6 minute read
Adjust the Ingredients
Article
Emily Lech
Adjust the Ingredients: How a Kindergarten Team Redefined Balance to Ignite an Appetite for Learning
During the global pandemic, educators lived in an unpredictable universe that required incredible perseverance, creativity, and resilience. Educators and children alike are forever changed. This school year we exhale the uphill climb and inhale the possibility of the future. With that in mind, how do schools keep a better lens on balance? Webster’s Dictionary defines balance as a condition in which different elements are equal or in the correct proportions. At Elizabeth Ide School, a PreK-2 elementary school of 400 students in Center Cass School District 66 located in Downers Grove, Illinois, a team of kindergarten teachers believes that a balanced, wholechild approach ignites a fresh appetite for learning.
Over the course of ten years in a full-day model, this wasn’t always the case. With the drudgery of worksheets, over-assessing, and all-day academics, something was amiss. Together, with the support of leadership, the team decided to shift the ingredients.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the 2020 Current Population Survey found 3.7 million children
in Kindergarten, a drop of 359,000 in one year, and the lowest since 2002, (Census Bureau, 2022). As school districts across the country face postpandemic challenges, implementing a full-day experience is essential. However, many find themselves doubling up on academics and compromising play, social-emotional learning (SEL), and developmentally appropriate practices due to high stake pressures. A child’s kindergarten year is unlike any other. How do we capture a child’s heart and mind while setting them on a trajectory of success? Are students more joyful in a balanced, connected environment? Here are a few considerations:
Keep the recipe balanced.
Academic and socially balanced experiences are vital in a full-day model. Rigor remains prioritized and is paired with confidence and safety. If achieved, children are able to ‘dig in’ as they build early literacy and numeracy skills. Fusing the modern and natural world through responsive, flexible, and hands-on learning environments that include fine arts, makerspace, library, intentional technology integration, and outdoor learning pays off. With an eye on the scale, ‘fitting it in’ is no longer a constant stressor.
SEL IS the main ingredient.
The social-emotional needs of our young learners are not an afterthought. The Center for Disease Control agrees and states, “The early years of a child’s life are very important for later health and development. One of the main reasons is how fast the brain grows starting before birth and continuing into early childhood. Although the brain continues to develop and change into adulthood, the first 8 years can build a foundation for future learning, health and life success,” (2022).
At Elizabeth Ide, social-emotional learning is interwoven into every part of the day’s instructional experience including classroom design, books, calming spaces, brain breaks, and how money is spent on resource decisions. A balanced day can start in many ways. Our teachers begin with a soft start. This simple routine promotes natural responsibility and self-regulation. Through interaction with intentional morning tubs, students explore, share, and communicate in a peaceful space. From there, Morning Meeting sets the tone for the day, builds community, and encourages personal connections, identity, and belonging. Children are ready to embark on the learning day because they understand what is ahead. Social-emotional learning doesn’t stop there. After lunch, students are invited to a mindful moment which often includes dimmed lights, music, meditation techniques, and visuals; students reset for the second half of the
day. At Elizabeth Ide, students engage in other experiences such as the outdoor peace circle designed with tree trunks circled around a painted stone firepit and a prairie path. Connection with the natural world draws on the students’ senses and the world around them while reinforcing mindfulness and community. Students are seen as unique individuals; stoplight or clip chart behavior systems are nowhere to be found, but rather a restorative, caring environment is built.
Play is a right, not a privilege.
According to Harvard University’s Center for the Developing Child, “The science of child development points to three core principles that can guide what society needs to do to help children and families thrive. These include: Supporting responsive relationships, strengthening core life skills, and reducing sources of stress. Play in early childhood is an effective way of supporting all three of these principles,” (2022). Often we think of play as recess alone. However, with these principles in mind, in 2019, Elizabeth Ide School experienced a massive school remodel for future-ready learning.
Teachers provided input resulting in a discovery zone (an open flex space to reinforce collaboration and play). Since then, 120 students flood and flex into this space on a daily basis for purposeful play. Students and teachers alike connect across the entire grade level. Students thrive in these structured and unstructured environments that include play, experiential learning, and activities that are developmentally stimulating. Rethinking space and how buildings are
Peace Circle
used can begin anywhere and guarantee a big return.
Mindset matters.
From the beginning, students need authentic experiences so they see themselves as readers and writers. For example, during Writing Workshop, goal setting, modeling, conferring, and publication help to grow authentic learners. Prideful presentations showcase published pieces to the class after each unit. In turn, readers are grown through the science of reading paired with diverse, literature-rich environments that emphasize choice and voice. Ultimately, we must ask ourselves: do children understand their purpose; do children know their ‘why?’
Tenacious teams.
In the book entitled, Ridiculously Amazing Schools by Tracey Smith, the author writes,
“The most essential conclusion of our research is that you cannot teach the ‘whole child’ without a ‘whole teacher.’ For education to be at its best, we must create environments where our teachers can be at their best. Education is as only good as the teacher,” (p.1).
These educators act as chefs— developing a child’s lifelong palate, not just cooking up a meal. They model ingredients of safety, connection, and individuality that hold true in the classroom setting. A strong team also wonders, “Do we deeply understand what we are doing?” This is certainly the case at Elizabeth Ide. Every member offers humor, empathy, and a unique lens. Add in a school renovation and a two-year pandemic; this team isn’t taking any shortcuts. The commitment to the team’s well-being is a huge indicator of a balanced delivery.
As schools and districts consider tweaking the ingredients, marinate on this: Would your kindergarten model be good enough for your own child? That very question resonated with me. This resulted in registering my own daughter in a new school: Elizabeth Ide. Thanks to a district incentive to make this possible, compromising joyful learning isn’t an option for my child or any of the 120 kindergarten students we serve.
You can find the Elizabeth Ide team sitting together laughing, planning, and reflecting. As the conversation draws to a close, Mrs. Fitzgerald smiles wide: “Ultimately our goal is that our parents can say: you know my child. Your connection makes a difference.” Connection is in fact the magical ingredient that makes balance possible. It has been all along.
References
Early brain development and health. (2022, March 25). Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention.https://www.
cdc.gov/ncbddd/childdevelopment/ early-brain-development.html
Play in early childhood: The role of play in any setting. (2020, November 3). Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University.https://
developingchild.harvard.edu/ resources/play-in-early-childhoodthe-role-of-play-in-any-setting/
Smith, T., & Waller, J. (2020). Ridiculously amazing schools: Creating a culture where everyone thrives. US Census Bureau. (2022, April 21). National kindergarten day: April 21, 2022. Census.gov.https://www.
census.gov/newsroom/stories/ kindergarten-day.html
Emily Lech has an elementary school principal in Center Cass District 66. Previously, she served as a principal in Yorkville District 115, assistant principal in Park Ridge District 64, and taught for a decade in Washington, DC and Evanston, IL. She’s currently earning her doctorate in education from the University of St. Francis. Her favorite things are caffeine, Anderson BookStore, and school dance parties.
