We are now in March and my kindergarten class is cooking with gas!  We have our routines down, the kids know what it is like to be in school and what is expected of them, and at times they can work independently for short periods of time (well…  for the most part..  sometimes… depending on the day… or hour… but I swear it does happen). So if you ask me what late August/Early September in kindergarten is like right now I really can’t imagine it- or I guess to be honest my brain does not want me to imagine it because kindergarten in March is much more relaxing (if it can even be called relaxing) then kindergarten in late August or September.

Before I started my first year teaching first grade (6 years ago) a veteran teacher who had spent many years teaching in first grade told me to wait until about March because that is when all the light bulbs go on and your kiddos seem to transform overnight.  And she was right.  It might not always be March, could be sooner, could be later.  But it always happens.

Now I don’t mean every kid is a rock star and is ready to read Harry Potter and solve quadratic equations (if that is even a thing..  We don’t quite get to advanced math concepts in kinder but you know what I mean); heck none of them have ever been.  But they all have made their big “jump” into the year and things are clicking wherever they weren’t clicking before.

You can see it in the excitement in their eyes and smiles on their face.  You can hear it in their confident voices!

You can see the excitement in MY eyes and smile on MY face.  You can hear it in MY confident voice.  I can feel it in my heart that things are working!!

TODAY IT WAS HAPPENING!  Kids were working independently!   They were finishing their sorting activity and moving onto writing by themselves!  BY THEMSELVES!  They were being problem solvers!  I saw those eyes; those smiles! I heard that confidence!  My “March” was here!

Before I know it it will be late August again and lining up will take 30 minutes and me asking “What day of the week is it?” will be answered with “I like frogs.”

Followed by, “I have a frog”!

Then, “My dog ate a frog once!”

“My brother ate 5 doughnuts last night”, will come next.

“I puked last time I ate a doughnut!” will round up the day of the week question.

But today my friends..  Today, March was Magical..  Today, Kindergarten was magical!