. A couple of scholars were just coming for the first time all year, and it was so much fun to see the joy on their faces when they came into the classroom and saw their teachers and friends in person!

I love teaching science. We learn about plants every spring, and we plant bean seeds and observe their growth each day for a couple of weeks. It’s so much fun to see the scholars’ excitement when their seeds sprout.

Kindergarteners love coming to school and they love learning. Their enthusiasm for learning is contagious and fun to be around.

Kindergarteners come into kindergarten with such different abilities and skills. For example, some come in already reading and others come in knowing maybe a handful of letters and sounds. Trying to help all of them succeed and learn can be challenging.

I believe that our job as teachers is more important than just teaching kids how to read or count. We are here to teach them about Jesus, how to get along with others, how to manage their emotions, how to pray, etc. We are here to provide a safe place for them to learn, play, make friends, be creative, make mistakes, etc. It’s more than just a job. I love it.