Saturday, June 20, 2009

Our Forty-Third Post -- The End of the Year

I cannot believe that this year is almost over! It has been a wonderful year, and I think that the students and I have both learned a lot. For the last journal activity of the year, the children were asked to write about what they learned in Kindergarten. Since this is my last year in Kindergarten too, I thought that I would write about the top 5 things that I learned in Kindergarten (in no particular order):

1) Young children are capable of far more than we think. They can learn to read, write, and think, and they are excited about learning all of these skills too.

2) All students can learn. Some students may learn faster than others, but all students can still learn.

3) Kindergarten does not just need to be about "play." Play can be incorporated into a structured environment, and students can learn through hands-on, focused centres that target higher-level thinking skills.

4) Teachers do not need to have all of the answers. Students can help us learn too. If I didn't believe this, I would have never learned how to use a SMART Board, let alone a set of iPods.:)

5) Technology helps engage students. One of the most valuable teaching and learning tools that I have in the room is the SMART Board, and I know that my students agree with me.

Thank you to all of the wonderful parents, incredible students, supportive colleagues, and fantastic administrators that helped me learn and become a better teacher. Teaching is all about working as part of a team, and I am lucky to be part of such a terrific one.

I would love to hear about what you and your children learned this year. Please feel free to post a comment here or e-mail me directly (aviva.dunsiger@hwdsb.on.ca). I hope that we can add to my list of five.

Have a great weekend! I will see you next week for the last week of school.
Aviva

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