Classroom Setup in Mrs. Hagaman’s Kindergarten

By observing the climate and environment in Mrs. Hagaman’s kindergarten, I determined that the room allowed for the creation of a community of learners.  For example, tables are arranged to seat groups of approximately four students, and a large horseshoe shaped table in the rear of the room provides an area for small group work.  In addition, a large rug in the front of the room offers a place for gathering of the whole class.  Student work stations can be well monitored from all areas of the room, and the teachers’ desks are easily accessible to all students.  Around the periphery of the room, several centers are set up, including computer, housekeeping, game, art, and block centers.  The class is a large, open, roomy area decorated with bright colors and student work.  The arrangement of furniture and centers in the room allows for the inclusion and involvement of all students in the positive, cheerful learning environment.  Furthermore, the classroom arrangement encourages students to work collaboratively and share ideas with small and/or large groups of classmates.  As I observed the walls and other features of the classroom, I, again, noticed items that contributed to creating a community of learners.  For example, a birthday wall on the far side of the classroom contains a birthday elephant surrounded with balloons noting each child’s birthday. Thus, students are given the message that it is important to recognize the birthdays of classmates and to celebrate the uniqueness of every class member.  Furthermore, a bulletin board on the same wall is titled Special Students and accompanied with each student’s picture and name.  The bulletin board highlights the uniqueness of individual students, while also illustrating that individual students are combined to make up a whole class group.  In addition, I noticed a sign near the door that read, “Welcome to Our Classroom,” and it was signed by Mrs. Hagaman.  The welcome sign contains the word “our,” and it sends the message to students that each of them contribute to shaping the classroom environment.  Students bring into the classroom different experiences and personalities, which influence the classroom community.  Next, I remembered that the students in Mrs. Hagaman’s homeroom take turns sharing a special item or story with the whole group every day after lunch, and to keep track of what child shares on what day, a sharing chart is hung in the front of the classroom.  By engaging in sharing time, students are taught the value of listening to and learning from others, and they also get an opportunity to know one another better, by communicating information about their interests, hobbies, and experiences.  Also in the front of the classroom, I noticed a weekly job chart, which designates individual children for certain jobs, such as line leader, line caboose, weather checker, and calendar helper.  Student jobs are rotated weekly, and they allow students to take an active role in the classroom community.  Students also learn responsibility by performing the different jobs, as they assist in making the classroom a better place.  Mrs. Hagaman also has a list of rules posted on the wall at the front of the classroom, including such expectations as, “Be polite to others,” “Listen politely when the teacher is talking,” and “Share.”  Mrs. Hagaman’s rules communicate to students the importance of being considerate members of the classroom.  By treating each other, as well as teachers, with respect, the classroom community will be a pleasant and productive place.  Next, I discovered that Bethel’s School Vision is arranged on the wall near the door, and it includes the goal of “developing citizens who will contribute to society.”  From the school vision poster, students realize that the Bethel staff is committed to assisting them in becoming successful and meaningful contributors to society.  Thus, the staff is dedicated to helping each student learn how to become a good citizen by offering them the best possible education.  In addition, a framed quote, positioned on a cart behind the teachers’ desks, reads, “A child does not care what you know, until they know that you care.”  I feel that the quote demonstrates the caring nature of both Mrs. Hagaman and her assistant, Mrs. Warren, and it also communicates that the teachers believe it is important to care for students, while encouraging students to care for one another.  A classroom mailbox sits atop a cabinet in the front of the classroom, and students can send notes to one another, as well as to teachers, using the mailbox.  The mailbox encourages communication among members of the classroom, and “mailing” letters to others is a neat way to establish and maintain friendships with classmates. Overall, the arrangement of furniture, messages on posters and boards, and other room features, communicates that the classroom is a setting for a community of learners.  Students are sent explicit and implicit messages about the importance of sharing, politeness, consideration, respect, responsibility, uniqueness, and connectedness, all of which are practiced in the community of learners’ environment.

