As a parent with a child going into kindergarten, what would you like to see from your kindergarten teacher?

Question

I am also a mother (of 4) and will be teaching kindergarten for my 7th year starting in late August. I was wondering if there was anything you as a parent would like to see from your kindergarten teacher- anything ranging from schedules to games to snacks, whatever else. Thanks for your input!

Answer 1

You've received a lot of good ideas; one thing I wish I could have had for my daughters regarding kindergarten was a daily recap sent to parents. Ideally this would come home via email; it would be easy to set up and just take a couple of minutes to shoot out a "this is what we did today" email along with any important reminders. We all know how hard it can be for a 5 or 6 year old to explain what went on during the day and I think this would be a nice way for parent to get a little insight as to the kids' day, perhaps even spark a converstation about the story that was read at circle time ("Tell me about the Harry the Dirty Dog book you read at school").

Obviously parents want to see a well decorated room with plenty of stimulating activities; hopefully your school provides you with most of the blocks, manipulatives, etc. that you need. My daughters LOVED the magna-tiles in their kindergarten room.

Their teacher would have one area in the room rotate so that for a while there was a playdoh station, then it became the restaurant station, then the letter writing station (ask parents for donation of unwanted stationery/stickers).That was good for the kids to have something new each trimester.

We have half day kindergarten, so no snacks, but if there was a snack time I would expect the snack to be something healthy. If parents send a snack with their kid, I see no reason not to insist it be a reasonable healthy snack (crackers are okay, cookies not okay, something like a teddy graham okay but just barely).

One other thing; our last kindergarten teacher had a desk with a box of baby wipes and a wastebasket outside the classroom door. As part of the coming-into-class routine, all kids were expected to take a wipe and clean their hands. I think this was an AWESOME idea as it ensures those kiddies are at least somewhat clean coming into school each day. I think it really cuts down on germs being spread through the classroom. You could do a giant pump bottle of Purell as well. The teacher also had a stack of small dixie cups for kids to get water from (she had a small dispenser on a table). Cleaner than the nasty water fountains which they didn't have in classroom anyway and encourages kids to drink more. The teacher asked parents of boys to send a box of wipes and parents of girls to send box of paper cups to offset the expense of these items.

Answer 2

My child is going into kindergarten this year. When we went for the orientation, the one thing I liked about the teacher was the way she had the room set up. She had different stations(coloring, sorting shapes, snack time, etc.), and the kids would rotate. It seems like it would be fun for the kids, and easier for the teacher to keep an eye on them all. The other thing was the teacher had a calendar that she handed out to each parent. For that month, it basically had the objectives the children would be learning, as well as what was for snack, etc. It really eased my mind knowing what my child would be doing that day. The calendar also had "discussion questions" for each week. They were basically a list of 3-5 questions about what they learned that week, just to test their progress and see how well the teacher was doing.

Answer 3

If the teacher recommends it there is probably a reason for it. If you don't agree with the decision, try enrolling your son in a different school. They might be a little more patient with him. The teacher at your son's school can't really just focus on your son with 20 other kids in the class, it's not fair for the other student and parents. Putting your son in special ed will be a benefit to him until he picks up the pace. They put some kids in ESL for the same reason. I was in ESL for Kindergarten and returned to a regular classroom in Grade 1. I know it feels like an insult when special ed is recommended but don't let your emotions and wants get in the way of what your child currently needs. good luck!

Answer 4

When my kid was in Kindergarten, one thing bothered me. The teachers have full control on how they teach, and what activities they do in their room. Some teachers have a "homework bag" that kids took home by turns. Some had a journal in which kids/teacher wrote back&forth (for kids who could already write), some teachers had kids borrow books from the school library...
So basically, each teacher had their own "extra" things. Kids talked, parents talked, and some felt bad their teacher didn't do a particular "extra".
Now, I know it does not matter that much, but even in higher grades it is there: some teachers just do some extra stuff, like optional writing prompts, optional weekly math problem, optional art work that kids can do at home and turn in for small rewards. Or even, research on fun topics and present to class.

so, the point is, some parents might be bothered like I was by activities done in other rooms, not in their kid's.

