Kid Quote

"When fire ants bite it feels like lava"

Gold Rush

Today I began working at Gold Rush Elementary School. Gold Rush has a 4% free and reduced lunch rate. It is located in Douglas County, the wealthiest county in Colorado. Gold Rush open just last year. I will be spending my time in a half day kindergarten classroom. Students have class from 9 am to noon, with recess and a special thrown in there.

Total Students (2008 - 2009): 508
Fulltime teachers: 24.2
Student/Teacher Ratio: 21.0
Eligible for discounted/free lunch: 18 ( 4 %)

Kid Quote

"When I'm in third grade and can use the swings, I'm gonna swing so high and land on the monkey bars!"

Importance of Play

The simple act of playing is important to a child's development. Kids need to engage in creative stimulating play that pushes their imagination and helps to develop both fine and gross motor skills. For example weaving helps kids develop fine motor skills, while painting and playing with blocks develops gross motor skills.

At Harrington students participate in a program titled playworks. Play works is a nation wide program that is most active in lower income areas. It teaches kids basic outdoor games and encourages fair and respectful play. At the beginning of the year none of the students knew how to play a game as simple as kickball. They would kick the ball and just run away not knowing they needed to run to first base. Play works was instituted at Harrington to shift the playground dynamic. Before it started there would be bullying on the playground, now near the end of it's first year in use, students no longer fight and push one another around at recess.

Kid Quote

"You smell good Tarelle!"

"My Dad gives me perfume before school."

"Everyone should wear perfume."

New Student!

A few days back the class got another new student. The day before he began Mrs. Kempton was sure to tell the rest of the students that a new kid would be joining them the following day. The next day, all kids kept asking about him. By giving the kids notice to his coming before hand, and doing so a day early, built the excitement. Rather than him appearing and having everyone ask who he was, he was greeted by excited kids eager to get to know him.

He first came in while the rest of the class was in specials, this was done so that he would be tested and meet his teacher without kids surrounding him. The first assessment had the child pointing to pictures that ended with the same sound.

For example in the image above, both glue and two end with an "oo" sound. After this assessment he was tested on letters and numbers. In the end he showed to have known 12 uppercase letters and 11 lowercase. He didn't know they called letters though. He couldn't read his name, when his name was written he knew what all the letters were, but he didn't recognize it spelling his name. He new what numbers were as well as some rhyming words. Did couldn't quite print match, which is following the words being read with his finger on the page.

He was also begin to understand the concept of beginning and ending - first and last. This is important for new readers and writers to understand. Without knowing that the FIRST thing they hear when "Kite" is said is "Kuh" they can't begin to write the word even if they know that the letter K sounds like "Kuh". Identifying the first and last sound is a necessary tool when writing and reading at a young age.

Quote

“If a child is to keep alive his inborn sense of wonder...he needs the companionship of at least one adult who can share it, rediscovering with him the joy, excitement and mystery of the world we live in”

Rachel Carson