I was just thinking: isn't it kind of sad how we spend about 30-35 hours each week with our students, but they will probably remember very little about kindergarten? I hardly remember anything! Here's what I remember: -I had an orange nametag on my cubby and I HATED orange! -My teacher told me to stop touching my cubby while she was reading Charlotte's Web. I hated when she read chapter books. -My friend and I would draw rainbows during free time. -We had Letter of the Week books, which I loved. -We had math workbooks, which we didn't work in very often. -There was a piano in my classroom, but my teacher didn't even know how to play it. -We had a Thanksgiving feast, and I was a pilgrim. That's about it!
I don't remember much about Kindergarten. I remember walking to the public library once a month. We had to hold hands with a partner and my partner was a BOY! I thought it was icky! I remember having to go to the reading corner with the elderly volunteer woman so she could read with me. I was the only one reading in the class so I got to skip whatever they were doing. I think they were reading some book that was the equivalent of "See jane run. See spot run" LOL or something like that. I felt left out but I loved reading REAL books with the volunteer.
I am showing my age, but I didn't attend kindergarten-there wasn't one! I went straight to first grade
I was in kindergarten for the 1963-'64 school year. So I don't remember much. I remember the teacher, Miss Parnell. I remember finger painting. I remember the long walk to school. And I remember that I went to the morning session while my best friend (Lillian, who lived across the street) was in the afternoon. That's pretty much it. eta-- Oh, wait-- one more. There was a boy named Salvatore. I thought his name was "Lavatore." (Hey, I'm an Irish kid from the 'burbs. I had never heard of "Salvatore" before.) Looking back, he probably hated me for that!
Kindergarten was a long time ago... I remember my teacher playing a tune on the piano and we would all get our towels out of our cubbies, spread them out and lie down in a circle for "rest time". That's it.
I went to two schools, because I couldn't go home at noon - no one would have been there! So the first school bussed me to the second school to do kinder again. Then I would go back to the first school and ride the bus home from there. Brad was the bad kid! The principal came in to get him once, and he climbed under the table, held on the the legs, and screamed. The principal had to get under the table and pull him out. We would bring something from home to glue on a poster each week for each color. I saved my beautiful purple toothbrush for purple week. When the time finally came, I got pulled out of the room for something, and didn't get to glue my toothbrush on.
-I had 2 teachers. They were sisters and I assume one was an assistant. I remember their names and faces. They used to argue with each other and were both mean, or let's just say, not very warm or nurturing. -I actually ran into one 26 years later when I subbed. I remembered her face but didn't even want to speak to her. -((As a sub I also run into teachers I haven't seen in over 25 years. And they weren't my own teachers. It's amazing how you remember faces after all those years)) -I remember making the beautiful butterfly painting project. And getting fussed at because I wasn't doing it right, so she spoiled the mood of me seeing my beautiful butterfly. -I used to love love love, did I mention LOVE playing with the little housing section, the stove, fake canned goods and all. -I remember getting paddled in front of the class for talking. It hurt! -I remember getting fussed at for my bad handwriting. -I remember them making us all sit on the carpet and tell them personal things about our parents. Why they did that, I have no clue. It was along the lines of, "Do you parents do anything that hurt you or make you feel uncomfortable?" -I loved the little plants we grew. Loved it and couldn't wait to take it home. -I loved taking naps on my red and blue mat. Loved it. Lol. -I remember my first crush too. I used to rub his hair and he'd fuss at me. -I remember being mortified when I saw my teacher smoking in the teacher's lounge. -I have my kinder class picture with all my classmates and teachers on it and I cherish it.
I remember wanting to paint every day and only getting to do it once a week. I remember the girl I had to sit next to who always smelled like urine. I remember bringing my bigger than me stuffed tiger for sharing one day and my teacher throwing a fit. I remember sitting on the floor listening to stories, milk and cookies, and taking "naps". I was bored with "naps" and wanted to do more work.
I remember my friends. Playing on a slide that was n our room. Having twins in my class 2 sets. My big huge locker (actually like a wall with a hook). The bathroom & the little sink! My teacher the same as my cousins. Only going to school in the am everyday.... I could go on & on... I've been blessed with a GREAT memory!!!
