First Days of School!

Lets make them ones to remember...

The first day of school can be a nervous day for all involved. As a teacher you are anxious to meet your new class and see what they are like. For parents, you may be sad to see your little one off on their journey to independence, but excited for them at the same time.

For most children it is an exciting time where they get to make new friends and play with lots of new toys, and for some children it can be a terrifying time anticipating the unknown... they might feel completely out of their comfort zone. Your job is to be prepared for every event! No pressure...

I have this image on my IWB as the children arrive to the class.

In our school we have the new Infants come into school slightly later than everyone else (9.30am). The reason is to have a calm, settled environment for their first introduction to school life also makes the first day of school short. On arrival, a list will tell parents what room their child is in. 

Next, staff members(resource teachers) greet parents and children at the entrance to give the children their name sticker which also has a room number on it. They are accompanied to the school hall with their parents where they are meet by the school principal.  After a short 'Hello and Welcome' speech they are lead, one group at a time to their new classroom, where I am waiting patiently. My coat hangers are outside my room so the first thing I will do is direct parents to look for their child's hanger and leave their coat on it. ​

In the classroom...

At the start of a new school year we are always full of enthusiasm and excited to get going! But with infants you must remember, that in the early days it is not about the quantity of work you get done but rather the quality of time spent on simple focused tasks. Keep it interesting and fun, but take it slow and always remember... if they're not listening when you're talking, they're probally not learning.

9.45 - 10.15 Welcome play. I have a selection of toys all set out and visually inviting for the children. Not just at the tables but around the room, blocks on the carpet, home area nicely set up, sand box in the corner, play matt with cars on the floor. The children can play wherever they like with whoever they like. They can take any seat in the room and sit beside whomever they choose. It is important to allow the children this freedom. Let them make this new environment as comfortable as possible for themselves. Whatever makes them happy is most important. With some quiet gentle music playing in the background I welcome the parents and allow them a little time to say hello and goodbye (10mins). Do not encourage them to hang around. A gentle "Thank you moms and dads for bringing in your little ones, they are in safe hands! We look forward to seeing you back very soon at 12 O'Clock!' And usher them to the door politely. (See below on what to do with a crier/criers). Once you have the children to yourself, try and get around to say a quick hello to each child and get a sense for your new class. Have plenty of extra activities on hand for children who get bored quickly. When you are ready to tidy up, get everyone's attention and explain that in 2 minutes time they will tidy up (give them a chance to finish up what they are doing). I have a jingle bell that I shake when it is time to stop and clean, I let them hear it once so they know what it sounds like and tell them to continue playing, that I will shake it again in 2 minutes. See how the first tidy-up goes but you will need to move quickly around the room (hopefully you have a helper) and show them how to tidy things up, here is a fun song to play at tidy up time. Tell them to take a seat on the carpet or at a chair when they're done. 

10.15 - 10.30 Carpet Time First thing you will do when everyone is sitting and has their eyes on you is point out a 'good' sitter (chair pulled in, feet on floor or legs crossed on the carpet) make a big fuss and ask the children if they could sit like little Jenny! Rule one taught... good sitting. Have a little welcome chat. You might ask them:

• Who was excited to come to school today?
• ​Who felt a little bit nervous in their tummy?
• I was a little nervous last night because I didn't know any of you but now I've meet you I feel very happy... 
• Does anyone know anyone from play school/home?
• Anyone have any older brothers or sister's in our school? did they tell you how much fun school is?

While having the little chat above, you will probably notice the they are all excited to talk out. While that is a completely normal behaviour of a 4/5 year old, it is really important that you insist that the children listen and only one person can talk at a time when you are having group discussions. I absolutely will not talk if someone is talking over me. If you embed that rule 'good listening' from day one, everything else will fall into place. If they're not listening to you when you're talk they're not learning. Now don't get me wrong, there will be plenty of opportunity to talk in my class, talking is probally the most important thing they will do in the infant class, so I try and keep the teacher talk limited but when I do talk to the class they must learn to listen and focus.

10.30 - 10.50 Toilet Routine Ask the children what they have to remember when they go to the toilet (our toilets are outside the classroom) Go through it step by step... 
1) make sure they have all their clothing pulled down fully (I know! but it's important)
2) Sit/stand at the toilet and do your business.
3) take a few sheets of paper (not too much or you'll block the toilet) and so on...
You really need to teach them everything one step at a time. I also teach how to line up at this time as we stand in a line outside the toilet. 

10.50 - 11.20 Break reinforce good sitting on the chair. They can take out their lunches. They have to stay sitting during break. Keep all dry rubbish to be brought home in lunch boxes. Any messy rubbish they have to wait until the end of break to put it into the bins. From day one I will never open packets for the children. I teach them how to do it for themselves. Explaining that the plastic has been heated to stick together and they have to undo that seam will help them remember. 

11.20 - 11.40 Story I always read Dr Suess - Oh, The Places You Will Go! It's a personal favourite of mine. The language is quiet difficult for them to understand but if you read it using plenty of expression they get the feeling of it. I play the version below but mute the audio and read the words myself. The animation keeps them focused too. I have always had a quiet, engrossed room when I've read this.

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11.40 - 11.55 Colouring or cut and stick You can download this sheet I drew to go with the story. The children can colour it or if time allows you can offer them a selection of stickers and coloured paper to stick inside the balloon. You could also add each child's name to the bottom right to personalise it. Or stick a picture of the child in it. If you use colours it is a chance to assess pencil grip and which hand they write with. Correct pencil grip from day one, everytime!

I followed this theme for an early days art activity and stuck the canvas on my door for the year. Each child has their own colour which they dip in paint to make their unique print to fill inside the balloon. it was simple but sweet. Watch for smuggling. 

