Which attributes enable kindergarten teachers to meet your child's needs in and outside the classroom? How do the attributes influence your child's development? Read about what parents with children enrolling in kindergarten should know about kindergarten teachers.
Social Skills
Generally, all teachers should be socially adept to enhance their interactions with students. However, social skills are fundamental when handling kindergarten children, as these children are still developing socially. Remember, children often struggle with self-expression and thus may be shy to seek their teachers' help.
Kindergarten teachers understand such struggles and provide a safe environment for children to express their needs or concerns. For example, they may schedule one-on-one talks with children who cannot self-express in the presence of other students. Moreover, they strive to develop shy students' social skills to prepare them for elementary school.
Patience
Teachers need to be patient when they deal with kindergarten children because the kids are still in their developmental years. For example, children often have different learning abilities, which influence their ease of understanding and retaining new information. T
Teachers should identify struggling students and implement different methods to foster learning. For instance, they may incorporate play-based games to improve children's classroom engagement, which encourages learning.
Good teachers are also patient when they with children's non-academic issues. For example, some children may have behavioral challenges that stem from their home environments. Kindergarten teachers assist such students by identifying the cause of the behavioral issues and recommending or implementing suitable interventions.
Communication Skills
Kindergarten teachers understand the significance of effective communication with parents and their children. The teachers maintain open communication channels with guardians, including updating them regularly about their children's progress.
For instance, teachers may schedule meetings with parents to solve their children's academic challenges. An example entails recommending learning games that parents may purchase for their children to use at home.
Regarding children, kindergarten teachers' communication skills apply in different ways. First, teachers understand the importance of complimenting their students to encourage good behavior. For example, teachers should congratulate students who complete assignments punctually to reinforce the trait.
On the other hand, kindergarten teachers are compassionate when providing constructive feedback. They highlight how students can improve their performance or behaviors without demoralizing them.
Classroom Management Skills
Kindergarten teachers should be flexible with their instruction strategies for effective classroom management. They should understand that preschool children have short attention spans, which undermine learning. Thus, they modify their instructions to meet students' needs at a given time.
For example, teachers may introduce play breaks during lessons to raise the children's energy levels. They may also introduce group work in which children learn from their peers, improving classroom engagement.
Another aspect of effective classroom management entails maintaining a conducive learning environment. Good kindergarten teachers understand that even simple changes in the classroom setup may offset children's attention. For example, hanging a colored chart for the next lesson may grab the students' attention and alter their classroom engagement. Thus, they understand when to introduce new materials not to disrupt learning.
Child Safety Skills
Kindergarten teachers continually monitor their students' safety and well-being. They understand that children are curious and adventurous, predisposing them to injuries. Thus, they identify and mitigate potentially hazardous situations before they escalate.
They also use such incidents as teachable moments to instruct students about safety. For example, teachers discourage kindergarten kids from playing on desks because they may fall and sustain injuries. They also encourage social responsibility, in which children learn to take care of one another.
Kindergarten teachers commit to meeting their students' holistic needs. Parents planning to enroll their children in kindergartens may visit the schools for one-on-one discussions about what to expect from the teachers. Parents and guardians living in Indianapolis should contact Riviera Daycare & Preschool for a walkthrough on how our teachers will meet your children's needs.