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At the beginning of the year, it is all about setting your routine. What students do from the beginning of class to the end. Keeping a set routine is very important to your students comfort level and understanding. During this time it can be very demanding on a teachers patience and energy, especially with the kindergarten. Understanding this is half of the battle at the beginning of the school year. Knowing what to expect makes your planning and strategies a little more easier. You have to realize that setting your routine is a process, it takes a few weeks for your students to get situated. For this to happen over time, you have to stay in a focused routine so students will become so familiar with your strategies that it will become second nature.
For example, the beginning of every class, the classroom teacher walks them down to the gym, and they know to stop at the door and be in a straight and quiet line. I approach them from the gym and then give them my greeting: "Good morning/Good afternoon boys and girls!" They respond by saying, "Good morning/Good afternoon Mr. Wickles/Mr. W!" From there I step aside and they walk in a quiet and straight line and sit down on the middle line. I then take attendance, do my introduction for the class and we are off. 1st through 5th grades already have it down because of last year, but I am still working with my Kindergarten classes.
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I then proceed with my warm up activity, practice activity, application activity and finish with a closing discussion. Staying with this routine eliminates students asking questions about what we are going to do and also keeps them focused and engaged with quick transitions from the start to the end.
But wow, the setting of your routine can be very demanding. Students want to start playing a game right away, before practicing specific skills that they will be using, so it is a continuous explanation to them that we need to practice these skills before we use them. My patience has grown dramatically over the past year, and my understanding for elementary students have also increased as well, which has made it a lot easier planning and instructing my lessons!
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