Answer 5

I had a great kindergarten teacher! And I hope that my daughter's experience is as good as or better than mine.

I hope that her teacher creates plenty of interactive rememberable experiences. 2 things that really stuck out for me were when we read the book "Green Eggs and Ham", the teacher actually made green eggs and ham for us to eat. And one time we made butter... girls vs boys, the teacher gave us jars to shake up.

I guess some things would be up to the school... Mine had field trips to the fire department once a year. We would pile up on top of the fire trucks and go for a little ride. But I am guessing stuff like that would be dangerous in bigger cities.

One thing that I wasn't too fond of when she was in pre-k was the snacks. She would come home sometimes with candy or cookies. It was nice, and I am guessing that the parents were the ones to choose the snacks, but I think it would be nice if the teacher were to encourage healthy snacks be sent.

I would love to know what is going on with the schedules... Checking/answering your e-mail and giving parents a copy of the schedules would be nice. (something else I wasn't too fond of with pre-k)

7 years of teaching - wow! I bet you are a great teacher, and it is wonderful that you are getting input from parents :)

Of course, I would also like to see Kindergarten teachers be kind, soft-spoken, and understanding that these kids are going through a big adjustment when they start school.

Answer 6

My daughter started kindergarten last week. So far, I would like a slightly longer rest period. I know that she is in school now, not preschool, but I think it is very hard for a 5 year old to not nap at all. We get a daily sheet from the teacher telling us what kind of day she had, and a parent hass to sign it, I like this very much. I'm sure that I will have things as the school years wears on.

Answer 7

One thing that I loved about my son's kindergarten teacher were the weekly newsletters she sent out every friday that told us about what they did that week and what they would be learning the next week. She was also very good at keeping up good communication with me about my son. She would e-mail me any time of the day to ask a question or to warn me about something my son might have gotten into trouble for. My son was not very honest that year and so when he got home and told me his story about how it wasn't his fault he got into trouble i would e-mail his teacher and she would e-mail right back the story of what happened. I loved how concerned she was for my son and wanting to help me with him any way she could think of. To me that is a great teacher. I know first hand how frustrating it can be to have a child in your class that can't ever seem to follow the rules and she just poured out so much love and concern for every child that had a hard time. She was also very structured and stuck with the rules and consequences fairly. She didn't put up with anything which really helped my son. So to sum it up, a great teacher is one that communicates well, either with e-mail or phone calls home, and one that shows love and concern to every child whether compliant or strong-willed, or just unruly. And one that can teach their class all they need to know on their level so they can be ready for first grade. Now my 2nd son will be entering kindergarten and he is more compliant but also kind of shy. He needs a teacher that will get down to his level and make him feel welcome and can make school fun so he won't hate it. Hope I could help. Good Luck!!!

Answer 8

Communication with parents. We're used to being babied by the preschools, so don't just cut us off cold turkey. :-) My kids' amazing kindergarten teacher sent home letters to the parents each week that had important announcements but also little descriptions of what was going on at school. It was tremendously helpful for parents of kids who responded in one-word answers to questions about their day!

Answer 9

I am not a parent yet, but my friends little girl whom I love and adore is starting kindergarten, as is a chikd I am going to start being a Nanny to; and I would love to see that the teachers empithize RESPECT FOR OTHERS. I would want the teacher to have specific guildlines and appropriate punishments for any child who is hurtful to another. If taught to respect their fellow classmate's feelings at an early age they will grow up to be repsectful adults.

Answer 10

My son went to kindergarten last year.
At this school you had to bring your own snack and juice and milk was not included, and if you for got to pack a snack your kid had to set there and watch the other kids eat. I believe that is not the way the teacher should have dealt with it. They should have crackers or something to give kids who forget to bring anything.