By William Andrews

The goal of Kindergarten at Collegiate is to introduce students to a variety of new topics and prepare them for their future as a Cougar, all while having fun. The only way this is possible is with a teacher who is open-minded and just as excited as the students. Elizabeth Andrews, my mother, is the perfect representation of this. She is not only a loving, caring mom, but also a kind-hearted teacher. 

Andrews has been teaching at Collegiate for 21 years. After growing up in Richmond and attending Douglas S. Freeman High School, she graduated from the University of Virginia in 1997 and attended Columbia University to receive her master’s in teaching. Following school, she began working for Simon and Schuster Publishing, and then moved to teaching 2nd Grade, at New York PS 29, a public elementary school in Brooklyn. Wanting to be closer to her family, she eventually moved back to Richmond and started teaching at Collegiate, where she taught 2nd Grade for nine years and then switched to Kindergarten. 

I visited the Kindergarten classroom earlier this semester and was able to speak to both the students and my mom. The classroom is much bigger than most Middle or Upper School classrooms and is filled with excitement. The front of the room has a whiteboard, with countless items scattered across it, including the daily schedule. Behind the whiteboard are the cubbies, where the students place their green Collegiate tote bags each morning. The room has five wooden tables, each with four blue chairs on each side. Scattered around the room are different supplies, books, and posters. 

Andrews has 17 different students in her class, most of them five or six years old. I observed that most of the students wore mismatched clothes and had messy hair; however, almost all of them had a smile on their faces. They were excited about my visit to the classroom and eager to answer my questions. Many asked me questions about my time in Kindergarten and about my Kindergarten buddy. 

I noticed that the average schedule for a day of Kindergarten is packed. Students learn writing, reading, and math, all of which usually take place in their classroom. Over the course of the year, students learn to read, count up to 100, and write stories. Each one of these takes time, but Andrews knows patience is important. In other subjects, like world languages, P.E., or art, the students learn from different teachers. Another essential part of the Kindergarten schedule is peace and quiet time. This usually happens after lunch and recess and gives the students a chance to recharge.

Example schedule.

At the end of the day, it was time for Explorations. Explorations is when each student gets to choose a different activity to do. These activities include art, math, creation station, and big blocks. One Kindergartner, Ry (‘37) said, “I like to make things.” Another student made a trap out of a recycled tissue box and popsicle sticks. Two students enjoyed playing with blocks and dinosaur toys. Selly (‘37) liked using the calculator, pressing different buttons and trying to figure out what each one did. The purpose of Explorations time is to get the students to be active while interacting with each other and to help stimulate different skills. 

The class had recently started a new activity, March Madness reading. Similar to the popular basketball tournament, March Madness reading is a competition between different books. Because March is Women’s History Month, each book was related to a different famous woman and their accomplishments. One book celebrated Serena Williams and her achievements on the tennis court. Andrews will read the book to the class, then the students will discuss and vote on which book they liked more. This helps the students improve their reading comprehension abilities. 

When I asked the class what their favorite part of the day was, there were numerous responses. Multiple students responded “P.E.” and “recess,” which did not surprise me, but numerous students also talked about how much they enjoy writing. This shows how deeply emphasized reading and writing are in Kindergarten. However, Andrews said, “sometimes the children just like to repeat what the person in front of them said.”

Two students reading a book.

Each day, the class has a Friend of the Day. The Friend of the Day is tasked with many objectives throughout the day. They start the Morning Meeting each day, where Andrews lays out the daily schedule and introduces upcoming events in the Kindergarten community. At the end of the day, the Friend checks the temperature outside on the thermostat. Then they look on a sheet in the classroom that divides different temperatures into “hot,” “warm,” “cold,” and “freezing.” They also complete other various tasks as needed. The goal is to make each student feel special and to reinforce critical thinking skills. 

The class is also hatching chicken eggs in the classroom. This is the third time that Andrews has hatched chicks in her class. The incubator is in the corner of the classroom, and students learn about humidity and temperature to protect the eggs and work on counting the number of days until the eggs hatch. Andrews thinks the eggs help students understand a different part of the life cycle and said, “I like to see the joy on their faces when the chicks pop out of their shells.”  

Even though most of her students are between five and six years old, Andrews wants them to be curious about what they learn. She wants them to make connections between the different topics, but Kindergarten also enforces non-academic skills, such as the ability to raise your hand and sit quietly. She also emphasizes the importance of navigating friendships, learning how to problem solve, and becoming independent. She recognizes that each student is different and wants to help them reach their full potential. This passion is what has carried her throughout her teaching career. 

Comparing her time between 2nd Grade and Kindergarten, she said, “The growth the children make is tremendous. In 2nd Grade, they already have many adept skills, but they come into Kindergarten knowing a few letters, and leave being able to read full books.” Over her 21 years, technology has changed significantly, which has made some things easier; however, some things are still done without technology, because she wants to limit screen time at school, knowing it might be higher at home.

This will be Andrews’ last year as a teacher, as she has chosen to retire at the end of the year. The choice was difficult, but she ultimately decided because she and Billy, her husband and my dad, agreed to retire together and to focus on finding new adventures. She will miss the daily excitement and entertainment of being a teacher, but after teaching for most of her life, she thinks now is the perfect time to retire. She said, “I will miss laughing with my colleagues, but I will miss the children the most.” She is looking forward to playing pickleball and mahjong with her friends in retirement. 

All photos courtesy of Elizabeth Andrews.