Building Relationships in Kindergarten

There is an educational blog by Michael Linsin that I follow, that is all about classroom management. I read a post over the summer that really struck me. He said, "My number one goal at the end of the first day is not that they know the rules and consequences. It's that they're excited to be part of the class. That they run home to their parents and say, 'Oh my gosh, I have the best teacher. I have this awesome class. It's going to be great.'" This quote has really stuck with me and reminds me of the reason that I went into this profession. My ultimate goal as a teacher is to build strong relationships with and between my students that in turn leads them down a path of endless learning. I want to create lifelong learners that collaborate well. This journey starts in kindergarten.

This year, we have already started building those strong relationships in the classroom. We have worked together to accomplish challenging tasks and we have encouraged one another to be brave and take risks! One challenge the kids worked on together was called "Rabbit Hole." They each had their own cone that they had to place strategically on the ground to hold up the hula hoop. They worked together and talked about where to place the cones so that it would work. Once they got the hula hoop balanced on the cones, they all had to get inside without knocking it down. They cheered each other on and posed for a picture when they all got in!

 

Another way we build relationships in the classroom is to get to know our classmates on a deeper level. We do a lot of teambuilding activities to get to know each other and to find similarities among us. One teambuilder we did involved rolling the dice and talking about our favorite things. It was cool to see so many things they have in common!

 


We will continue to develop these relationships as the year progresses. It is so important for these kids to learn at an early age how important teamwork and collaboration truly is. Learning these skills is a huge part of our SEL plan.