Dear Parents,
As you know we have been working hard this year to build better partnerships with you and younger siblings through work on our blog, by extending time to work alongside your children in class in the mornings and by introducing our songs and rhymes sessions. I am really proud of the work we have been doing and how well you are working with us to start conversations, sing rhymes and support your children's learning. I will be talking to some other teachers about what we have been doing next Wednesday. If you have any thoughts about the blog, songs and rhymes or the way children and parents come in to school together in the mornings please add them as comments below. I would love to share your ideas and responses with my colleagues.
Best Wishes,
Mrs Goto
I have nothing but praise for the work that you have done this year. You have given us as parents of Year R children the best introduction to the school.
ReplyDeleteAs a parent I always try to have a conversation with Taylor about her day either on the way home and/or dinner time. Some days she is full of conversation and other days it can be hard work. Since the introduction of the class blog I have found that on the hard days I have a point of reference. We can take a look together and this normally spurs Taylor on in a chat about what they have done that day. With the pictures you upload its lovely to visually see the children at work. The blog has definitely helped me to support Taylor in her learning at home.
With regards to coming into class in the mornings I have enjoyed being able to do this. I feel that this has helped to build relationships between parents & teacher. Any questions we may have can easily be answered in this open environment. With Taylor having a younger sibling I feel that this has been great for him also. Some mornings he even has the opportunity to have a quick play with Duplo or a pushchair. The songs and rhymes sessions have been good fun for Logan too. Its been lovely for Taylor to have her brother come to the school and be able to take part in something together. They are both enjoying learning the rhymes together at home. I feel that what you have put into place has not only benefitted Taylor but Logan too. By the time he starts school he should feel really comfortable and familiar with the school.
Taylors Mum.
I agree with Taylors mums comment above, the year R team have been really good with the children and the blog has been really helpful with informing us with what the children get up to during the day. As when I ask Liam what he has been doing all he answers is " digging!" You must have quite a hole in the playground by now! I'm still not 100% convinced with the songs and rhymes sessions, I have not been to one as Liam doesn't have a younger sibling but my feedback from Liam hasn't been that positive. I think he prefers to think he is a big boy now and would prefer to be with his class mates doing something else. Which is what my first thought was when I first heard about it, if i'm honest. I'm sure its been great for the younger siblings that will be coming up the school in the years to come but perhaps the children could have the choice if they want to do it or not? Liams mum :)
ReplyDeleteI think the children have all been offered a fantastic start to their education, I have nothing but praise for the blog. Lydia can come home so tired from school, and often is not that forth coming with information about what she has done. The blog has allowed me to talk with Lydie about what she has been up to, we look at it together and it sparks off lots of conversations between us. The link to the nesting birds proved a hit also. It has been great to follow up ideas that have been sown at school, it has made home learning more productive, and hopefully in turn, school work more interesting also?!?!?!
ReplyDeleteMy eldest child went to an infants school where you just drop your child at the door and wave goodbye, so to start the day going in with Lydie and settling her in seemed quite odd to start off with, my having experienced both, I would definitely say that both, me and Lydie have benefitted from this time together. I have seen work, I would have otherwise not known about, and it's lovely to see her at ease in the year R setting.
I have loved bringing esmai to the singing sessions, and lydie has looked forward to having her sister there. They love singing and doing action songs. We are trying to learn the ones we don't know at home, we all remember nursery rhymes from when we were children, it just shows how it becomes part of us.
Well done to all.
We couldn't have asked for a better start to Lucy's (s) formal education. The opportunity to come into class in the mornings has been very helpful in settling Lucy and making her feel comfortable in the school environment, particularly in the earlier days of the school year. It took some time to get the routine of water bottle, class library book, book bag in tray, hand coat up ingrained. I am now taking a step back to increase Lucy's independence in preparation of year 1. These few minutes with the teachers each day has greatly helped to forge strong relationships with the class staff
ReplyDeleteSECOND PART:!
