Another summer gone

It's that time again. Another summer passed before my eyes. Staff development started back up at school last week, my kiddos come visit the school tomorrow evening to see who their teacher is and to drop off supplies, and then Monday morning we start the cycle all over again.

I will very readily admit that the first month or two of school in Pre-K is a bear. Tearing these kids away from their teary mama's while they themselves are kicking and screaming--nope, not a pretty picture. Teaching them when and how to use a restroom, how and why we wipe our noses, and what in the world it means to walk in a line--ugh. No easy tasks here. Plus getting them to understand why they are in this strange building with two ladies making them sing silly songs and do silly things is a joke in and of itself at least for the first two weeks.

I don't look foward to these next few weeks. Structuring a child who has never experienced structure is a LOT of work.

But then I look around my classroom and remember last year's children sitting at the tables painting beautiful pictures, writing their full names as neatly as they could, reciting their letters and sounds with such pride and enthusiasm, building towers as high as they could reach, receiving awards for good character and exemplary effort, etc., etc.

If I learned anything by teaching Pre-K the last three years, it's this: Structure is key to learning. Without it, chaos takes over. With it, kids can thrive and exceed all expectations. A constant routine helps them feel safe and gives them the freedom to challenge themselves.

This year we're moving our kids from a bilingual education mindset to a dual language program. We're taking them from being seen as the "at risk" group due to a language deficit to looking at them as a gifted group of students ready to embrace their bilingualism and all the opportunities that creates for them. It's a huge shift in thinking and a lot of work in the process, but I believe it can benefit these kids greatly and open up a whole new world to them.

So, here's to the next few crazy weeks of getting some structure into these kids' worlds, and then we're off to a year filled with incredible potential.

Let's do this!