Tuesday, October 11, 2016

How Learning Games For Kindergarten And 1st Grade Can Work

By Charles Wood


Teachers of small children face special challenges. Some children have been to pre-k prior to kindergarten and have an idea of what to expect. For others, it is their first time in a school environment. Most are excited, happy, anxious, and unsure of themselves, all at the same time. Teachers have to take all of this into account as they begin each new school year. Children entering first grade are a little more seasoned and more secure about what is expected of them, but they are still very young. Education professionals can start the year on a positive note by introducing learning games for kindergarten and 1st grade early on.

Schools have a specific curriculum and guidelines that teachers must follow. They have advancement goals that have to be met periodically throughout the school year. One of the easiest ways to achieve success is to adapt lessons to the needs and personalities of the children in their care.

New teachers placed in a roomful of five and six year old kids might be surprised at how little time they have to get their attention and how hard it is to keep it. College classes and textbook instructions will not be much help if you are swamped by twenty-five to thirty active, energetic kindergartners or first graders.

Stimulating their senses of sight and sound can be very effective. If you decide to read a picture book, you might want to include funny voices and sound effects to keep their interest and attention. The majority of your students will probably already be familiar with computers and electronic games and will enjoy new ones that you introduce.

One of the nice things about new learners is their eagerness to please. They are still young enough that they want you to like them and will make an effort to earn your praise. At this age, kids tend to be curious and like to have things explained to them in a way they can understand and remember. Repetition works with small children and so does consistency. You will always have a few in the class that hang back, afraid to answer questions for fear of making a mistake. These children need extra time and coaxing to succeed.

You will need to games that allow students to move around, because small children just cannot not sit still for extended periods of time. This is a great chance to teach them about the difference between inside voices and behaviors and outside ones. Some may already understand this, but others may not have been taught.

Games that involve music are wonderful. The correlation between music and math is well documented and starting to teach this early can make a big difference in the educational life of your students. Music helps children remember things better and retain them longer. You can find great examples of musical learning games online.

Making learning fun requires effort, and not every game will be a big success. Young teachers will learn to come into the classroom prepared to abandon ideas that fall flat and replace them with new ones. Over time you find out what works and what doesn't. Good teachers are special in children;s lives. The ones that capture their imaginations and bring out their interests and talents are remembered forever.




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