Classroom Expectations for a Great Year in Kindergarten
There’s a new school year right around the corner! You will soon have many smiling faces of new littles in your classroom. After the crazy year that we all experienced, it’s time to make this year (and the many more after that) a great year! I believe that a great year really starts with having solid classroom expectations! But it wasn’t until I moved down to kindergarten that I realized how explicit I needed to be with teaching the “how to’s” and expectations to my kindergarten students. In order to be successful for the entire school year, we’ve got to be thorough about EVERYTHING. Here are some of my best tips about classroom expectations so you can have an amazing year with your kindergarten students!
Classroom routines and procedures
Routines are so important. Some of the students in our classroom have never been in a classroom setting before. They might not be used to having structure, routines, procedures and expectations! But we know how important having routines and procedures are for our students! Here are some things that I hit hard at the beginning of the year:
- What to do when they arrive in the morning
- How to use the restroom
- Lining up
- End of the day routine
- Walking the hallway
- Sitting on the carpet
- Transitions
- Using supplies
Show incorrect and correct behaviors
Modeling your expectations to your kinders is so important. I like to show them both incorrect and correct behaviors and have my students explain what is wrong and why it’s wrong. We talk about being responsible and respectful learners during different activities. Check out the video below where I walk my students through we should and shouldn’t use scissors!
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Explaining “the why”
This one is BIG for me and my classroom. Explaining to your students the “why” behind our classroom expectations is so important. Don’t assume students will know how to correctly behave or why they should or shouldn’t do something. It’s great to include your students in the conversation so it makes more sense to them. I love asking my students to give the “why” when we are discussing and practicing our expectations.
Provide visuals for expectations
Visuals paired with our class discussions and modeling help our expectations to really stick! You can use smiley faces to show what behaviors are safe and respectful and sad faces to show what behaviors are not respectful.
Practice and then practice again
Your little learners are not always going to get it right on the first time. Even though you’ve spent time on different expectations and behaviors, you can never practice it enough. It’s okay if they don’t always get it right! It’s a great time to review as a whole class!
Teaching all the routines, procedures, and expectations at the beginning of the year can be overwhelming. It takes consistency and persistence so your students can be successful! I wanted to create something that would help us and our kids out and make an overwhelming time a little less overwhelming! That’s where these expectation charts come into play!
I hope these will help to make introducing classroom expectations and routines to your class super easy! You can grab the classroom expectation charts here!
