Nancy, My district switched to all day kindergarten 10+ years ago and it has been wonderful. We are able to slow the pace and make time for meaningful learning experiences.
One of my fondest memories is working with kindergarten comprehension study after reading the first edition of Mosaic of Thought, right after it came out. Ellin, the thinking that came out of that first class was incredible! We discussed, sorted and revisited books multiple times. We kept track of our thinking and wrote about connections. "Schema" was part of our daily vocabulary. I never for a moment questioned whether too much was being introduced too early. The children looked forward to our "smart" thinking every day as much as I did. I remember waiting impatiently for Debbie Miller's Reading With Meaning to come out so we could learn from her experiences and we weren't disappointed. I know that if I had to fit within a system, rather than have the joy of nurturing the enjoyment as well as the learning, I wouldn't be teaching today. We owe it to ourselves as well as the children to spark their imaginations and tap into their ability to think beyond others expectations. Vickie >>> <cnjpal...@aol.com> 02/21/09 3:05 PM >>> Nancy All day K is mandatory now in Maryland. What it did for us was give us the time to teach comprehension strategies through read alouds each and every day. I was sold on the value of it when I walked into an all day K classroom our first year (about three years ago) and having a student ask me "Do you have much schema for turtles?" Done right, there is a lot that we can do with comprehension in all day K. Jennifer In a message dated 2/21/2009 3:05:26 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, creeche...@aol.com writes: But what I wanted to say is, the difference I see between my half day and all day experiences is that the pressure is off. I felt that I had to cram in everything the all day K students were getting in a half day before. Now we all feel much more relaxed and it is reflected in their behavior and their learning. I hope that doesn't result in more curriculum being pushed down. But for now, even with 28, things are good. Nancy **************You can't always choose whom you love, but you can choose how to find them. Start with AOL Personals. (http://personals.aol.com/?ncid=emlcntuslove00000002) _______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list Mosaic@literacyworkshop.org To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive. _______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list Mosaic@literacyworkshop.org To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive.