11.55 - 12.00 Home Time I get the children to line up again, with their colouring in sheets and schoolbags on back (always send them home with something they've done on their first day, their grown-up will love that) I give the 'Well Done on Your First Day' speel, and give them all a nice big sticker. The parents are waiting outside and I open the door and call out the child's name and the parent comes forward. I do this one by one and no child is allowed to rush off, if they do I gently pull them back and make them wait. Infants should never leave with someone unless they've said goodbye to you and you've acknowledged the person who is collecting them. 

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And that's it for day one! I don't get a whole lot done but I don't expect to in the first few weeks. It is more important that the children are given time to adjust, and understand what school is all about. It is all new to them so don't expect them to know that they aren't allowed to just take out their lunch and start eating in the middle of a carpet discussion or that they can't launch themselves head first down the slide (both happened to me today!) Be patient, be clear on expected behaviour but most important be kind. 

Day one checklist

• Your lessons planned out with a timescale (obviously)
• Wipes
• Tissues
• Teddies (this was a real comfort for a little crier this year. I gave him a little ikea one and it became his comforter for the first few weeks.
• Names on lollypop sticks for turn talking
• Name tags on coat hangers
• A letter for parents to remind them of the school hours for the first few weeks (if the days are a shorter day than normal) also what the children can and can't bring to school. Parents want to know.
• Crayons

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How to help tearful children

It is possible that you might get away with no tears on day one. However, it's unlikely you'll get off the hook that easily! Quite often you'll get more tears on day two when the children realises the have to go back again... hang on a moment!... you mean I have to go to school again today? I had more criers on day five then any of the previous days (I try not to take it personally! lol) So here are some ideas that might work:

• You may have to prise a child off their grown-up while trying to convince them that it really is better if they just leave. Don't draw it out, just hold on tight and ask the parent to leave. Tell the child mammy is just gone for tea/to do the shopping and will be back very soon. 
• Give the child a big hug, it's tough. 99% of the time it's genuine fear they're feeling. PLEASE don't ignore the child (I know you wouldn't anyway). I always think... what if that was my child? I would want the teacher to offer them comfort. Check to see if they have any friends from play school or home. At least try to settle the child, you may however have to leave them to play with something and ask a peer to play with them.
• Try distracting the child by looking at their new schoolbag or in their lunch box to see what they have.
• Offer the child a small teddy that is just for them, tell them that 'Cuddles' need a minder and would you take care of him? (I have a box of cheap Ikea ones) 
• Ask them if they have an older sibling in the school? If you have a support teacher helping you, tell the child that they can go and say a quick hello to their brother/sister later in the day. And do keep your word and arrange for someone to take them after an hour or so. Knowing a sibling is close by and happy in school can be comforting for a little one. 
• For a chronic crier perhaps some sort of sticker chart or you could do an 'Arrive At School With A Smile' sticker morning. Everyone gets a sticker for giving you a big smile and saying 'good morning!', seeing all their peers getting stickers the crier won't want to miss out.
• Quite often the child who crys on arrival is fine the moment mom is gone. I noticed that one child would cry when brought to school by mom every morning for a week. Then one day dad brought her to school and just like that... she skipped into class! There after she was fine. So worth suggesting if someone else brings the child to school if the crying is persistent. 

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Here are a few alternative things you could do on day one or on the first days:

• Songs most music programs will have a lovely 'Hello' song for the start of the year. The Irish song Roly Poly a háon, dó, trí is also a good choice. Practice it and invite the parents in at the end of the day/first week to watch them sing it in front of them (they will try their best and the parents will love it) 
• Well done (child's name) This is a lovely name song I sing on the first day of Junior Infants, it goes like...

Well done Lucy!
Lucy well done!
I hope you had a good day,
I hope you had fun!

We sit in a circle and sing it to the name of each child, clapping to the beat on knees and hands. As we sing each child's name each child receives a First Day/Week certificate with their name of it. It is also a chance for everyone to learn the names of their new friends. This may work depending on your class size. 

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• Play-Doh You can't go wrong with Play-doh! I make my own because it feel nicer and it's cheaper. This is the batch I made in under an hour using my mixer with the paddle attachment. Click here for a basic playdoh recipe. You can also add smells, sparkle or whatever you fancy. 

Play-doh is great for the early days because the children get tired and this is calming and easy. Teach them to roll snakes, balls, pancakes etc. But on the first day I just let them play with it. The only thing I show them is when tidying up how to collect up crumbs and roll the play-doh into a ball. I always play some calming classical music quietly in the background. 

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• Maths: The first activities in maths would be a focus colour, shape (one a week) and pattern. The one-one correspondence song Tommy Thumb (we have each matching pair give each other a little kiss, it's very cute). From then on I will reference the name 'Peter Pointer' etc, whenever I am asking them to point to anything, pencil grip etc. for example: "Put your Peter Pointer on the first picture...", "Hold your pencil with your tommy thumb and your Peter Pointer" 

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• Literacy I can not enphaise enough the importance of NOT starting letter sounds on the first days/weeks. This is not just my opinion, but also advised by the PDST. We do not start letter sounds until November. The first few months should focus on phonological awareness and strengthening fine motor skills. If children do not have phonological awareness they will have difficulty reading. I will post separately on this topic. I like to focus on writing in the early days. Lots of cutting, pencil grip focus, colouring etc. 

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While this was a long post, that's just the way it works in infant classes... everything is one step at a time! I can only imagine how foreign this must seem to a teacher teaching in infants for the first time but you soon get used to it. 

Enjoy and thank you for reading. If you enjoyed this post please subscribe your email address below to make sure you are first to get similar future posts.

​Zara