Written by Brandi Bivens

Kindergarten has been in existence for almost 200 years, but what children learn and how they have been taught has changed quite drastically. Kindergarten teachers have been put in the difficult position of balancing play and academics as a push for more academics has made its way into kindergarten. First we will look at several reasons why kindergarten has changed.

Reasons Kindergarten Has Changed

• Early childhood and elementary education departments have merged, especially in the public school system.
• Kindergarten teachers are taught alongside elementary, middle grade, and high school teachers, changing their focus to what children should be taught instead of focusing on how children learn.
• Schools have more pressure to get students ready for standardized testing.
• More children are going to preschool than ever before.
• Teachers’ beliefs and attitudes have changed. For example, the number of teachers who agreed that children should learn to read in kindergarten rose from 31% to 80% over the last two decades. (Bassok, Latham, Rorem, 2016)

Academic pressures that now come with kindergarten did not happen overnight. They are the result of changes predominantly in the last three decades. WELS schools do not have as much pressure as public schools when it comes to standardized testing, but most of the other reasons hold true for us.

Next we will look at several changes that have taken place in kindergarten.

How Kindergarten Has Changed

• Teachers deliver more direct instruction of reading and mathematics.
• More students coming into kindergarten have been exposed to some type of early learning experience.
• Music and many other early childhood essentials have been eliminated or minimized. (Morgan, 2011, p. 31)
• Kindergarten students are now expected to meet academic standards that were traditionally reserved for first graders. (Miller, Almon, 2009)
• The majority of kindergarten programs are now full-day.

Kindergarten classrooms will never go back to their original design, where learners were allowed to engage freely with their environment the entire time. Therefore, kindergarten teachers have the important responsibility to make sure that academic expectations are met while at the same time embedding play wherever possible. This can often feel like an uphill battle when many in our society view play as frivolous, rather than developmentally appropriate and highly beneficial to children’s learning. The following are ways WELS kindergarten teachers can work on keeping a balance between play and academics.

Suggestions to Keep a Balance between Academics and Play

• Use a play-based approach when teaching academics, which will help keep younger learners engaged longer. (Balingit, 2016)
• Educate parents on the importance of play through newsletters, shared articles, or a Back to School Night.
• Keep up to date on the latest research and articles concerning academics and play.
• Find a group of like-minded educators and keep the conversation going about the importance of striking a balance.
• Don’t be afraid to move things around in your schedule in order to ensure a good balance for your students.

Friedrich Froebel, one of the earliest advocates for early childhood education, believed that early education could be both joyful and very effective when well-trained teachers are encouraged to think of young children as healthy, flourishing plants (Morgan, 2011). That thought remains true today, as stated by Miller and Almon: “Kindergarteners need a balance of child-initiated play in the presence of engaged teachers and more focused experiential learning guided by teachers” (2009). It is up to teachers to find a way to balance academics and play for our youngest learners.

Brandi Bivens ’99 is serving as a kindergarten teacher at Sienna Lutheran Academy-Sienna Plantation TX.

References
Balingit, M. (2016, September 25). As kindergarten ratchets up academics, parents feel the stress. Washington Post. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/as-kindergarten-ratchets-up-academics-parents-feel-the-stress/2016/09/25/555fa584-7519-11e6-b786-19d0cb1ed06c_story.html?utm_term=.a2d780c79f0e

Bassok, D., Latham, S., Rorem, A. (2016). Is kindergarten the new first grade?  Aera Open 1(4) pp. 1-31. DOI: 10.1177/2332858415616358

Miller, E., Almon, J. (2009). Crisis in the kindergarten: Why children need to play in school. Alliance for Childhood. Retrieved from http://www.eric.ed.gov/contentdelivery/servlet/ERICServlet?accno=ED504839

Morgan, H. (2011). Early childhood education: History, theory, and practice. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.