Educational Skills

Here's some tips that we've learned which may help new and more experienced junior and senior infant teachers, especially during the first few weeks at school.

 

Be patient

Learning new skills whether that be lining up, washing your hands (this could be a full lesson), putting on your coat or putting away your lunchbox all take time, especially for those who are out of practise. As a teacher it is important to remember this, especially at the beginning of the school year. Leave some extra time to allow for these tasks to occur and encourage children to do them by themselves. Yes it will be more time consuming at the start, however the children will develop these skills over time and as a result will become more independent in time.

I printed these images, laminated them and stuck them around the classroom so that the children are always being reminded to wash their hands thoroughly.

 

 

Label everything!

I know, it sounds silly but checking every child's books, folders and jumpers for their names now will save you time in the future. Who wants to be running around after a PE lesson with their arms filled with jumpers measuring up who may wear what size and hoping for the best? Not me! Sort this out now.

 

 

Create a visual timetable

Visual timetables can be useful for a variety of reasons.
It may take your class a while to realise that Aistear happens at the same time everyday or PE in the same slot every week. I've been teaching in the past and have seen a hand go up (hoping it's the answer to the question I've just asked) and the child has asked "Teacher, when are we doing Aistear?" or "Is it PE day?"
With a visual timetable they won't need to ask, they can see it for themselves.

This visual timetable was found on Twinkl at the above link and although you will need an account to download it you could create something similar yourself using coloured card.
I like to use photographs that I took of their books/ resources/ equipment/ areas around the school. You simply print these, laminate them so that they'll last the year, add some velcro to the pictures and the timetable and it's ready to go! Just remove the pictures from the timetable as the activity is completed.

 

 

Follow a timetable

This point goes hand in hand with having a visual timetable. By knowing exactly how much time per day you're spending on a certain activity it allows you to accurately plan your learning outcomes (LOs). Below is a sample that you could use to base your timetable around.
Also, through this you ensure that you've spent the designated amount of time per week (as per Dept. of Education & Skills guidelines) on each subject. Check out the table below to see exactly what is recommended.

 

Use their pictures

Infants may not know (or remember) how to read their names but they should recognise themselves and each other. Therefore using their pictures is a good way of helping them to differentiate their belongings (including where to hang their coats). Plaster their faces everywhere, they'll love it!

This lockdown currently reminds me of that period between Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve where the days flow in together, nobody really knows what day or time it is and everyone is eagerly anticipating a fresh start.This lockdown currently reminds me of that period between Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve where the days flow in together, nobody really knows what day or time it is and everyone is eagerly anticipating a fresh start.

However it doesn’t have to be that way.

Creating a timetable to use for home learning over the coming weeks may prove to be worthwhile. Not only will it provide clarity for caregivers and learners but it will also help to create structure. In this way, the users know what’s expected of them for that day and hopefully this will take some pressure off the adults who may, at this stage, be struggling to come up with activities to keep their little ones busy.

 Timetables can take up as much (or as little) of the day as you require. They can include exercise and food breaks, they can include free time and they can include chores. The beauty of a timetable is you can decide what works best for your child and it can be altered as you go, depending on how successful the tasks turn out to be.

Here’s a sample timetable that you could use in your home with younger children (aged 4-8). Please remember that your child may find it difficult to concentrate at home so I’d recommend limiting each activity to no more than 30 minutes. Why not give it a try for a week to see how it works for your household.

 

 

Waking up to another beautiful day has me feeling grateful this morning. I’m grateful that the weather has been so good recently that we have had the opportunity to get outside, to get fresh air and to get some vitamin D in a safe way. However, even when the weather isn’t on our side it’s still as important as ever to get up and to get moving.

Being active is not only important for your physical health but also for your mental health. The National Guidelines on Physical Activity for Ireland tells us that children and young people aged 2 – 18 should be active for at least 60 minutes every day. Don’t worry if you’re not currently at this standard, start off slowly, building up the minutes of moderate activity as you progress.

So, what can you do to stay active?

