Students Are Like Tie-Dye

For the last few years, I have ended my year with a Kindergarten Fun Day instead of an end-of-year party. We join up with the other Kindergarten class in our building. I round up as many parent volunteers as I can to help. It Is a hands-on, crazy day but my students and I love every minute of it. There are four stations.  Station One is making a Dirt and Worms cup with chocolate pudding and Oreos.  Station Two is creating a keepsake placemat with handprints and a poem. Station Three is painting fabric bags from Oriental Trading with stamps. And finally, Station Four is tie-dying t-shirts. Yes, folks, I tie-dye with five- and six-year olds. It is a blast!

This year as I laid out all the tie-dyed shirts I realized how truly they represent teaching and the myriad types of students that walk through my doors each year. You see, I provided all the students with the same materials - same colors, same pans, and all the t-shirts were even wrapped in the same bulls-eye  way. Do you see where I'm going with this - we as teachers provide all our students with many opportunities for learning.  During whole group lessons, all students are provided the same lesson. But we as teachers only have so much control on the outcomes.

Just look at my classes t-shirts...

Even given the same tools and opportunity, the t-shirts are as different as the students themselves. The students made color choices, quantity choices, and choices about how long they wanted to spend completing their shirts. Some students were hesitant and had a lighter touch.  Others were carefree and bold, at times even reckless. As I looked at the shirts, I just couldn't get over how much these shirts represented a teacher's daily life. Some students love learning and boldly dive in; some students are timid and fearful of failing, so they just dabble in learning.  

One of my favorite shirts is in the bottom picture. It is the third up from the bottom on the left. This shirt so demonstrates this student as a learner. She came into Kindergarten shy, hesitant, and unwilling to take risks. We worked through the year on self-confidence, taking risks, and believing in herself as a reader and writer.  She is still quiet as is shown by the large amount of white showing, but she is gaining confidence. Look at the bright pinks, oranges, and yellows. She passed the blue, green, and purple dye on to the next student without hesitating. She knows who she is now.

This is what I LOVE about teaching. No two students alike, no two years alike, no two days alike and in some ways no control. But with differentiation, patience, and an eye for color, every student can reach  their potential. I cannot wait to tie-dye again next year to see what it reveals about my next colorful crop of Kinders!