Trauma lessening during first day of kindergarten

A scene that was once synonymous with starting school is fading away: the image of a five-year-old crying and clinging to his mother in fear as he faces his first day of kindergarten.

These days, say teachers from the Albany Diocese, incoming kindergartners are already veterans of an educational system that may start with day care.

Rare is the child who hasn't at least attended a half-day pre-K -- and the kids who haven't are often at a disadvantage, academically and emotionally.

'Old hat'

Most of Denise Lewis' students at St. Augustine's School in Troy will come into her kindergarten class having already gone to full-day pre-K or to a babysitter's house after a half-day of school.

"When they come, this is old hat to them," she told The Evangelist.

Kelly Panasci is a pre-K teacher at St. Brigid's School in Watervliet. Last year, only a half-dozen of her students didn't come from day care. For children who haven't attended day care, she said, pre-K can be "a huge transition. You usually have one that cries until October."

Transition

For children coming straight from home into kindergarten, the difference is even more marked.

"One time, I had a boy who pounded on the table whenever he wanted me, because he thought I should just be there" like his mother had been, Mrs. Lewis remembered. "I'd tell him, `I only have two hands. Why don't you try [working] on your own till I get there?'"

"The kids who've had pre-K or daycare usually have an easier time in a group setting, understanding there's certain times of the day to do certain things," affirmed Linda Endries, who teaches at St. Mary's School in Oneonta.

Scared children tend to stay in the background until they get more comfortable, she said, so she allows such students to sit at a table in the corner for a while.

Not just fun

Kindergarten "isn't playtime any more," said Mrs. Lewis. The kids in her class arrive already knowing their ABCs and numbers, and having developed social skills from interacting with peers in pre-K.

"The hardest are the kids who come straight from home and don't know how to share," she said. "The very difficult child is the one used to mom dressing them, mom packing their bookbag."

The three teachers agreed that kindergarten is what first grade used to be: a time to work on reading and writing skills.

"When I went to kindergarten, you never thought of learning to write your name. That was first-grade stuff," Mrs. Endries remarked. "We're into very literate kindergarten; it's all reading and writing activities."

Ready or not

Mrs. Lewis believes most kindergartners are ready for academics because "you don't want to bore them. They are ready to learn when they come in. It's very rare that you get the child who's not ready."

But Mrs. Endries said some children's eyes aren't ready for the amount of reading and writing mandated by New York State. In fact, she would lobby to make sure children have to be five years old by Sept. 1 to start kindergarten.

"Some of these four-year-olds are not ready; some need a little more time to grow in a pre-K," she stated. "If they had to be five by Sept. 1, they'd have more of a shot" at doing well.

In a crowd

Regardless of whether students attended daycare and pre-K, the teachers said the biggest transition for kindergartners is the size of the classroom. Most pre-Ks top out at 15 students, said Mrs. Endries, but her classes have about 25 -- a lot more classmates for small pupils to meet.

"It's just the sheer numbers that terrify them," she commented.

To help all the students get to the same level, both pre-K and kindergarten teachers focus on developing routines. Mrs. Panasci has "circle time" every morning and hangs up a tree where students post their photos. Mrs. Lewis lets insecure children bring something from home to remind them of their mothers.

Sometimes, Mrs. Lewis even asks the moms to take a block or toy from the classroom home with them, so that worried students are reassured that she has to come back in order to return it.

"September is when they learn the routine," she explained. "They want to be there, but they're nervous."

Growing up

As Mrs. Panasci prepared to start another year of teaching pre-K, she looked ahead to the end of the year, when she takes her students to meet their kindergarten teachers.

"They come in babies, and you just watch them grow," she said.

But she cautioned parents not to force children into an academic setting before they're ready. "If you have a child who's still really immature, you don't want to push them into pre-K," she said.

OPENING DAY

Teachers ready for return to classrooms

For teachers, August means setting up classrooms. Although she's been teaching in a summer program, Denise Lewis "can't wait" for the start of the school year.

"I have to have my furniture set up before I do anything else," she noted.

Organization is key when teaching younger children, she explained, adding: "If you're running around looking for a piece of paper, kindergartners are not going to sit still for that!"

The first day of kindergarten is often when students are most enthusiastic, according to Denise Lewis. It isn't until a couple of weeks later that reality sets in: "They're realizing, `I have to do this every day.'"

Linda Endries is mum about how many years she'd been teaching but said her job keeps her young and on her toes. "Where else can you act silly and be Queen Bee for a day?" she joked. "I don't think I'd like to teach any other grade...although it gets harder and harder to sit in those little chairs!" (KB)

(8/21/03) [[In-content Ad]]