AITA for telling my kindergarten class that I am incredibly disappointed in how they behaved today and making a lot of them cry?

Agreed, while OP is clearly not an asshole, OP probably was visibly (to the children) stressed and frustrated, and adding to a tense atmosphere in their class. Plus, basically punishing and admonishing the whole class for individual behavior is pretty heavy (for 5 year olds).

Kids that young are going to be more energetic right before Christmas, they just make each other more excited and so it escalates. They're not fully in control of their emotions and reactions so generally shaming them in the "YOU'VE ALL BEEN VERY BAD!" sense may not do much but get them crying. Playing games where they could run around and let off some steam would be the best idea to deal with the different situation.

/r/AmItheAsshole Thread Parent