• Active recreation such as hiking, skateboarding, rollerblading, bicycle riding and brisk walking.
• Active games involving running and chasing, such as tag and sports such as Gaelic football, hurling, soccer, rugby, basketball, swimming, tennis.
• Muscle strengthening such as games of tug-of-war, modified push-ups (with knees on the floor), resistance exercises using body weight or resistance bands or sit-ups (curl-ups or crunches).
• Bone strengthening such as games like hopscotch, hopping, skipping, jumping, jumping rope, running or sports such as gymnastics, basketball, volleyball, tennis.

Many people find it more difficult to stay active when confined to the walls of the house so here I have included some alternative suggestions for activity that can be done in the home.

RTE 10@10 - https://rtejr.rte.ie/10at10/
10 minutes of exercise posted daily at 10am which are guaranteed to get your heart pumping. I also love that there is an option of listening to it in Irish, why not give it a try?

Cosmic Kids on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/user/CosmicKidsYoga Yoga and mindfulness made specifically for kids! There’s a huge range of instructional videos available varying in length of 3 minutes up to 15+ minutes which gives you the ability of starting small and building every day.

Go Noodle - https://app.gonoodle.com/
Go Noodle contains a variety of categories, all of which can be done at home. Categories include mindfulness, building motor skills, and lots of movement types such as guided dance, stretch, freestyle, workout and brainercise among others. This gives you the opportunity of mixing it up.

For more information on why physical activity is important, the health benefits of exercise, how to keep active and ideas for adults visit Get Active Ireland on https://www.hse.ie/eng/about/who/healthwellbeing/our-priority-programmes/heal/heal-docs/the-national-guidelines-on-physical-activity-for-ireland.pdf

Reading is an essential life skill which children will begin to master at infant level but what can caregivers do at home to ensure children are progressing?

Well, the easiest way is to get children reading is to begin by building their interest. Try to have a variety of reading material in your home which children can access as they please. Discuss the print, imagine what will happen next, get the child to tell the story in their own way or even pretend you're in the story and become a key character. Building the enjoyment that's created by a book will encourage the child to want to take part in the reading experience.

Below is a variety of resources that will encourage this growth at home.

1. Twinkl - https://www.twinkl.ie/offer

Worksheets, activities, online games, printable games, eBooks and PowerPoints on every subject and topic (and most books!) can be found on Twinkl. It is a website full of educational resources. They are offering a free access to parents for a month. This website is used regularly throughout the school year and I would really recommend using some of the resources with your child.

It is really easy to set yourself up on this website – just click the link above to visit the website, enter your email address, password and the offer code: IRLTWINKLHELPS.

Here, you can search through suitable resources linking to our curriculum by clicking on the various tabs. Junior and senior infants class resources are most suitable for younger children (aged 4-7) however you should choose a level that meets the ability of your child, potentially going up to the first or second class tabs as necessary.



2. Teach Your Monster To Read -  https://www.teachyourmonstertoread.com/

This website, (which is also available to download as an app) is for phonics (letters and letter sounds) and also reading short sentences while practising tricky words. As you progress through the levels the requirement to move onto the next level also gets more advanced. For example, it will begin with linking sounds to the correct letter like “collect all the ‘s’ ducks and place them in the correct pond” and then it will progress to choosing words from sentences and so on.

The app is easier to navigate through in my opinion and it’s very easy to set up. To begin, go to the website using the link above to download the app on the app store for free and create a login for your child. Let them choose the monster they will be playing with. Additional outfit choices will become available as you progress through the levels. Their progress will be automatically saved too!

3. Get Epic - https://www.getepic.com/

Here you will find a library of books which your child can read along, listen to or read by themselves. Parents can pre-approve books that they love by clicking on the heart icon on each book to add them to their favourites, this makes it easy for the child to be able to find books suitable for them. Children in junior or senior infants should be able to read some of the books by themselves, other books are trickier. In this case you should look at the book image, if it has a green rectangle on the bottom of the cover it means there is the option of having the book read to the children which they can follow along with. You can also click on the words on the pages of the book which will explain the word to you.

In my opinion this website is excellent! However, it currently can only be used for free if you are added by a librarian or primary school teacher. We recommend that all teachers should create accounts for their class, it's really quick and easy to do. I have set up accounts for the children in my class.

If your child’s teacher does not use it yet there is an option available where parents can download it for free for 30 days by clicking on this link and creating an account https://www.getepic.com/promo?signUpV=create_account .

Happy reading!