An inside look at a day in Blackberry Creek

I unexpectedly spent half of the day subbing in Blackberry Creek, a K/1 classroom. Here are a few things I re-learned during this time:

-Teaching K/1 requires extraordinary patience

-K and 1st grade students have a very wide range of knowledge and skill in most disciplines, even at this mid-way point of the year

-Incorporating choice into the work allows kids to have a feeling of agency, and thus motivation, which in turn makes them more open to the targeted learning experience

-Testing or opposing authority is a natural developmental characteristic of the age

-Fine motor control in writing and other small movements is often still awkward

-They both need to move and be physical, and yet tire easily

-Children this age love to ask questions, but may not yet be able to see or understand other viewpoints

-The approach to work is just beginning to coalesce; their ambition, response to critique, and knowledge base don't often align

-K/1 play to learn about the world and people around them, and learn effectively through techniques that incorporate play (games, riddles, songs, poems)