I remember that once we had to do a craft where we were making "curly hair" for an old man with a beard (it may have been Santa but I can't say for sure). We were supposed to curl the paper with our scissors and I couldn't do it. That is one of the few memories I have of kindergarten. I think there was a Miss Gail but I don't think she was the official "teacher". I actually don't even remember who my best friend was in kindergarten. Hmmmmm... kind of sad how little I remember not only from kindergarten but from most of elementary.
My teachers name was Mrs. Morrison. She looked old and boring. The other kids seemed very immature. They had some cool toys but you had to act quickly at recess to get the good ones. I remember thinking nap time was the stupidest idea ever because nobody ever slept. I hated the music and songs we sang. I thought "This Old Man" and "Old MacDonald Had a Farm" were the same song, and a really bad one at that. I liked the Doors and the Beach Boys and we never sang those songs. I remember everything being real easy and doing my work perfectly until one day I decided it was boring and didn't want to do it any more. I had trouble in school from that day on. I had a crush on a girl named Cynthia.
My kindergarten was in the AM. It was in the grange hall with two teachers Mrs. F and Mrs. G. I was in Mrs. G group. SHe had the low kids. The ones that didn't know their numbers or letters. The group with Mrs. F. were working on reading skills. We had group time as a whole group. Mrs. F and Mrs. G would take turns reading us stories. One day it would be Mrs. F. turn the other day Mrs. G's turn. We had show and tell. I brought in Three Billy Goat's Gruff and read it to the class. I had memorized it. The bathroom was co-ed. There was three stalls. For recess we had to line up and walk across the driveway to get to the playground. We walked to the lib. once a week. One of my friends touched the goose and it bit him. Another student was kicked out of kindergarten because he climbed up the bookcase. The P (Mr. M) had to come over and take him home. I hated the dolls with buttons, zippers and shoelaces.
I remember being instructed to cut out several little circles that would be glued onto a teddy bear shape to become the pages of a teddy bear book. The teacher directed us to be "careful to cut on the lines" but I still wobbled a little with my cutting on the first circle. Well, then I was worried about her finding out I had cut off of the lines, so I reasoned that if I wobbled a little on ALL of the circles, they would match up and she would never know I had made a mistake! Needless to say, this plan did not work out so well and I remember being scolded for my messiness!
I remember that we had pet hermit crabs and that one of them had a rainbow shell. I remember we had a balance beam that I loved to walk on. My class had lots of boys, but very few girls (which I didn't like) I remember that on the first day of school the kid next to me opened his glue bottle and poured it over his head. I was horrified! I remember that I was the last one off the bus when I went home at noon. I got dropped off directly in front of my house where my mom and my Old English sheepdog would meet me. Becasue there was no one else on the bus, the driver would always let my dog come on the bus to greet me. Years later when I played high school basketbal the same driver often drove our team to the games. He still remembered my dog and me from kindergaten.
I remember Ms. Rudolph (yes, that is her name) reading to us. I would sit in the floor and rub my hand up and down her leg because she wore blue panty hoses. I had heard my Aunt use the word "sophisticated" and I thought that her hose made her that...even though I didn't know what it meant. I remember her letting me jump on a trampoline. I also remember learning to read with a book about a cat on a mat. I also remember asking if I could be friends with a special needs boy. I was his play partner. I also remember loving going to music class and getting to strum the autoharp.
Haha, I've had a few rubbers/shoe touchers/etc in my 4 years of teaching. I remember wishing my mom would buy me my own mat for nap time, but she never did and I had to use the school cots. I remember coloring a gum ball machine coloring sheet and being told I need to color all in one direction. I remember loving to play in the kitchen center. I remember counting and adding a day every day. We had to start from the number 1 and count to whatever day it was. I remember it was the first time I ever wore jean pants. I was so excited to have a pair of jeans.
