Kindergarten is the Model for Lifelong Learning

 http://www.edutopia.org/kindergarten-creativity-collaboration-lifelong-learning

This article talks about how much Kindergarten has changed and transformed over the years and in many ways is claimed or labeled as the new “first grade.”  The article talks about how when kindergarten first started it was a place for building towers, painting, making friends, and learning to share. Nowadays kindergarten has transformed in doing what the rest of the school is doing: worksheets.  The article talks about how the “rest of the school” should be more like kindergarten, in the fact that they are having to use different abilities to think creatively and work collaboratively.   The article talks about how we need these skills in preparation for the fast changing society. The article goes on to talk about how these skills are not supported in the classroom because of two reasons one our society and educational system does not place enough importance on critical thinking and lack of media and technologies.  It says painting and blocks are great for the younger students when learning numbers and letters, but when children get older they need to work on more advanced concepts and in order for that to happen they need different tools, media, and materials.  This research group has been developing new technologies to support this approach in learning. They have been working on robotic kits that allow children to imagine and create interactive inventions in the same sense has kindergarteners build with blocks.  The article talks about a program called Scratch, a free download, where children can create stories, games, and animations, and share them with others around the world. 

I found this article to be very interesting because I do think so much emphasis these days is put on testing kids. I know in our district in kindergarten, we spend a lot of time assessing the students whether it be MAP testing or for report cards. It feels sometimes as if we finish one assessment and already are starting assessing for another round of report cards. I think we need to let children have time to explore, create, and collaborate. I do think students learn a lot just by interacting with one another and this is true in any grade! I think it is especially important for the older grades to have time to explore, create, and collaborate as well! I think teachers need to be more open to using technology to enhance their lessons other than just handing out the simple worksheet. I try to incorporate technology as much as I can, but I think there is always room for improvement on my end. I know I am not using it to its full capabilities!