Tryon Elementary School kindergarten teachers and assistants from left to right – Kaye Hall, Lisa Dover, Lisa Pack, Lucy Lewis, Dottie Wilson and Jessica Wilkins (photo submitted).

By Mark Schmerling

Kindergarten at Tryon Elementary School provides such a rich and fun experience that some older students there would like to return for more, said kindergarten teacher Jessica Wilkins.

“I love to sing,” said Wilkins, one of the school’s three kindergarten teachers. “We make up songs for everything. I use chants and songs to get their (her students’) attention. I don’t like to raise my voice.”

Wilkins pointed out that fellow kindergarten teachers Lucy Lewis and Lisa Dover also provide the same rich learning atmosphere for kindergarten students at the school.

“We work together really well,” she said of the trio of kindergarten teachers.

Originally from Boiling Springs, S.C., Wilkins is in her twelfth year as a kindergarten teacher at the school. “I like to see them start to learn new things. You see so much growth from the beginning of the year, to the end of the year. We do what’s best for the kids. You’re starting off with a blank slate.”

Kindergarten classes at the school average about 19 students. That smaller class size, plus a professional assistant in each class, provides a more personalized approach. One activity where classes are divided by skill level is reading in 3-D. Also, “we use a lot of hands-on,” Wilkins noted of teaching methods.

Though Wilkins, Lewis and Dover employ different specific methods of teaching their young charges, all three classes participate in common activities and work to achieve the same goals. “We (the three teachers) plan together,” said Wilkins, in preparation for the age-wide activities.

Those activities include “Character Day,” in which each student dresses up as his or her favorite book character. “Eric Carle Day” celebrating that author’s stories, is another theme. “Polar Express Day” and “Dr. Seuss Week” are other themes.

Another theme, organized by the kindergarten classes, but in which the entire school participates, is the “Sock Hop,” complete with 1950s dances, and held in March. Kindergarten students are in charge of planning and decorating.

Many young children, said Wilkins, envision movie theaters as the modern and more industrial-looking facilities, with many rooms, each set up to show a specific film.

On field trips to the Tryon Theatre, students of Wilkins, Lewis and Dover, are able to experience a traditional movie theater. They also take field trips to such places as the local fire department. Community Helpers Day brings police officers, firefighters and similar individuals. Students discuss how these individuals work together to benefit the community.

Wilkins pointed out that kindergarten students at Tryon Elementary School get to do things that their peers in other schools don’t. “We want the kids to remember their year in kindergarten” Wilkins emphasized. To that end, teachers hand out a DVD of images made during the school year, to each student at the school year’s end.

“The main thing,” Wilkins noted, “is to make them love school, and want to come every day. If I’m not having fun, they’re not having fun,” she said. “We’re here to help them learn and have fun. If they don’t start off liking it and loving it, they’ll have a long road ahead.” Students remember those experiences.

“Every morning,” Wilkins said, “kids (older students) come in and hug all three kindergarten teachers. They give you a hug, and walk out. It’s good. It makes you feel loved.”

Wilkins looked back to her own kindergarten experience, noting, “Kindergarten is so much different than when I went to school,” a feeling probably echoed and possibly magnified by many readers. At Tryon Elementary, each kindergarten classroom employs an annual theme. Some have been superheroes, pirates, and nautical. Young students, Wilkins noted, “are always excited to see what you’ll do for the year.”

In addition to the three regular teachers, Wilkins pointed out that each has an all-day assistant.“They’re just as much teachers as we are,” she emphasized. “They teach reading groups, too.”

This year, kindergarten students at Tryon Elementary began working with enrichment teachers, to take what the students are working on in class, and use it in activities including physical education, art, music, library, computer, and dance. “They (students) love to go to enrichment,” Wilkins beamed.

Themes involving the entire k-5 school include Oktoberfest, Winter Fest, Old-Timey Christmas, and a back-to-school barbecue held early in the school year. For the latter, some parents volunteer do perform the cooking. For each festival, the school is decorated, with students in each grade contributing to the decorations and other components of the celebration. Community members are invited to attend the Old Timey Christmas festival, and parents also participate in other activities.

“It’s awesome,” Wilkins said of her own experience. “I love it.”