Hi all! What a week I have had. I had the pleasure of attending the ILASCD Pre-K/Kindergarten Conference in Chicago. I love every single second of this conference!! (Even the super long lunch lines..) I always feel so refreshed and ready for new and exciting things to get rolling in my classroom. I think that my favorite part of the conference is the general feeling of "We're all in this together!" I was lucky enough to hear many wonderful Kindergarten teachers speak this weekend, some of my favorites were Shari Sloane, Kim Adsit, and DeeDee Wills. While they had many of wonderful ideas to share (which I am so excited to start to implement in my classroom) their general message was this, we are not alone in this thing called teaching Kindergarten.
To a Kindergarten teacher it's no secret that we have our work cut out for us. However, to the world, they may not realize it. There are a lot of misconceptions about Kindergarten, but that is because it has changed SO much in such a small amount of time. I don't think many people realize what Kindergarten really looks like today! I love those shirts that say things like "I am a shoe tying, poster laminating, hug giving, book reading, tear drying, question asking, life changing Kindergarten Teacher." We wear many hats as Kindergarten teachers and the best part is we don't have to do it alone. I have the amazing gift of a co-teacher at my school who I can collaborate and create with. She and I bounce ideas and procedures back and forth, working together to help better our students' learning. Some of you may not have that luxury, but I want to remind you, there are MANY other Kinder-teachers out there that are tying shoes, while singing a transition song, and using the eyes in the back of their heads to see the student who is lined up and waiting patiently for you to say "Wow! Great job!" That is what I love about blogs, Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter. There are so many outlets for us Kinder-teachers to collaborate, plan, learn, and grow with our fellow teachers around the globe!
So keep on, keeping on Kinder-teachers! We have the BEST job in the world, and we get the privilege to spend a year in the lives of these future presidents, artists, professors, and creators, who will most certainly change the world someday.
Keep Smiling!
xoxo,
