Transitional Kindergarten
Students Name
Institutional Affiliation
Course
Date
Transitional Kindergarten
SECTION A
A transitional kindergarten (TK) serves as a bridge linking Preschool and Kindergarten. In TK, children are assisted by their teachers in nurturing social skills, which is done through activities that help build confidence and improve communication skills. In transitional Kindergarten, learning is done in an interactive model that involves play in the classroom. Educational games serve best for the 5-year-old children enrolled in TK since they make learning active. Space in the classroom approach creates learning activities that are pupil-initiated and teacher-directed, enabling the teacher to know each pupil’s interests. This is helpful for a meaningful learning experience for the pupils. A transitional kindergarten daily schedule is as follows.
8:00-8:30 am pupils arrive in the Kindergarten and settles in the classroom; they place their bags at designated points marked with tags. Pupils are also allowed to interact a little bit to share their previous night experiences. They then sing songs to welcome the day and in preparedness for the day’s routines.
8:30 – 9:15 am the classroom tables are set with independent activities, and pupils are kept in a circle; the teacher introduces the tables, explains the signs and procedures for stopping. The pupils are then asked to choose an activity and sit around the tables. They then practice the exercises interactively within the classroom as the teacher moves around, checking on their progress. At 9:15 am, the teacher signals for stopping, and pupils are instructed to clean the tables and proceed to the class sitting arrangement.
9:20 – 9:35 am, the teacher conducts a demonstration on handwashing, explaining to the pupils the importance of this activity as they wash their hands for snacks. Here the teacher may compose a song for the pupils to sing while washing their hands to make the training enjoyable. Between 9:35 am and 9:45 am, the children sit at the designated tables and take their snacks. The time between 9:45-10:30 is the pupils take a recess and tour the playing ground. 10:30-11:10 am, the pupils sit in the classroom and groups; then we have a reading and writing lesson; the children are given letters, numbers, and words and are expected to read loudly and write them down. 11:10-12:00 noon the pupil’s breaks for lunch. 12:00 – 12:40 pm pupils take a twenty minutes rest, mostly a nap with the lights out, then regroups for storytelling. Between 12:40-1:40 pm, the classroom is set up and organized to allow the pupils to play; during this session, the pupils play with toys, blocks, LEGOS, and word puzzles and interact freely, exchanging the play objects. At 1:45 pm, the pupils take a fifteen minutes break. 2:00-2:30 pm pupils take some snacks. At 3:10 pm, the students sing, pack their bags, and at 3:30 pm, they say goodbye to their teacher and each other as the class is dismissed.
SECTION B
Discussion of the internal structure of the transition classroom
The best class layout can support multiple intelligences by containing several places in the room to work for various intelligence. The classroom structure below can support different types of intelligence in the following ways. There is a study area where total silence is demanded linguistic intelligence, and the learners can easily access it when reading, writing, and practicing speech-related activities. When it comes to bodily-kinesthetic intelligence, there exists an open area where body movements can be quickly and conveniently (Kaiser, 2017) showcased. The sitting arrangement has left out space or area large enough for an indoor aquarium necessary for all-natural intelligence types through physical activities. Child initiated learning model is essential in establishing a child’s area of interest. In this model, a teacher serves to guide the pupils on expressing and regulating their emotions in an interactive classroom. A teacher should clearly understand and accept that pupils experience a wide range of emotions and should help the pupils identify and validate emotions or feelings by using simple words such as happy, sad, or fearful and involve the pupils in identifying ways of regulating such emotions. The classroom environment is also a determinant in determining a child’s area of interest; the classroom should have a supportive environment that links children learning to their daily endeavors; this will provide a play area where pupils can firmly but safely express their emotions hurting others. A well-arranged classroom enables pupils to have enough space, and they can independently select activities, team up with other pupils, or work alone. A teacher is expected to be consistent in identifying a pupil’s strengths and be responsive to each pupil’s needs and interests.
Discussion of the external structure of the transition classroom
Too much work without play made Jack a dull boy, which indicates that learning involves play. Pupils are usually playful at this stage, and the classroom educational games are not enough; therefore, pupils should occasionally tour the playground every day. The teacher decides the most appropriate time when activities can be done outdoor. Pupils are expected to play together in self-selected groups under the teacher’s supervision; the aim is to naturally nurture friendship between the children while at the same time allowing the children to develop an interest in co-curricular activities. The children should be provided with enough play resources, for example, balls, paints, or blocks for the outdoor activities to ensure that they are not scrambling for them. At the playground, the likelihood of accidents to happen is high, and therefore, the teacher should make sure that pupils can safely interact without harming each other. Still, when an accident happens, the pupils should control their emotions and show concern for their friends.
As an educator, it is your responsibility to ensure that what is taught can easily suit your classroom’s different learners. The transitional school setting above creates an avenue for learners to conduct outdoor activities that support their learning. The school’s outside setting creates a space where learners can sing and listen to loud instruments such as drums and tambourines (McFarland & Adhikary, 2006). These instruments can be essential when supporting musical intelligence the children. This is done by encouraging kids to explore the instrumental tone, rhythm as well as pitch. Indoor activities can be tiring, and therefore, children would always want some time off their books. The teacher can use the outdoor space to support linguistic intelligence by engaging the children in wordplays such as challenging twisters, jokes, and spelling challenges. The teacher can also take this opportunity to tell students stories and encourage them to converse in line with a particular language. The outdoor activities are essential to children as they can eliminate off-task behaviors during lesson time. Children are, therefore, more attentive and would exhibit on-task behaviors more severely. This environment automatically transitions these kids’ attitudes from the perspective of boring class lessons to the incorporation of activities to accompany their learning. Learning outdoor can promote creativity, imagination, enhance social relations, and increase motivations for learning ((McFarland & Adhikary, 2006). One of the challenges encountered in the classroom is bullying, mostly caused by the pupils’ inability to control emotions while scrambling for limited space in the indoor classroom; the outdoor classroom provides ample space where pupils can carry out activities uninterrupted, thus reduce bullying.
References
Kaiser (2017). Challenging Behavior in Young Children. 4th Edition. Prentice-Hall specifically chapters 7 and 8.
McFarland, L., & Adhikary, M. (2006). Bringing Multiple Intelligences Outdoors. Texas Child Care Quarterly, 30(2), 24-33.
External Classroom Design
SECTION C: Curriculum Web
Internal Classroom Design