It sounds to me as though administration needs to get a handle on the behavior of the parents, ASAP!!!
I agree. At all of the schools I worked at, parents were NOT allowed to go into the classroom with the kdis, up to the door was fine. And then they had to leave. (We have kindergarten orientation before school started so parents and kids had the opportunity to explore the classroom, take pictures, etc, before the big day). Sounds like your kinder team NEEDS to sit down with your P to put these things into place for next year.
Oh, Kinder! That sounds so stressful! The kids and parents are lucky to have someone like you willing to do this with them and wrangle the little ones. I don't think I every could... Shame on those parents for moving stuff around! What nerve! I mean, seriously, what would they do if we went to their jobs and just changed people's offices or cubicle assignments? That's just... ugh!!! Entitlement!!!! Grrrrr...
I agree about the parents. The first few days of school, those of us without homeroom responsibilities are put to work helping out in kindergarten--shooing out parents, helping with crying students, chasing the "runners". Those are the most exhausting hours of my entire teaching year. Similarly, at the end of the day, those who can help with dismissal in the kindergarten yard where parents wait for their children outside of the gate.
Why are they allowed into the building??? In my kids' elementary school, every visitor must sign in. How can you possibly keep kids safe with all those adults you don't know wandering around your classroom? How can the school possibly safeguard the bathrooms against someone wandering in wth the crowd and hanging out waiting for a victim??? I think this needs to be addressed immediately!!
My parents came in, thought about lingering. I told them to set up their routine now! You walked them down, now leave. They looked at me, like what? I had warned them at orientation that that is what I would be doing. It only took about 20 min. to get the parents out. No criers. Sorry you had such a rough day kinder! hugs
So sorry about the not so magical first day. Hoping it gets better. I'm sure you'll get things under control. As far as the parents...sheesh! But (Alice) even if they all signed in, following procedure, they'd still be in the building. I've never been in a school that limited parent visits. In the hall, in the classroom...open door policy. Is this abnormal?
I hate that you had such a bad first day back, but it will only improve from here! Right? It will be much better tomorrow.
I have no idea what's normal-- anytime I've ever been in my kids' school I've signed in and out. (And that goes for the middle school as well.) While you're right-- that merely keeps track of who is there, it doesn't limit it, at least there's some sort of accountability. I've never had a parent in my classroom while I was teaching. Anytime I see a visitor in the hall I stop what I'm doing and ask if they need help; most of the time they're looking for the office and are lost.
Wow...it sounds like there should be some sort of briefing for the parents about what to expect on the first day...AND some sort of assistance to make sure procedures are followed, particularly because we all know the first few hours are detrimental to setting the tone you want for the year. I have a friend whose oldest is starting kinder this year. She's freaked out about it. Her biggest concern is that her daughter will get lost in a big class and not get the type of attention she got in preschool. I told her that's true, she will be with more students, but she doesn't need the attention she got in preschool because she's older and more independent now. Parents have a hard time letting go and giving up control (like the mother who moved the name tag). They're each only concerned with their little one and they have no concept of what it's like to be responsible for a room of 26 five-year-olds...maybe you already do this, but if your school doesn't have some sort of orientation, maybe you personally could send out a letter the week before school starts to advise the parents on what to expect and how to act in this emotional time. I hope it gets smoother for you!
Pulling name tags off of desks is just obnoxious! Who does that!?!? I'm sorry to hear that your first day was terrible. The GOOD news is, now you are prepared for such things to happen next year and you can anticipate how you will handle it next time. I teach 3rd grade and believe it or not, my students' parents come in the room to help, too. I had a student's parents and aunts and uncles come today! It is a bit much. I wish it would stop.
Wow! Sorry you had such a rough first day. Our kids meet their teacher on the playground for the pledge. On the first day after the pledge all of the extra staff without homerooms basically shooed the parents away from the kinders, I think the parents were more upset than the kids but it helped them all adjust a lot faster! Praying tomorrow is better!
It was a rough one here too However, we gave out a "Teacher Tips for a Great First Day" at meet the teacher and one of them said not to linger too much on the first day, and it really worked!
Wow! Sorry you had a bad day, Kinder! I hope that tomorrow is a better day! My daughter's school does a breakfast for the parents of kinder kids. After dropping their kids off for assembly, they parents go to a room with the one of the principals to eat and relax....allowing the teachers to take their babies back to the classroom w/o interuption from the parents.