Kindergarten/1957...Teacher/Miss Kijak. She was very small and had a curved spine. She played the piano. Our classroom was in the middle of the hallway in an accordion fashioned wall of some sort! Milk break with milk in glass bottles with paper tops that we had to pull off. We were supposed to throw the tops away and then rest our heads on the table when finished with the milk. The naughtiest boy in class was Billy Slovinger and he would always play with his milk top and get in trouble. On the playground we pretended to be poor kids riding on the "trolley," which was a merry-go-round with chains to hold onto. Our monkey bars and all playground equipment were on concrete. I loved playing in the doll area and there were 2 dolls, Raggedy Ann and Andy. I wore pretty, ruffly starched dresses.
That is a very interesting assignment. I can just imagine what the finished posters looked like. :lol: Your replies make me wonder about what my kids will remember about ME!
I went to an all-girls, Catholic school for Kindergarten. I remember the awful blue plaid jumper I had to wear every day I remember the locker room, where we changed for swim lessons was open on both ends, and I was embarrassed to change. I was on the yellow team (for gym, we were divided into the blue and yellow team), and had to wear a yellow swimsuit and a yellow gym uniform on the days we didn't swim. I hate yellow. I was ashamed because even though I was so proud of an art project, the nun who was my teacher scolded and embarrassed me for calling it a "froggy" instead of a frog. My left hand was frequently bruised and welted from being whacked with that nun's pointer. I was a left handed child, and she forced me to be right handed (my handwriting is still pathetic). The building was bubblegum pink, two stories, and build around a central courtyard. We would have lunch in the courtyard, or on the patio facing the bay. (This memory is reinforced by the fact that I went to school there until the 8th grade). We had a dog, a collie, named Carol, and a cat named Ton, that had free run of the school and grounds. Carol would invite herself into the classrooms and just hang out whenever she wanted. Ton liked to find the sunniest places in the courtyard and hang out just out of reach of us kids. I couldn't wait for first grade so I could be in the classroom who's back wall was nearly all glass, with huge French doors that led out onto the pool deck and overlooked the lawn that led to the bay. I got sent to the headmaster's office because I refused to write capitol Q's on the chalkboard in front of the entire class (it was a particularly difficult letter for me). I made a Christmas ornament that was blue dove outlined in gold glitter. I was really proud of it, because I was able to outline the edges in glitter fairly neatly, and didn't get my hand smacked once. I played jacks with my friends when we waited in the courtyard for the High School girls to be dismissed before we got on the bus that took us home.
Uno, dos, tres, quatro, cinco, sies, siete, ocho, nueva, dies. And this really thin, nearly skeletal girl that I was sure was inches from death at every moment.
My teacher's name was Mrs. Mills. I did not miss a single day of school that year, and I was on the "all E" honor roll all year. I loved playing with the homemade dough Mrs. Mills made. I liked when I got to beat out the chalk in the erasers. I sat next to a boy named Boy. I loved rest time and my mom always gave me an extra dime so I could have two milks at lunch. And the most important memory? This was the year I decided that I wanted to be a teacher.
Loved kindergarten Among many memories, there was a huge fish tank built into the cabinets up front. Loved watching those fish. Hated taking "naps".
I remember we had these blow up letter people... Mrs. A etc... well Mrs. M deflated one day and we all cried!
We didn't have Kindergarten here in the 60's. It wasn't even mandatory until 1984. I hope my students have better memories than most of you! LOL
These are so much fun to read! I'm amazed at how many remember being "shamed" for not doing their work correctly! Wow, makes us all think of what an impact we have on these little ones.
I remembered some other stuff. I remember getting a handwriting workbook and every night we had to take it home and practice writing letters. Before Kindergarten started I could only write the letters in my name. When I brought the workbook home I had trouble with the "S"s but I practiced all night until I got it right and used up the whole notebook so I had to get a new one the next day LOL I also remember that even though it was a Catholic school, the K classes didn't have to wear uniforms. That started in 1st grade. I coudln't wait to be old enough to wear a uniform like the big girls.
I went to Catholic school. I was in the yellow group. I had a Rainbow Bright towel for nap time, and a little girl would pull on the threads of my towel and I would cry. I had a Smurf lunch box. I loved my uniform, but my gray knee socks would NOT stay up and Sister Helen used to yell at me and tell me I was sloppy. I already knew how to read and write and add, so I spent a fair amount of time in the library with the enrichment teacher (My dad says it was because I was busy "helping" the other kids learn and the teacher couldn't handle me ).
