For anyone who has read my previous post, you will know that I am new to Early Years and the way things are done there. My experience of it appeared to be of children being supervised by adults who wondered around the room with post its and a camera. Now, at the end of my first half term there, I know that this couldn't be further from the truth of what really happens there!
First of all, the children aren't just 'playing' - no matter how much it looks like it! They are using their imagination most of the time, but the room is set up in a way to help them achieve that and to show off their own unique skills in a range of different ways. For example, that role play area in the corner that has the food all of the table and a cooker with pots and pans all over it isn't just an area for a child to chew on plastic food and spread germs. It is an area that, if you take the time to listen, you will hear some of the most amazing discussions between children, without any adult involvement, in which they are using their own experiences of the world and applying them in that role play area. This is where the adults in the room come into play - they are there to catch these moments and record them as evidence for each child's file, proving what 'level' they are at. I have heard of weekends being spent printing out lots of photos, matching them up with the post it note for that activity and then finding where it fits in the Development Matters document! That, for me, sounds like a complete recipe for disaster as I am unable to organise post its in anything other than a complete mess!
Luckily for me though, our school has invested in a piece of software called Tapestry. This is a web based learning journal for your setting that allows you to add photos, comments and link it to the Development Matters document, all without the need of a pen and paper! This is because it comes with an iPad (and Android in Beta!) app which means you can take the photo (and I recommend you do this first before they move on to something different!), choose the child(ren), add a comment and select the areas that it fits into. By pressing save, it sends it all off to the portfolio in the cloud which can also be shared with the parent if you wanted to.
With our baseline assessments due next week, I have found this system to be very easy to check which areas I need to focus on and with which children. It gives the information I need clearly and I can view the whole year group or just my key children. One thing I would like to see added is the ability to select my class so I can really help support my teaching assistant without having to trawl through all the other children in the other classes.
One area that I have found really positive with Tapestry is the forum support. It is expected that you will have questions, especially as a new user, and the forum allows you to get support for the developers as well as other users. So far, my questions have been answered quickly and efficiently.
We use iPads to do our observations on, and whilst the app is very easy to use, it does have some bugs that are still to be ironed out. Bugs like not always being able to log in first time using the pin entry system, meaning that you have to log out and back in, as well sometimes mixing up observations linked to certain statements - but this is only a temporary thing - if you check back an hour later they are back to normal! As this is a relatively new app, I am happy to help develop and iron out these bugs, especially as it really has the potential to become such a powerful tool in the EYFS setting.
One thing I haven't mentioned is the cost. For our setting, we have 90 children, and so the cost for us is £50 + VAT - which is nothing really when you consider that cost against the cost of printing photos, post it notes and profile books - and time!!
There are other systems that do similar on the market, and I can not comment on whether they are better or worse as I have not had a chance to use them in a classroom setting. What I can say though is that Tapestry has proved itself to be a useful addition to our setting and, whilst some of the bugs are frustrating, it has helped save us time and given us almost instant feedback on where our children are.
More information on Tapestry can be found here: http://eyfs.info/tapestry-info/introduction
Tuesday 15 October 2013
Friday 11 October 2013
6 weeks in.... A new Early Years teacher's view
6 weeks ago, I started a new academic year.
6 weeks ago, I started with a new class....but this was a class like none I had ever experienced before. This was an Early Years class!
The excitement I had before I opened the doors on that first morning was very quickly changed to sheer horror as the children came in, some crying (understandably!), some with huge amounts of confidence. Straight away, the role play area that I had set up as a cafe was destroyed - food, plates, cutlery - everywhere! The mark making area had all the baskets of bits just emptied onto the floor. The painting area had paint everywhere (apart from the paper it would seem). Everything was going wrong from what I had planned!