ReplyDeleteAny queries or concerns can easily be raised with the teachers. I love to see the displays and activities on offer, another insight into Lucy's day and conversation starters. This time has also enabled strong relationships to be formed amongst the parents facilitating the community feel of the school.
I've really enjoyed the
DEFINATELY A PROBLEM !!
ReplyDeleteWe've really enjoyed the songs and rhymes sessions. Fantastic to spend a part of the day with Lucy at school. We are BIG fans of singing and nursery rhymes and have been since both girls were born. We've taken part in teddy bear club (singing group) sing and sign and monkey music and I am a firm believer that this exposure has helped both girls speech and language development. Izzy has further exposure to the school environment and I'm sure this will help her when she starts school in sept 2014.
So with 4 weeks of the school year still to go I will take this as an opportunity
CONTINUED.....
ReplyDeleteSo I will take this as an opportunity to say a BIG thank you to all the teachers for a fantastic year of exploring, thinking and learning.
Finally, regarding the blog. We LOVE it in our house and regularly look at it. Great for conversation starters because all Lucy does at school is 'play', perhaps in Liam's hole! I love the photos, a real snapshot into my daughters day. I wonder if it would be possible to extend the blog so parents could comment on issues other than those topics listed on the blog. I really hope year 1 teachers are active with their posting on the blog next year!
Completely agree with everything that has been said here, this has been a great start to Joana's education, the blog is such a good thing to have, as Joana seems to often forget most of her day, I really really hope year 1 teachers are as active with their posting as Mrs Gotto has been, it's a great learning guide for us at home.
ReplyDeleteI love the mornings, having the oportunity to see Joana in her class, she loves her school and I couldn't be more happy she found such a lovely place with such a lovely people around her, I feel she has learned so much in this year and her confidence has grown so much, what a diference a year has made!
I am really sorry Lucy's mum if Lucy comes home as brown as Liam does! lol Apparently today he managed to accidently toss some dirt over the fence over an adult helper! What can I say... the boy loves digging! lol
ReplyDeleteI would like to echo the comments already made and apologise for any repetition. I, like everyone else, have nothing but praise for both the YR team and the school.
ReplyDeleteWe have the same problem getting any information from Thomas about his day. Everyday we spend time talking about what he’s done at school and although some days he is very forthcoming most days can be hard work. The school blog has been a fantastic way for us to engage with Thomas and get an insight into his day and the things he is doing and learning. The information that’s posted enables us to support him with his learning and I would welcome more posts relating to tips/links and ideas to help children learn. Learning methods have changed since I was at school so for me this is a good reference point to refresh my memory. The phonics link was a great help. Thomas loves to look at the blog and always wants to see what everyone else is doing and what is being posted. Thomas uses the blog to read alongside his normal reading books and he is now starting to show an interest in posting his own comments. He loved the headmaster’s book review and did a lot of the typing himself(this took a while!)
Thomas loves the songs and rhymes sessions and is always singing. This is a fun way for the children to learn and build their language skills. Thomas doesn’t have younger siblings and I don’t attend but I think the sessions are a good way for younger children to start learning and be comfortable within the school environment. This may help them settle better when the time comes for them to start school, hopefully making it easier for parents and teachers.
I think that being able to go into the classroom in the morning has been a huge benefit which has helped build a good relationship between the parents and teachers. Although Thomas is confident going into the class and doesn’t need me to stay very long it’s nice to be able to see the work they have been doing displayed around the classroom and to check his tray for anything that hasn't made it's way home! I don’t feel cut off or excluded by waiting at the door and this has made me feel happier knowing more about the environment he is in during the day. The YR team have been wonderful and given the children the best possible start to their education and prepared them well for Y1. Having had conversations with friends with children at other schools, I know how lucky we are as some can’t say the same. I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for all. I hope that this same involvement and attitude continues without his schooling.