[LM_NET] HIT - Kindergarten very large groups

[M S <drjesons@GMAIL.COM>]

I  want to thank all of you for sending suggestions here are my request the
responses to my request.

Hello and Happy New Year

I just started working in two different schools with kindergarten children.
In one school

I may get two classes together and I may have over 40 children at the time
with one or two assistants.

It is very hard to control the children as they fight and tease each other.
It gets warm in the classroom as they come at the end of the day with their
coats.

I have tried routines, breaking the lesson into several activities including
movement, finger play, songs, coloring and listening to a story.

They also have a routine about coming into the library, putting their coats
away,  and leaving.

I have them for 35 minutes. It seems that I waste about 15-20 minutes
settling them.

Any suggestions.?

 I will post them as a Hit if someone asks me to.

Madeleine Zember, Librarian
Early Childhood Center
Hempstead, NY
drjesons@gmail.com

 jo turrentine <joturrentine@yahoo.com>

I was in this situation one year and I never really found a good solution.
Even with 3 people to supervise they still were not on task. This was
Kindergarten.



We finally split them into 2 groups and I took one group and the assistant
led the other. The prinicpal supported me and we never did that again.



This is not much help for you I realize.



Hi Madeleine,
I would consider using the assistants that come along.  Split the group into
three.  Have three activities - book selection (assistant-supervised),
direct instruction/reading/storytelling (you) and another activity, perhaps
based on a story read last week - e.g. book response, coloring, more by the
author (assistant-supervised).  Rotate the three activities in over 25 mins,
which leaves ten minutes for actual checkout.
When sorting out groups, make sure the kids that drive each other nuts
aren't together.
Cheers,
Trish

Trish Wade
Teacher-Librarian & Website Manager
Eatons Hill State School
Queensland AUSTRALIA
School Site http://www.eatohillss.eq.edu.au
Library BookBlog: http://ehsslibrary.edublogs.org/
dtwade@optusnet.com.au
Ph 3264 9222
Fax 3264 9000



Ellen Rubin <bookbabe@njrubin.us>

Hi Madeleine,
Please post a hit.
It sounds like you have to have a lot of audience participation
situations not to mention movement opportunities. Do the children
also check books out?


Ellen Rubin, Librarian
Elisabeth Morrow School
Englewood, NJ



I use colored name tags (3" X 5" index cards with two holes punched on the
top to accommodate a length of string)  with their library barcode on
them.  They wear these around their necks.  These act as position holders
in story time and their library card when they check out.  I use these
same name tags for all classes up to 5th grade when I switch to pin type
nametags.  I place the nametags on the floor, in the story area, usually
boy- girl- boy--- I put  nervous nellys, visually impaired- hard of
hearing etc at the front or at the back as required. .  I change the name
tag placement every week so everyone gets a chance to sit up front. We do
our rules poster on an easel (pretzel legs, hands in lap (not touching
name tag), eyes on my eyes, mouths closed). I complement them profusely.
( if you need a good example of pretzel legs look at Jon...   I love the
way Jane is doing everything on our poster.  I use the Tribes posters at
the beginning of the year to demonstrate what I want, introducing a
different poster each week till we have done them all (attentive
listening, mutual respect, appreciations, participation, and no put
downs).   I do a story,  2-3 minute lesson (title, check out, picture
book0 ), a guessing book (Like tanya toban's books about shapes numbers
things, spots, who been here, ABC,  etc. )  every one gets to guess at one
page or thing each week. I relate a question I ask each student each week,
 I relate these to the lesson or story.  If the story has to do with pets
I ask them their favorite pet,  favorite color, Name one person in your
family, etc.  I do 3 finger plays between each activity.  When we are done
checking out they line up and sit on the floor and read till the teacher
comes.  Good luck. My school district believes in small class sizes (18-22
per class).



