There are many ways to measure growth and progress in a kindergarten classroom. We have report cards, laboriously produced to mark changes from term to term, year to year. They talk about letter recognition, understanding and counting numbers, ability to problem solve, use school equipment appropriately. As well they highlight important social skills: Can a student work independently? Work in a group? Respect personal space? Negotiate conflicts with their peers? Portfolios show changes in the quality and quantity of work by showcasing samples of work from the year.
Yet these formal methods do not show the full story. I’ll be starting my 6th month in Japan at the end of the week and although all along I have seen progress in my students, noticed changes that have occurred since I started, recently I have made other observations. These are ones that I know are not going to make it onto a report card…
Not to trivialize the growth made by my students, or the importance of kindergarten as the foundation of children's formal education and its importance to their social, emotional and academic formation, but you can see growth in your students when:
The child who has been playing dinosaurs all year switches to playing airplanes.
The child who on every free drawing for the past two years (including birthday cards for girls) has drawn a shinkansin (bullet train) labeled with the model number and everything, comes to school with a painting of a truck. Gasp!
On the playground a child can reach for the zip bar when it is not right at the end of the track, instead of looking at it forlornly.
The girls whip across the monkey bars, racing each other instead of tentatively trying one hoop before dropping to the ground.
Your student starts noticing (and complimenting!) polite and proper behaviour in other children when months earlier she wasn't able to "do the right thing" herself.
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