My Teaching Philosophy and Leadership Style as Related to My Classroom Environment

I really like the community of learners’ philosophy, in which all students belong to a classroom family.  In the community of learners’ environment, all students are connected through common experiences that occur in the classroom.  Students are encouraged to treat each other with respect and concern, and every child should feel a sense of belonging and inclusion in the classroom.  A community of learners’ environment assists students in learning by allowing them to feel comfortable in taking risks, exploring, and learning form mistakes.  Furthermore, I believe that students should be encouraged to work individually, in small groups, and in whole class groups.  By seating students at tables or by arranging single desks into tables, students can work either by themselves or in the small group with which they are seated.  Large group discussions and interactions can occur at a rug area, or at another place in which the whole class can gather.  I feel that it is important for students to learn from group discussions and through the sharing of ideas and opinions.  The community of learners’ environment focuses on the acceptance of all students as worthy and contributory members of the classroom, and I believe that by delegating jobs to students, each child will feel an integral, active member of the class.
In addition, I feel that students, as much as possible, should be self-directed learners, who freely explore ideas through hands-on experiences in reading, math, science, social studies, music, art, and drama.  I also find valuable and interesting the role of the teacher as a guide and/or facilitator, who allows students some control and influence over their own learning.  Overall, I feel that the community of learners’ environment can be a powerful setting in which students can learn both social and academic skills by taking on active roles in the classroom.

Developmental Issues of Students as Related to My Classroom Environment

After reading about developmental issues specific to kindergarten, I have gained some information that will be helpful as I plan to build my classroom community.  For example, kindergarten students are in the process of improving fine motor skills, thus activities or centers focused on writing, drawing, cutting, and coloring would enable students to practice and further develop fine motor skills.  Kindergarten children are usually curious learners; therefore, free or guided exploration of classroom centers would encourage students to learn in a way that satisfies student inquiry and curiosity.  Children at the kindergarten age usually enjoy carrying on conversations and interacting with others, and I believe that seating student in clusters at tables would provide them with opportunities to work collaboratively and learn from one another.  Four to six year old students also like to try new things and work independently, and, again, seating arrangements at tables would provide students with an individual work space.  Writing activities such as creating thank-you notes, greeting cards, and letters should be implemented into the kindergarten classroom, and I feel it would be effective to have a classroom mailbox for which students could “mail” letters and cards.  The mailbox would most likely encourage children to engage in writing exercises, while also fostering friendships among students.  Finally, kindergarten students enjoy hearing, telling, and recreating stories, and I feel it would be valuable to read books aloud to students as they are seated together on a rug, or other central area.  Students could then dramatize the story, illustrate the story, or retell the story, and children would be actively engaged in learning, while communicating information to others.  Overall, kindergarten students would be most likely prosper in a community of learners’ environment, as they share ideas, have common experiences, and learn to interact and communicate with one another.

Building My Learning Community

To begin build by community of learners’ environment, I will first arrange for students to be seated at tables of approximately four students each.  I feel that it is important to alternate student seating about every six weeks, so that students get the opportunity to interact and work with different classmates.  I will also ensure that I can see every child’s seat from all areas in the room, and I think it is also important for the children to have an easily accessible path to my desk, as well as to supply areas.  I plan to make my room feel as open as possible, with enough walking space through and around tables and desks.  In addition, I want to use bright, primary colors to decorate my classroom, so that it will be a cheerful, exciting place to learn.  Establishing a list of classroom expectations is an activity that I would like to implement on the first day of school; therefore, children would feel some ownership of the classroom rules.  With respect to creating centers, I want to have a cozy reading center in which students can choose books from book baskets or bookshelves and then curl up and read on the rug or couch.  I also feel that designating a time each day for reading aloud to students would help establish a sense of class unity, while exposing children to good literature.  In addition, I believe that it would be beneficial for students to have math, science, social studies, and creative writing centers, as well as others.  Thus, during center time, children could experiment with various manipulatives, choosing activities that they find appealing and want to explore.  To assist in building my learning community, I feel that it would be important for student to have classroom jobs, such as line leader, bathroom monitor, lunchroom table washer, board eraser, and so on.  In addition to teaching students about responsibility, classroom jobs allow students to be active members in caring for the classroom and school.  Furthermore, I would like to conduct class meetings every Friday, encouraging students to discuss positive experiences from the week, as well as prompting students to clear up any problems or miscommunications.  I feel that students should practice problem solving skills and conflict resolution so that the classroom can be a cheerful, safe, productive place for learning.  In building a community of learners’ environment, I believe that it is important to provide students with opportunities to grow as individuals and as well as with chances to become active participants in the class group, or family.