My granddaughter, Lily, loves to swim. Watching her in the water in the summertime is one of the most joyful experiences of this grandfather’s days. In her element, she challenges herself at the leading edge of learning and adventure. She now floats on her back long distances, swims underwater, treads water, and is beginning to dive off the end of the board at the pool at our local public recreation center. She loves playing games in the water with her brother and me when we go to the pool at dinner time and there are few other swimmers around. From the water she notices birds and planes overhead, the shapes in the clouds, the color of the sky.
Lily gets to know all the life guards and will begin another year of swimming lessons in another week. She meets the water on her own terms. She knows her limits when she is over her head, but it is good there is always a lifeguard there to keep a watchful eye.
Lily and her swimming makes me think of Lily and kindergarten, which she enters in September. Lily turns six in September, which will make her one of the oldest children chronologically in her class. She loves to play, pretend dress up, paint, sing and dance, write, and be read to—all the things good kindergartens provide. My greatest wish for Lily and her classmates, some of whom will have just turned five in August, is that they be allowed to explore learning in their classroom the way Lily explores the water at the Rec Center. All teachers, but especially kindergarten teachers, are like lifeguards and swim instructors: They keep a watchful eye, observing all that their students do; noticing their interests, strengths, and gifts; and scaffolding new learning with instruction that stretches their abilities and challenges their intellect.
In the best kindergartens, children get to learn with their whole selves, just as in swimming, not just with their heads and with pencil and paper. They get to play and paint, learn through dramatic play, construct with blocks and puzzles, learn math with manipulatives and games, hear classic children’s literature, swim in a print and picture rich environment, and challenge themselves at the leading edge of their learning, wherever that is for them.
I’ve already had a chance to visit Lily’s kindergarten with Lily’s mom and I am confident that a joyful experience awaits her and her classmates and that they will quickly become a learning community for each other under the watchful eye of their competent lifeguard and instructor.
My granddaughter, Lily, loves to learn. So do all children entering school, each in their own way. May kindergarten be preserved everywhere as the place where children can learn to swim through the world of learning and develop the courage and confidence they need to be “in school.”
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Thanks for the kind words, Tina, and for all your wonderful work in the world on behalf of children. Chip
Thank you Chip for reminding me of my daughter Sarah’s Kindergarten experience.
I know with all her struggles Kindergarten set a tone for her that led her to love school and be a confident learner. My fear is that we no longer let kindergartners develop a love for school by overwhelming them with content before they are ready. Thank you, I so enjoy your blog and look forward to more of your wonderful writings that continue to make me think!! Tina
Angela – Thanks for extending the metaphor so beautifully! A great tale and a wonderful reminder, Thanks, Chip
Mary – Thanks for your heartfelt wishes and your life-long contributions as a K teacher! Chip
My son-in-law described his recollection of how his dad taught him to swim
when he was small. His dad lowered him into a creek with a strong current.
As his little boy thrashed around in the water stretched out in a prone position, his dad ran along the creek bed downstream and after several minutes reached down to lift him out. As my son-in-law told me this story he concluded that he really was convinced he could swim and was fearless when he was faced with a real swimming pool experience! What a good reminder in the context of Chip’s article–teachers need to be ever mindful of the flow of ideas and where they take us as learners–sometimes teachers need to lift the learners up and out of situations might overwhelm them.
I can totally relate! My grandson is going to Kindergarten this year too and i wish for him just as you wish for Lily. My daughter has taken great care to find a very wonderful school htat I believe will provide these opportunities for him. I am a kindergarten teacher in another state and so I will be thinking of my Franklin as I interact with my little Ks…and take special care to provide these opportunities for them.
Kelly – You are so right and I’m glad you are teaching and preserving such a place for your Kindergarten children. Best, Chip
Thanks, Rosalea – Now we have Common Core Standards, that, while a good idea and carefully constructed, may well further endanger the precious time for constructive play and the joyful learning of our five and six year olds. We all have to stay centered on what we know from our experiences in the classroom is best for our youngest students. Chip
This is a beautifully written piece! I am a kindergarten teacher and I couldn’t agree more with your perspective on how kindergarten should be! Kindergarten is such an amazing time of discovery and growth, both for the children AND for the teachers who are getting to know each and every child. Childhood (and kindergarten) should be a wonderful journey that unfolds for each child in it’s own special way.
Dear Chip –
As always your writing makes me realize how precious children are and how clearly you understand them. Kindergarten has changed so much over the years; it should be how you describe, but so often it is based in academic work that is way too early for this age child. Every school superintentent should read your blogs. Maybe they would finally get it!
Please continue to write and to inspire me and all others who read your thoughts.
Fondly,
Rosalea