We do have policies for parents not to come down that hallway after the 1st week. Some of the kids don't know where they are going-who their teacher is. Some are just carrying these big bags of supplies-so it's more lenient in the beginning. They do sign in in the mornings to be in the building. We did a meet-and-greet and it was those same parents who came then who lingered this morning. Our admin is usually really good about shooing them out-but my guess is there were other fires to put out this morning. We added a new class because of higher enrollment and had to start with a sub in that classroom-that's probably what they were attending to. It's just so funny to me these parents fuss and fuss and as soon as they walk out the door their child is fine. It's like if the child doesn't get upset then they don't miss them or something.
I did have a kinder welcome party the first 1.5 hours of school. It gives parents the opportunity to feel welcome but gives them a cut off point. At this time I have clear stations. I have instructions for parents on what to do with their child. The stations are flexible so I can go around and assist children that don't have parents with them or just to introduce myself to everyone. On the door they had a postcard to find for their child along with a welcome pencil. They had clear instructions. Things I didn't want them to touch were put away. Then we go on a building tour and I tell parents we will say goodbye to them in the lobby. I suggest it is a good idea to quietly go so they transition better. By the end of the 1.5 hours, parents were satisfied enough to do this easily. Parents were invited well in advance of the first day. This approach was really friendly and welcoming. It gives them the chance to do the first day kinder thing (which is a milestone) with clear boundaries and time limits. I even have a door with a background, the year and the word kindergarten on it so they can take pictures there. Sometimes they request that one be taken with me. Having said that, I think if I had parents that peeled the name off of things, went through my stuff, etc. I would be very taken back. WOW! Talk about lack of respect!!
Gosh, it is almost worth it to lock the door and put a sign up... "LEARNING IN PROGRESS! DO NOT DISTURB" As for moving the name tag, I would have just moved the kid right back where I wanted them. I hope it gets better. Keeping my fingers crossed for you if you will keep yours crossed for me that my screamer won't scream all day long again!
I love these ideas! I seriously don't get why parents come back to check in on their child then the poor kid was nothing but tears as the parent was leaving. Get a clue! Hope you have a much better 2nd day! I'm sure once the students get into a set routine they will be much better. They might have just assumed that whatever goes at home works for school too. Good luck!! :thumb:
Cowgirl, I honestly thought the first part of your post was an intro to..."and then I woke up!" :wow::sorry:
Wow! My first thought after reading your post....... "lock the door!" Parents still come in and take pictures in 3rd grade. After about 20 minutes I say "Okay, time to hug goodbye" and kick out any parents who are lingering. I also wait to do name tags. I let the kids pick their seat when they first enter the room, slap down name tags while they do back to school stuff at their desk and then move their desks where I want them second day of school. That way it is appears they had control over their seat.
I just remembered what my school started doing this last school year. The principal actually stood at the entrance and prevented parents from entering the school (unless they were walking their child to the kindergarten rooms, and then they were told to come right back). The principal had several sixth graders help out too by walking new kids and young kids to their rooms.
Wow! A parent actually moved the name tag? Boy, oh boy. I am sorry you had such a rough day yesterday. I hope today was better for you. We are already on week two. Last week was a bit rough for me too. It's much better this week.
Wow, they moved a name tag? Wow. I had parents in my room for 10 minutes, but once everyone is in, we do a "bye Mom and Dad, see you at(whatever time)" and they leave. I suppose it's more difficult with kindergarten, but the helicopter parents were told by their kids that it was time to go, and they left!
Wow, kinder! I bet your miss your first graders. You and the students will get into a routine that works, they just need to figure out school world. How many of your students are young kinders?
Ugh. This made me think of something. My best friend's classroom door (in another district from mine) can be approached from the parking lot, which would make me extremely uncomfortable. She is a poster on here as well and also teaches kindergarten. I have commented to her that her school needs a gate- #1, for obvious reasons, and #2, because parents can just approach the door. This made me wonder what the security and procedures at your school is... because goodness, it sounds like parents are running it from your description. Our school, on the other hand, does not have doors that can be approached from just anywhere. There are even doors in the front office that require teachers to swipe their district identification cards/keys. By no means is our area unsafe with high criminal activity, but not just anyone should be permitted to gallivant around the school. I also thought whether your parents are just lingering around the school and gossiping, which they should not be doing, either. These parents need to learn that this behavior stops now because it is going to turn on them as their children get closer to my students' age.
Don't underestimate the unconventional creativity of the lovely and fabulous GT students. LOL... that statement made me laugh out loud, big-time. The hilarious part is that the students are still like that to an extent four years later. :lol: The bus, by far, makes me laugh the most... :lol:
