Adjusting

The first two weeks of pre-school are all about adjusting. The students have to adjust to school and the parents have to adjust also. The first two phase in days were hard. Hard for myself, hard on the teachers, hard on the children and hard on the parents.

The first day there were some parents who stuck around, some may have because they wanted an opportunity to see their children interact in the setting and some may have because they were reluctant to leave without heir little one by their side. Surprisingly there were no tears on the first day from the students. That was until nap time, but even then all it took was some back rubbing and comforting and all was well again. This first day was a piece of cake, a piece of heaven, or maybe a dream. It was as if the students had been in the classroom for months, not days. By the afternoon, the students knew the routine, the procedures, and were following all the rules. With such a smooth first day, I knew our luck was sure to run out the next day.

As soon as students began filing in on the second day, I could tell we were in for a toughie. There were students who were glued to their parents' hips, with the look of defeat and terror spread across their face. There were students walking into the classroom with tears already in their eyes and only a few students walking in with a smile on their face. The day was filled with lots of tears from many of the students and ended with myself in tears as I watched a terrified, screaming and crying student looking at me for help out of the window of the bus as it pulled away.

Reflecting on the first week of pre-school, I find I have spent the majority of the days adjusting. Adjusting my expectations, adjusting the schedule, adjusting the classroom, and adjusting to the students. Coming from a third grade class this past spring, to a class of three and four year olds this fall was not the easiest transition. I forgot what it was like to explain directions to a four year old, I forgot how hard it is to get a three year old to understand a routine, I was not expecting the high level of difficulty for getting students to warm up to me or the classroom, and I was not ready to spend nap time rocking students to sleep, or passing out hugs and wiping tears of those who miss their mommies. By the end of the week, I feel I have done well in making those needed adjustments and in expecting the unexpected. At any given moment, I'm ready to pass out a hug and snatch a tissue to wipe a tear before it has fallen. I find myself at all times of the day, outside of the classroom, speaking in simple phrases and sentences and my imagination has been lit again.

Beginning the second week of Pre-K, I was slightly apprehensive and afraid that it would start the entire process of adjusting over again. Seeing how the students had three days of school, followed by a four-day weekend. I was pleasantly surprised that on Tuesday, many of the students still remembered the routine and were able to complete the morning tasks independently.

I feel that the students have done a better job at adjusting to school than I have in adjusting to being in a pre-k classroom. Coming from a third grade classroom last semester, it has taken come time to get back into the groove of handling the emotions and needs of a class of three and four, and now some five year olds. I found that I was a little rusty on the interactions and engagements that take place in some of the interest areas, specifically blocks and science. I was able to spend some time researching and reading up on those interest areas to gain some ideas and tips for extending the child's play, which I will dedicate another blog entry to writing about. I also find that behavior management, i.e "discipline" in older grades and "positive behavior support" in early childhood is something that I am still working on adjusting too. With talks with my mentor teacher and the paraprofessional in my room, I am continusouly learning new strategies and phrases to use to help my behavior management techniques and it is something I want to continue to research and read about as well.

Reflecting over the course of the first weeks of school, I have found that there are continously new ideas, questions, and strategies that I want to read about, learn about, and try out. I often find myself wishing I had more time in the day to read about early childhood, so that I can be (as corny as this is) "the best I can be" for the students. I have already developed a strong sense of care and love for my students and I want this semester to be as successful for them and for myself as possible. Some areas that I would like to read about, improve, and develop further include:

- Nap time: strategies for the restless students and for those who get upset
- Positive Motivational Strategies: To encourage over-all class behavior, we have a "light and smilie" system for individual behavior, but at times I wonder is that enough - especially when students do get a red light and continue to act out, what happens next?

- Criers: What strategies can be used for those students who become very upset? How do you comfort them but express "enough is enough" and keep it from being a distraction for others?


Ending out the first two weeks, I strongly believe the studetns, teachers, and the parents deserve a pat on the back for the job well done of adjusting. It is not an easy feat to face, much less accomplish. And after these first two weeks, I am proud of us all for adjusting so quickly, easily, and smoothly into the life inside pre-school. And, at the rate it's going, before too long, I will be adjusting to living life as a four year in a twenty-two year old body.