These memories make me realize our actions as a teacher do have an impact. But why do we remember the dramatic stuff? I send a birthday card to past students. I hope they remember me!
I remember them with the record that came with them I remember our graham cracker & milk for snack!!! I remember for dental month we had this "dummy" come in & we got to clean his teeth... It was so big when we were in K!!! My principal..Mr. S, knew our family & would always ask about my family & my pony I had!!! LOL!!! He was just a GREAT guy & so was his family!!! Our field trip was some place local & then we went to our teacher's house for a picnic!!! Can you imagine that today?!?! LOL!!! FYI... my teacher celebrated her 90th bday not that long ago...thy had a card shower, so I sent her a card!!! My fam member did her hair, so about 10 yrs ago I remember talking with her about how she got her degree & what not... so fun!!!
I actually remember more from preschool than kindergarten. Go figure. From kindergarten I remember... ...no one in my class being able to pronounce my teacher's name so we all called her Mrs. B. ...that we all had carpet squares for sitting on the floor and mine was too heavy for me to carry so my mom made me a green and yellow thing pillow that had ducks on it. ....we made tie dye t-shirts for a field trip to the zoo. My partner's name was Erica. And my personal favorite.... Mr. Big Ears. It was this poster of the cartoon head with massive ears and if we were going to tattle on someone and we knew it wasn't very important we were supposed to go tell the poster. I don't actually remember using it, but I remember Mrs. B telling people to use it.
I loved Kindergarten and remember quite a bit! I went to a small school and was 1 of just 5 students- all of other kids got chicken pox except me- so I went to school by myself for 2 weeks! Good think I loved my teacher Mrs. Hillman. I also remember trying to figure out all of the shapes we knew with my best friend- we came up with circle, square, and triangle. We thought we had them all. Ha!
I remember getting yelled at because my friend made a mess in the play kitchen and it got blamed on me. I had to go pick it up in front of everyone...I was mortified! I remember being bored because I could read and I knew the sounds of the alphabet. I loved our Letter People books we made, though.
Memories of kindergarten I actually remember alot. My dad was on disablity and happened to be home with me that year. I was in the afternoon group. I remember eating tomato soup and toasted cheese almost every day! My teacher was Mrs. Puitt. She was an older lady, but really nice. I remember the letter people. I remember eating paste. I remember our holiday play. We say "THe Rainbow Connection" and "Puff the Magic Dragon". I was dressed as a bunny, and that song made me cry. It still makes me cry when I hear it now! I have good memories!
I remember a lot from kindergarten. Although, it wasn't that long ago. I remember: ~Nap Time, we got to sleep wherever we wanted. I usually slept on the slide of our play castle, which seemed HUGE to my five year old body. The castle was later taken away from us and given to another class because we were misbehaving. ~Our igloo. We had a dog igloo in our classroom. We were allowed to take in a book and a reading buddy, either a classmate or a stuffed animal. I remember fighting with another girl (who later became my best friend in fourth grade) about who got to go in the igloo with Caleb. We both had crushes on him. ~We brought in our baby pictures. I brought in the picture of myself in a bunny onesie. ~We had to recreate our houses and my dad built one with wood and helped me paint, add Christmas lights, and bushes. ~We had a table with shaving cream, I don't remember much else about it though. ~Layout of the classroom. I remember exactly where everything was in our classroom. ~My teacher's smell. I have a thing with smells for some reason. Sometimes I am walking around and I smell my pre-school "scent" and it always makes me smile! Not really from kindergarten but it is about my teacher. I remember pretty much everything about her. The following year she left my elementary school and transferred, however, word was passed around that she had died. I spent the rest of my school career, until I was a senior in high school, thinking my kindergarten teacher was dead. When I started high school I met a teacher who happened to be the daughter of my patrol "mother." Over my high school career we became really good "friends" per say. When I was a senior, I was talking to her and mentioned my Kindergarten teacher's name and that I had thought she was dead, she told me that he mother (her mom/my patrol "mother" is another Kindergarten teacher) just had lunch with her a few weeks back!