In all my preparations leading up to that day, I had forgotten one thing - to prepare myself for dealing with 30 4 year olds! I've raised a child so I understand that you have to teach them how to function in every day life - getting changed, putting a coat on, how to pick up and hold an object, how to eat - the list goes on. What I never really realised is that, just like when learning how to write instructions, or learning to produce a bar chart, children learn these skills at different rates. I think I honestly thought that you show children how to put on a coat, and they would instantly recognise that there are 2 arms that need to be the right way round, the open bit goes at the front and the longer bit between the arms goes at the bottom. After our first PE session, I realised that some children didn't even know that there was a difference between their tshirts and trousers! The same went for using a pencil. To me, it's obvious that a pencil is used for writing words or drawing pictures. To some of them though, it's just a piece of wood - a sword, a light sabre - anything their imagination wants it to be.
My role as a teacher had always been, up to that point, to plan a lesson, teach it, and support the children to achieve the learning goals. Now, my role is the same, but without the teaching part being a formal, obvious thing! The activities available for the children are there to let them lead it where they want. I have found that they come up with ideas that are so far removed from what I thought they would be doing, but more often than not, so much better than I could have ever thought of!
Today, the some of the boys started building towers and asking each other how many bricks they had used, how many yellow, blue etc. This went on for about 10 minutes and the numbers kept going higher and higher (24 was the most I believe!) but then they changed their own activity to see who could build the tallest tower, who could build the tower with the most blue bricks etc. I would never have planned for this, and, led by one of the other boys who is a fantastic mathematician, the other boys were able to share and hear extended vocabulary. I didn't have to step in once for the whole time that they were doing this. No arguments, no injuries - just exciting maths!
So, 6 weeks ago I was scared, terrified even, of what I had let myself in for. I honestly could not see why anyone would want to teach in Early Years, and I even considered looking for another post (although there is no way that I could actually do that to a class - to lose your teacher, let alone your first teacher, part way through the year must be so confusing for them!). Now though, I'm not sure I could ever go back up the school!! A timetable is restricting - what if I was to leave a Year 4 class with bricks for a period of time. They would probably come up with something completely different, but by the time they had stopped arguing over who was going to get the first brick, it would be time to pack away and move onto literacy!
As we move closer to the end of our first half term together, I have to say, I am really enjoying my class. It is full of some great characters, as are most classes, but I feel really lucky to be there at the beginning of their schooling. I may not be 'teaching' them much, but at least I've helped them put their trousers on their legs and not over their heads!
6 weeks ago, I started with a new class....but this was a class like none I had ever experienced before. This was an Early Years class!
The excitement I had before I opened the doors on that first morning was very quickly changed to sheer horror as the children came in, some crying (understandably!), some with huge amounts of confidence. Straight away, the role play area that I had set up as a cafe was destroyed - food, plates, cutlery - everywhere! The mark making area had all the baskets of bits just emptied onto the floor. The painting area had paint everywhere (apart from the paper it would seem). Everything was going wrong from what I had planned!
In all my preparations leading up to that day, I had forgotten one thing - to prepare myself for dealing with 30 4 year olds! I've raised a child so I understand that you have to teach them how to function in every day life - getting changed, putting a coat on, how to pick up and hold an object, how to eat - the list goes on. What I never really realised is that, just like when learning how to write instructions, or learning to produce a bar chart, children learn these skills at different rates. I think I honestly thought that you show children how to put on a coat, and they would instantly recognise that there are 2 arms that need to be the right way round, the open bit goes at the front and the longer bit between the arms goes at the bottom. After our first PE session, I realised that some children didn't even know that there was a difference between their tshirts and trousers! The same went for using a pencil. To me, it's obvious that a pencil is used for writing words or drawing pictures. To some of them though, it's just a piece of wood - a sword, a light sabre - anything their imagination wants it to be.
My role as a teacher had always been, up to that point, to plan a lesson, teach it, and support the children to achieve the learning goals. Now, my role is the same, but without the teaching part being a formal, obvious thing! The activities available for the children are there to let them lead it where they want. I have found that they come up with ideas that are so far removed from what I thought they would be doing, but more often than not, so much better than I could have ever thought of!
