Mrs H's blogs
See Compass for the rest of the blogs.
Blog 4 (20th August)
I wonder if you're feeling a little nervous about next week? Starting school is a huge milestone- not just for your child (who will deal with it so much better than you probably will think) but for you too. It is completely normal to feel excited, proud, nervous or all of the above! As an EYFS teacher of many years experience, one of the most common questions carers ask is: Is my child ready for school? The second one is: Will they be happy? Let me address both of those now.
Being school ready - see the below paragraph in blog 2 and the website at the bottom of this page.
Being happy- They will definitely be happy in school. Will they sometimes have detachment concerns? Probably. Will they come out of school telling you everything that made them happy? Unlikely. So how will you know they are happy? First let's consider the importance of 'happy' in school. It is important that school provides challenge and in these early years, that can be physical, emotional, academic...Challenge is not necessarily comfortable for most of us. 'I'm feeling happy because you challenged me to do something' is not necessarily what we all seek out but 'I'm feeling happy because you challenged me and I grew my brain and feel so proud of myself for that' is something I hope we will achieve during the year. So let's swap 'happy' for 'proud', 'growth', 'capable', 'loved'. What an amazing achievement this year will be if these Hard-working Hedgehogs can feel those things consistently at school! Make it your own personal mission to ask: did you have a good day today? what did you learn? who did you play with? to... What did you do today that made you feel proud? Who made you feel loved today? Who did you make feel loved today? How did you grow your brain today? What are you more capable of now that you weren't last week? I often think bed time is a good time to ask rather than the first hour of coming out of school when they really can't often be bothered to think! Mrs Woods and I will be asking these sorts of questions during the day often at the beginning of the day - our 'soft start'- when we want to distract and engage and get to know the children better. I know Mrs Woods' favourite question will be: Who did you make feel loved today? And I bet it would take a long time for her to make her own list when I ask the same question of her!
One thing we could all agree on now at drop off when crying or tugging starts is:
- Let me know what you want me to do. I won't pull them off you but I will stretch out my hand, smile and encourage and distract. I will cuddle them once they have left you and get them to the classroom as soon as I can (so if I am not at the door entrance for a minute you know I am in the throes of helping someone).
- Try the 6-second rule. 6 seconds to comfort, explain what is happening, who will pick them up, cuddle them again and pass them over to me asap. Apparently 6 seconds is 'enough' comfort time and any longer emphasises their (and our!) distress. They need you to provide those clear, kind boundaries for them to feel safe. I will do the same in the classroom with love, distraction, busy-ness and routine.
- I don't get the chance to read emails from 8am-4/5/6pm so if I need to know something that day, hand me a note or start expecting your child to tell me (I will always make time to listen to them). I can't emphasise enough how much more I can educate your child when I know if they got up much earlier than usual or the dog is poorly. I am also around until 3.30 for any chats.
So, while this new beginning is both exciting and nerve racking, it is also a wonderful adventure and before you know it, I'll be talking about parents' evenings and nativity! (see dates for the diary). In the meantime, I hope you have something planned to make yourself feel proud of that first morning- a coffee and a chat, a cleaner bathroom, looking through baby photos to capture another milestone...be kind to yourself after those drop offs.
Right, I'm back to it with planning that adventure!
Mrs Harrison
Blog 3
It was so lovely to meet you all again yesterday (Thurs 2nd July). I thought they did really well with the lunch routine; even holding their trays independently is a challenge at first so it really helped that you were there to support. Now that you know the procedure and expectations, you could practise at home and make them even more independent!
I also liked how much they explored our trim trail and kept to the safety rules. They are going to be fabulous hard-working hedghogs!
Perhaps I'll see you at the Carnival next Saturday? Come and say hello after the procession.
Blog 2
So I have met half a dozen of my new lovely hard-working Hedgehogs from the Done Room and am looking forward to my visit of Ashton House. I will arrange calls or visits with pre-schools after our 2nd June meeting as this is when you will tell me exactly where they are.
If you haven't already heard, there is a lot going around about Being School Ready. I will start to address this in our meetings although the below links (also see end of blog 1) are great notes that are easy to understand. I must also share this tune that will not seem to let up in my brain. Scroll down for the catchy tune. You're welcome!
Here is my take on what school ready means to us as professionals:
Can they:
- put on on a coat and jumper/cardi unaided?
- zip up a winter coat/anorak unaided?
- take off and put on school shoes/indorr shoes unaided?
- 'serve and return' a conversation with family members - and me?
- 'free play', meaning be bored and work out how to fix it?
- take physical (safeish!) risks eg climbing, carrying heavy stuff?
- be toilet independent (dressing/undressing/wiping)
- disengage from you and stay regulated most of the time?
- hold a book properly?
- recognise (write) their name?
- play alongside others without feeling unsafe, jealous or cross?
I need your cooperation with all of the above please. I will work hard to help them develop their independence skills, teach them to read and write and be ready for year 1, I want them to be happy in school but the EYFS curriculum does not allow for time every day to get them 'school ready'. Obviously each child is different and I will love them all! Now back to that tune...
Welcome to blog 1!
It is more usual for me to now use Compass for our blogs as I can send you the links directly rather than you navigating the webpage system but until September, we'll use this forum.
I am looking forward to meeting you all in the coming months. I will be doing a lot of preparation for September this term from arranging visits to preschools, to considering the curriculum and provision to making sure those first few days and meetings show our positive and warm school community. Being in Reception can seem a daunting prospect. I will aim to reduce as much of your worry as possible. How? Providing a few meetings/ stay and plays so that both you and your child can feel informed and comfortable with me and the environment whilst also starting to understand the expectations. You will receive paperwork (All About Me) that should provide a talking point for you as a family about school. It is meant to be dipped into over the summer. I will plan for the first few weeks resemble a pre-school environment and timetable of activities; getting to know really well each child as an individual is my primary goal for the first 2 weeks of school. (Yes I have a ton of paperwork to do also in those first weeks but playing and talking to them comes first. More on this in a future blog.)
But right now, let's focus on the initial stages of transition. Here are some important dates for your diary:
Tuesday 2nd June 6-7pm
school hall. Enter via Community entrance door (not reception)
Tuesday 9th June 9-12
Sign up to a 25min slot to visit the classroom, chat to Mrs Harrison while your child does an art activity with the TA.
Stay and play
Tuesday 23rd June 2-3pm
Children with Mrs Harrison. Parents and carers with Mrs Forester for tea and chat (optional)
Lunch, stay and outside play
Thursday 2nd July 11.15-12.30
Parent/Carer and child to have lunch and a short playtime outside with Mrs Harrison available. Adults need to pre-order and pay for meal. Children do not have to pay. Book with Miss Cadman in the school office.