I remember a lot about the other kids... Christina, whose parents wouldn't let her celebrate any holidays, even her birthday. I remember thinking she must have done something really really bad to deserve that. She moved after kindergarten, and no one ever heard from her again. Nathaniel, whom everyone called Beaver, because he ate his pencils. Kendra, my best friend, who I never got to sit next to, because the one time I did we shot a rubber band at Miss P. It landed on her shoulder and she just left it there, until some high schoolers came in and told her it was there. She gave us a very bad look, and we had to move our desks. Mandy, who everyone hated, because she kissed up to Miss P, and she was the only one who wore shoes with laces, and when we had to do our "tie your shoes test", we all had to use her foot. Gross. Valerie, who lived next door to me. We spent a fair amount of the year making "dollars" out of notebook paper. I know we made over 500. I have one distinct memory of not being able to read, although I didn't know it at the time. There was a girl with the initials A.S. in our class, and I remember wondering how she got her name written on the back of the toilet in the girls' room (uh, turns out it was American Standard-and it's still there). K dismissed at 2:00, but my parents worked, and I went with my grandma after, but she was the lunch lady and didn't get done until 2:30 so me and the A.S. girl got to stay in the room and play for an extra half hour. I thought that was soooo cool because we got to do whatever we wanted, usually building with the fake bricks. I remember at Halloween Miss P brought in pumpkin seeds for us to eat, and made us all eat one. I was disgusted by the very thought, and hid it in my desk. It was there for the rest of the year, and every time Miss P would get close to my desk I would get really nervous because I thought she could smell it or something. I remember my sister helping me pick out my clothes for school picture day, and letting me wear my favorite shirt which was not exactly picture worthy. A lady in town asked me why I wore an ugly shirt for my picture, and I cried. Speaking of my sister, she was a senior my K year, and during Homecoming the royalty court included 1 girl and 1 boy kindergartner as a crown bearer. We had to go over to a high school room and stand in front of the seniors while they voted on the cutest of the bunch. I didn't win. BUT, I did get to be a lil' cheerleader and we did a routine to the Oak Ridge Boys song "Elvira". I remember the "giddy-ap, a moon papa moon papa mow mow" part because I had to pretend I was roping a horse. The worst part...Miss P got married and became Mrs. K...then moved to second grade so I had to have her again. She wasn't any nicer the second time around.
Oh, I also remember the classroom layout. For some reason, that school is my favorite in my memory (I went to 3 elem. schools). We had a garden and got to eat a radish (with ranch) we planted(which I thought was gross). I also remember walking quietly in the hallway with two fingers up for peace. I remember art class. I loved the windows. One whole wall was sort of curved and made out of blocks of etched glass (I think is what you call it). Kind of like some bathroom window glass. I would always stare out of that window wall and see blurred figures and trees.
KC, I wonder what my sister remembers of Kindergarten she was in K when I was a senior. I volunteered with her teacher in the PM session, she was in the AM session. Mrs. F. would always call me by my sister's name and call my sister by my name. I had Mrs. F in kindergarten too. Only difference my sister was in the school I teach at now and I was at the grange. I remember the room layout of the grange too. I could actually draw a picture of it. There is one part I can't remember back of hte building to the right. I would have to go in to see it. I just keep thinking there was a wall there. Maybe there is.
I remember going half a day. Free play (socialization), circle time, snack time, story time, nap time (during nap each student was called one by one to do a quick art project, I remember finger painting and I loved it), then free play, story and review day and go home. I now teach kindergarten and I have felt like I'm teaching what first grade was when I was in Kindergarten. Actually, it's more intense now than our first grade was. Anyway, this year I'm teaching Developmental Kindergarten for the first time and I think I'm going to like it. There is a reading curriculum, but it's going to be more like what Kindergarten should be. I felt that all we did last year is assess, assess, assess, We all were sick of it. Every other or every two weeks we were assessing. I'm looking forward to venturing in unchartered territory and making my own path through this new position.
