A New Experience

 Hello! Rachel here!

Karen and me

For this first half term in PK, I have felt that I have already learnt so much from the children and my wonderful team but also have this feeling that I have a long way to go! My TA, Karen, is very experienced in Early Years and I feel that she is very patiently supporting me on my learning journey. I have mentioned to many teachers that I feel as though I have been thrown back into my NQT year, with those feelings of impostor syndrome, being unsure about how something will work but still excited about each new day and the challenges that I am experiencing. 

Karen and I have developed a great working relationship and I really appreciate how she gives me suggestions as well being open to new ideas. We communicate very openly and talked early on about how we wanted to be honest with how we want to manage our class. I feel at the moment, I am at the stage where I am reading lots, looking up new ideas and excited to try everything whereas Karen balances me with her amazing knowledge and experience. I think both of us have the common aim of wanting the children to have a rich variety of learning experiences as well as developing their independence and sense of agency in the classroom. 

First few weeks

The first few weeks in PK actually were very challenging. When talking to my family about my experience their first response was 'but the content you are teaching must be easier right?' I responded saying 'these last few weeks have been the most challenging of my teaching career!' 

In my class, I have some very young children who have just turned 3 and I have to keep reminding myself that they have, in essence, just come out of being 2. This has meant that I have to be hyper vigilant in order to make sure everybody is in the right place and that I am really responding to their needs. 

On the other hand, I have a group of much louder, more confident and 'bouncier' 4 year-olds. This group often stick together, enjoy a lot of movement and some 'rough and tumble'. 

At first, I honestly felt that I was needing to 'crowd control' rather than get involved with the children's games and start building relationships. I found this quite frustrating and needless to say, exhausting. However people kept telling me that it would get easier. So I clung onto this advice and persevered! 

Now we are in the 2nd week of the second half term and I can happily say that I have finally started to notice a change! Now I can safely say I know the things that worked and how I will approach the start of term next year. 

My Observations

Things that have helped make a smooth start to the second half term:

Routine: Establishing the routine with my class, allowed the children to understand my expectations for example, when it was time to listen to a story, or participate in a short class discussion. These take place at the same times in each day so the children are now ready to listen at these points and now seem to look forward to it! 

Visual timetable: I took photographs of each part of the day e.g. starting school, toilet time, story time, French etc and modelled how to use this to the children. Now each day, I notice the children talking about the timetable with their friends. They talk about what has just happened and what is going to happen next. For some children, who feel quite anxious about when it is time to go home, it provides them with some reassurance as they can see how many activities there are left until home time. 

Trusting my instincts: I had an experience with a child who find it very difficult to settle into school. Understandably, his parents were worried as he became very distressed at any mention of his parents leaving him. I sought advice from Estelle and she recommended him having a staggered start which is what I suggested to his parents. However the initial part of his parents leaving was still difficult. I started feeling that the longer his parents hung around, the harder it was for X. In the end, I had to be strong and explain to his parents that he will cry when they leave, but they needed to show confidence for him by explaining they are leaving, tell him they will come back and then go. The parents listened, X did scream and cry but within about 5 minutes he was playing and laughing. I feel that this is something I need to remember for next year to help other children and parents at this point of separation. 

Spending more time outside: For my 'bouncy' group, I discovered the key to allow them to express their personalities and needs, was to spend as much time outside as possible. Here they have more space and can be loud and active. This has meant that I have been able to play with the children and find out their interests without this worried feeling of somebody hurting themselves!

What have you found helpful to make a smoother settling in period? I would be really interested to know!