What do you think are the pro and cons of small groups during Kindergarden activities?

Question

What do you think are the pro and cons of small groups during Kindergarden activities?

Answer 1

Pros are:

A small group is usually easier to control than the whole class

You don't have to repeat the same thing to show each child. You can do it once per group

It encourages social skills, and the other children may pick up on what one child is doing wrong and help them or tell the person conducting the activity (teacher, assistant, parent, etc)

Cons:

You can miss what others in the group are doing because you are concentrating on helping one or two specific children

You have to repeat the same thing for each seperate group rather than just show everyone in the class how to do it once.

You may miss that a specific child is having problems (if the activity is a group activity rather than an individual activity done while in small groups)

Answer 2

Small groups in kindy are called whanau groups [family groups] in NZ.  They work very well and we have a big wall with the whanau groups ready each morning for the children to find their name on a magnet and see which group they are in this week.  Small groups encourage the children to try activities individually and give them one on one teacher time. It is also easier to watch what the children are doing and identify areas where children need encouragement, help, etc...  I fully endorse it .

Answer 3

I think the pros are so many that any cons are not very significant.

The pros are mostly about the chance it gives the child to develop social skills with others like him/her and to feel that the fun of being at the Kindergarden is a shared thing. Working together today is regarded as the right way to become an achiever. The singleton tends to get less appreciation than the team player. As one who did not join in at kindergarden untill about 6 years old, and whose social life is somewhat limited, I tend to react to the suggestion of keeping the child away from the groups.

The only real con is if your child learns bad habits from the others. This is quite possible even if he/she is not in the team since he/she would naturally mix with the others or somewhere else where there children anyway. The chances of catching a commonly shared disease is greater, but (inconvenient as this is, at this young age) it might even be an advantage in that the childs natural resistance to infection may get an earlier "push" to develop too.

Answer 4

If you have special activity centers set up, it can be geared to individual interests.  It might work better for the shy child to be in a smaller group. The con might make you, as an educator feel you can not give enough attention to the group as a whole.

Answer 5

I am a kindergarten teacher and the more you can do in small groups or individually the better it is for the students.  It gives me as the teacher time to spend with each student and no one gets lost in a big group.  It is a wonderful way for a shy child to feel comfortable.  Sometimes they become lost in a big group situation.  Small group activities also allow students to help one another, the more advanced students will help the ones that need that extra push.  Everyone ends up feeling successful when learning is done in small groups.