Ensights Magazine

Communicate: Learning Positive and Productive Interactions in Kindergarten

Tiffany Townsend, Director of Marketing & Communications
Communication is a core skill we all begin learning from the moment we are born. In both verbal and non-verbal ways, children learn how to communicate with the world around them to express wants, needs, emotions, and more. Our goal at Ensworth is to build on this foundational skill and help students communicate effectively and respectfully, which positively impacts the individual, his/her interactions with others, and the supportive strength of our community. The development of this Core Skill begins on day one at Ensworth for our youngest tigers.
The kindergarten daily routine starts with the Morning Meeting. More than just an opportunity to review the agenda for the day, the Morning Meeting is a time for students to practice their listening and communication skills. To begin, all students sit in a circle, and children take turns greeting each other by name. Learning names, learning to address each other by name, and making eye contact while speaking are lessons that are emphasized in the first few months of school. Sharing time follows the morning greeting, and students have the opportunity to share a story or thought with the group. The activity helps students become more comfortable speaking within a group and also helps them practice listening respectfully when others are speaking.

Later in the fall, when students have developed an understanding of the expectations and core components of communicating with their classmates, they begin Writer’s Workshop and Author’s Chair. In the Author’s Chair, students share their writing with the class, and the class has the opportunity to respond. Teachers encourage students to offer their feedback in the form of ideas, questions, or compliments. The exercise helps students learn how to give and receive feedback, how to ask questions that will spark conversation, and how to build off each other’s ideas.

Conflict resolution is another key element of communication addressed in Kindergarten. Developmentally, children are egocentric at this age, and they have to learn how to interact in ways that consider the other person’s feelings or needs. When conflict arises, students are encouraged to work on resolving the problem together instead of looking to the teacher to address it. They learn to look face to face and calmly say “I didn’t like it when…” or to ask “will you forgive me?” Teacher Sukey Johnson notes, “At Ensworth, we have the luxury as educators to teach and mold the whole student, not just the mind, but the soul, spirit, and role in the community. We teach manners, life lessons, and consequences in a loving way.”

As students move through the year, they have a variety of opportunities to practice their communication skills not just with their classmates, but with other members of the community. With Reading Workshop, they begin to learn how to work with partners, and they move among the classrooms, so they interact with different students, teachers, and interns. Each kindergarten student also has a third grade reading buddy, a fifth grade buddy who accompanies them at the pet show and Biography Fair, and an eighth grade buddy they partner with for scavenger hunts, games in the gym, spirit assemblies, and the St. Jude Mini-Marathon. All of these activities help kindergarteners become comfortable communicating and collaborating with students of all ages.

In the spring, students tackle one of the aspects of communication most-feared in the general population: public speaking. While collecting change for their annual service project with Habitat for Humanity, they are responsible for encouraging participation from other students. In addition to greeting in the lobby during arrival time, kindergarten students also speak on stage during lunch periods. Each student learns one line that he/she speaks into the microphone, and for many, it is the first time they have been in front of an audience. Teacher Megan Florentine states, “The kindergarteners get so excited to get up on the stage and announce our Habitat for Humanity project to all the students at the different lunch periods. Rather than face this challenge with fear, as they would have earlier in the year, they climb the steps to the stage and speak into the microphone with confidence, enthusiasm, and pride.” This is a pivotal moment when the kindergarten teachers witness the culmination of their efforts: a confident student, effectively speaking to a group of peers that respectfully listens and responds, representing not only the power of Core Skill building but its impact on our entire community.

When we care about ourselves, each other, and our classroom: We share with each other. We use kind words and gentle hands. We listen carefully and use our watchful eyes. We take time with our work and help each other learn. We take good care of all our materials. We work together, play together and have fun together. We stand up for ourselves and each other. We remember to use our open minds and open hearts. We understand that everyone makes mistakes and we try to make good choices. We know that when someone asks us to stop, we stop. This is who we are, even when no one is watching.

Above is an example of classroom rules that the children in each class write the first week of school. The rules reflect the responsive classroom environment that encourages respectful communication among students and between students and their teacher.
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Red Gables Campus (K–8)

Nashville, TN 37205
(615) 383-0661

Frist Campus (9–12)

Nashville, TN 37221
(615) 301-5400
Ensworth is a coeducational, kindergarten through twelfth grade, independent day school.