Today, the some of the boys started building towers and asking each other how many bricks they had used, how many yellow, blue etc. This went on for about 10 minutes and the numbers kept going higher and higher (24 was the most I believe!) but then they changed their own activity to see who could build the tallest tower, who could build the tower with the most blue bricks etc. I would never have planned for this, and, led by one of the other boys who is a fantastic mathematician, the other boys were able to share and hear extended vocabulary. I didn't have to step in once for the whole time that they were doing this. No arguments, no injuries - just exciting maths!
So, 6 weeks ago I was scared, terrified even, of what I had let myself in for. I honestly could not see why anyone would want to teach in Early Years, and I even considered looking for another post (although there is no way that I could actually do that to a class - to lose your teacher, let alone your first teacher, part way through the year must be so confusing for them!). Now though, I'm not sure I could ever go back up the school!! A timetable is restricting - what if I was to leave a Year 4 class with bricks for a period of time. They would probably come up with something completely different, but by the time they had stopped arguing over who was going to get the first brick, it would be time to pack away and move onto literacy!
As we move closer to the end of our first half term together, I have to say, I am really enjoying my class. It is full of some great characters, as are most classes, but I feel really lucky to be there at the beginning of their schooling. I may not be 'teaching' them much, but at least I've helped them put their trousers on their legs and not over their heads!
Wednesday 9 October 2013
A Twinkl in the sky
Since moving down through the school from KS2 to KS1 and now into EYFS, I have found myself building up a collection of resources to use for each year group that I find myself in. Many an evening can be spent just searching for appropriate banners for displays where my limited art skills just aren't enough. I have also found myself searching regularly online for things to use on my mark making table or for topics that we are covering. So many times though, I just thought, what's the point, I may as well just make them myself!
That was until I discovered Twinkl through a colleague of mine who said it was always their first port of call when looking for a resource or display material. There are many parts of this site and some are free, where as some are charged. Personally, I have always said I would not pay for a site that does not let me see what I am getting. Twinkl have done exactly that. Everything you can download is available to be seen. If it is a premium download, it tells you straight away. No signing up, confirming details, finding your resource again only to find you have to pay! There are 2 levels of paid service - £24.99 per year for the Gold level and £39.99 for the full Platinum level. Depending on your needs and the resources required, depends on the level you would choose.
The site is easy to navigate and has a wide range of topics that covers most of a child's primary education. Whether you are looking at Romans with Year 4 or The Gruffalo in EYFS, I'm sure Twinkl will have something for you to use.
The site isn't just about resources though. As a parent, I want to be able to support my child at home as much as possible. Just because I'm a teacher doesn't mean I'm an expert in raising my own child. Twinkl also has an area for parents to browse on each of the topics that they have. I have found this to be really valuable to help keep my child occupied on something that is relevant to their current learning as well as helping to start discussions to help build on the topics they are covering in the classroom. I'm getting better responses to the question, "What are you doing at school at the moment then?" (Which is normally met with a "Nothing much." response!).
As a teacher and a parent, sometimes I'm asked questions that I have no idea what the answer is. I can Google it, but again, sometimes there is just too much information for me to find out what is actually relevant. A popular area of the site is the forums which is a great place to ask such a question and know that you will be replied quickly with an appropriate answer. Broken down into subject areas, stage area and area, it is easy enough to find the right area for your question and, like other forums on line, it is easy to keep track of your post or browse other posts to see if you are able to help someone else out!
Overall, Twinkl is a site worth checking out. It has saved me time and given me some great ideas to use in my classroom and at home and hopefully you too, will find it a useful resource.
If you are looking to gain access to the site for your own school, the great news is that Twinkl are currently offering a free trial of the service! They also offer great discounts for multiple users, just as you would get in a school!
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