LAST DAY OF SCHOOL

It's the last day of school again. A day of hard goodbyes to my students, excitement for the holiday to come, reflection on how much the students have improved, and fun end-of-the-year parties. It's been a fun, exciting year of teaching kindergarten one. I didn't expect to be teaching this particular class the whole year as management told me, upon employment, that it would be a temporary position while other positions were being shifted around and I would eventually be moved up to an upper-primary class. That turned out to not be the case and so now I've got a year of teaching kindergarten to add to my teaching-experience belt.

Going into that class with little experience teaching kindergarten-aged children was a challenge and test in patience and creativity. Those first weeks and even months were a true test of my abilities in using clear, concise instructions, limiting excessive teacher talk and using fair but strict classroom management techniques. It's been tough year of learning new skills and techniques as well as adjusting my teaching style and materials to suit young children, but in the end I've gained a ton of experience in how to deal with children, motivate them and use discipline as a chance to educate. Thank you kindergarten one students; You've been a rewarding challenge this year!