"Knowledge is free at the library.  Just bring your own container."
--Unknown

BJ Rae
School Library Media Specialist
Northside Elementary School
Middleton-Cross Plains Area School District
Middleton Wisconsin
bonnier@mcpasd.k12.wi.us



Becky Mosbacher <bmosbacher@hellgate.k12.mt.us>





Is there a state standard about how large a class one teacher can
legally accommodate?  My guess is that there is.  You don't mention
whether or not you have an aide or whether another teacher accompanies
the class to the library.  I'd look into the legality of class size and
try to address it that way
Hi,

I have my kindergarteners alone for about 15 min.  There are anywhere from
23-29 of them.  I have 4-6 classes depending upon enrollment for the year.
I spend about 30 seconds quieting them down and here is what I do.  At the
beginning of the year I teach them a concept called library manners.
Library manners includes the following

eyes on teacher
arms folded
ears listening
mouths quiet.

We practice this a few times (2-3) with a few reinforcements by way of
reminders over the next 3-4 weeks.  The term "Library manners" becomes their
buzz or signal word.  As soon as they arrive all I need do is to say "Show
me library manners" and they are usually with me.  I tell them to "show me"
as opposed to "tell me what they are" because it saves valuable time.  All
kindergarteners love to talk. Once in a while, if everyone is not with me, I

will point out 2-3 kids with great "library manners" and then everyone is
with me.   We then have our mini lesson or story and a brief discussion at
the end which allows the kids to "share" what they learned and satisfy that
itch to talk.  :}

Good luck
Serena Hayes
Library Media Specialist
Heber Valley Elementary
Heber, Utah
shayes@syptec.com

Jill Brown <buflib@yahoo.com>

Hi -

Don't look at the "settling" time as being wasted.
Full body movement, hand clapping routines, short
rhymes and chants - all which could be repeated during
the other activities - are important for the little
ones. Use them to set up the story theme  - or not.
And repeat them from week to week. Familiarity breeds
contentment!

Get your assistants to sit with the really disruptive
ones. Bring the disruptive ones up front once in a
while and have them "lead" the activity.

I am a former Kdg teachers and preschool public
library specialist.



Hi,
Sounds like a problem! If there are assistants to help
with the children, and you have the space, maybe you
could break them into two groups; one group is
supervised by the assistant and is doing an art
project related to the day's story, or they are
choosing books, while the other group is with you
doing a story, songs, or activity?

Mary Walter
retired from Arlington County VA
http://kidslearningstuff.blogspot.com

P.S. Hello to Hempstead! One of my daughters graduated
from Hofstra and loved it there.





One of the biggest suggestions I can give is to get a sit down routine,
whether its at tables or on a rug.

I used to have problems with Kinders changing their spot to sit.  I bought a
rug with colored shapes on it.  When the students came in they either pulled
a shape out of a bag (they couldn't look) and sat on that colored shaped.
On other days I would simple tell them a color.  They were not allowed to
change places once they sat down.

I've also assigned seats at tables, spending one whole class period
practicing sitting down.  You could do something similar with chairs by
placing a shape on the back of the chair.

Paula Laurita
Library Sciences Editor
http://librarysciences.bellaonline.com

Nancy Cave <nccave@comcast.net>



I seem to spend a lot of time on behavior training. I have decided my
goal for the kinders is library behavior.



Youse <cyouse@gmail.com>

I have the same problem.  I would love to see a hit.  I have that many kids
with no or one assistant for fifty minutes at a time.  I have been resorting
to United Streaming---they now know all the words to Chicka Chicka Boom Boom
and we watch a lot of Read-alee-Dee.

Cheryl Youse, MLS
Media Specialist
J. L. Lomax Elementary School
1450 Howell Road
Valdosta, GA  31601
229/333-8523
cyouse@gmail.com


Sincerely, <cyouse@gmail.com>

Madeleine Zember, Librarian
Early Childhood Center
Hempstead, NY
 <cyouse@gmail.com>drjesons@gmail.com



<cyouse@gmail.com>

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