Pupils say the most wonderful things

Apr 3

Written By Emma Cate

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During my time as a primary school teacher, I have had some wonderful interactions with children. From the sweet to the hilarious, children really do say the most wonderful things. Here are some of my experiences!

A recent carpet session with my class

Child: Miss S, when COVID has gone away do you want to come to my house for a playdate?

In an English lesson studying the gorgeous wordless picture book ‘Journey’ by Aaron Becker

Me: Where would your magic carpet take you?

Child One: A magic forest

Child Two: Candy Land

Child Three: I'd go down to McDonald's. I love their Big Mac

Walking down the corridor and Y1 child stops me

Child: Miss S, you've been a really good girl today. I'm proud of you!

Working with some reception children during phonics

Me: let's sound out this word, b-u-t

A child stands up and jiggles, excitedly: But! I l LOVE WIGGLING MY BUTT

During morning registration

Child: Miss S, I want to be known as Gary from now on. Can you change the name on my book?

The child in question is not called Gary.

Whilst I was having a one to one reading session with a child they came across the word ‘gran’

Child: That's like a proper old lady.

On play duty

Child: If a worm's poo is green does that mean she is having a baby?

In a Reading lesson

Child: Miss S guess what I can do! It's called think reading. It is like normal reading but your brain does it for you and you don't speak! Look!

Child proceeds to hold a book and stare intently at it in silence.

Child: See! I'm doing it!

In an RE lesson

Me: So who was the important baby in the manger?

Child: The little baby God boy

At the end of an Art lesson during tidy up time

Me: Could you just pick those cuttings off the floor and pop them in the recycling for me?

Child: Course I can boss!

In a Maths lesson

Me: 43 + 22. What's our first step?

Child: Did you know Lizards can lick their own eyes?

During Lockdown

In my key worker bubble, there was a little one with who I hadn’t interacted with too much and can be unsure of unfamiliar adults. After a few days of looking at me from a distance, she ran up to me nuzzled my arm, and said "You're cute. I like you."

Teaching Year One

If you want to know what teaching Year One is like, today I asked the class to draw the school building and one child drew a dinosaur with rainbows coming out of its eyes.

What Reception is really like

I have seen a reception child put their own toe in their mouth and then try and give an adult in the room a kiss on the cheek.

What have you heard? Share below!

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Life After Lesson Plans: Exploring the Transferable Skills Teachers Bring to New Careers

since I've said to the wonderful world of teaching, I've found myself reflecting on all the skills I've acquired during my time in the classroom. And what's truly fascinating is how seamlessly these skills have translated into my current endeavours. It seems that, like a chameleon, I've adapted and evolved in surprising ways.

Let’s have a look at some of the key skills that can be transferred into other job roles.

RWI Pocket Chart Organisation

This is how I like to organise pocket charts. It works a bit like a lesson plan for the teacher with the speed sounds lesson on top and book part of the lesson underneath.

Top Tips For Middle Leaders

Being a Middle Leader in school is an amazing job. You get the best of both worlds. Elements of leadership whilst still being firmly placed in the classroom. However, it can be a tricky role too. Being ‘in the middle’ can mean potential pressures from above whilst also leading a team.

Here are my top, practical tips for being an effective middle leader.

Using parameters in maths to scaffold and adapt

Here is a method I use regularly in my maths lessons to ensure that I am meeting the needs of all pupils whilst allowing them access to the same learning.

A way this can easily be done within maths lessons is by using parameters. The original task is open-ended, it can be completed quite procedurally without providing challenge for higher attaining pupils so this is where we can start adding parameters. You could also begin to add parameters that are impossible and allow the pupils to investigate and reason as to why that is the case.

We can also use parameters to make the task more accessible so it is another level of scaffold and allows them to engage with the task. They can also be used to guide a pupil’s thinking and allow them to think in a particular way e.g. systematically.

Top tips for combatting teacher stress

I recently wrote a piece for Tes discussing the ways in which schools can help teachers with anxiety. When I shared the piece I was slightly taken aback by the response from teachers. Whilst anxiety disorders are very different from feeling stressed (and should be treated as such) what quickly became apparent is there are lots of teachers who are suffering from stress-related issues within their job due to external factors.

In general, stress levels (especially in the current climate) within the profession are running high. We all want the best for the pupils that we teach. In order to give them the best, we need to look after ourselves. There is only one of you. With that in mind, here are some top tips for managing stress and well-being.

Silence can be golden in the classroom

Children’s working memory has a limited capacity and due to this when taking part in a demanding task or handling lots of information, the working memory can be overwhelmed for lots of pupils. With cognitive overload in mind, silent modelling works well with younger students as it allows their working memory to narrow down its focus and doesn’t overwhelm it.

Pupils say the most wonderful things

During my time as a primary school teacher, I have had some wonderful interactions with children. From the sweet to the hilarious, children really do say the most wonderful things. Here are some of my experiences!

#PrimaryEssentials Conference

I am thrilled to announce the #PrimaryEssentials conference will be held on Saturday 8th May! We have the amazing

@Teacherglitter

@_MissieBee

and

@MissNewton91

speaking!

Live and recording only tickets available

Talking Deeply about Art

One of the most enjoyable things about art is how subjective it is. No two opinions on a piece of artwork will be the same. Teachers often talk of Reading for Pleasure. I am a strong advocate of Viewing Art for Pleasure. Responding to art is one of life’s great joys. The key here is discussion. Discussions around artworks need to be planned well within a broader curriculum that emphasizes vocabulary, language, and the value of talk. In its simplest form, this could just be as simple as a pupil saying what they can see in front of them but with careful modelling and the right school culture, it can lead to powerful discourse in the classroom.

Depth for all in maths

I recently delivered a session titled, ‘Primary Maths: Differentiation through scaffolding and adaptation’ at the #PrimaryEssentials conference on Saturday 8th May. Recordings of the event are still available for purchase here.

The talk focussed on the importance of high-quality differentiation that allows the vast majority of children within the classroom setting access to the same content with tangible real-life examples of how to do so. Instead of creating 30 different tasks/lesson plans for the 30 children in the class teachers should instead use strategies to ensure children are accessing age-related curriculum expectations.

Artwork of the week assembly

I have created an entire term’s worth of artwork of the week class assemblies. There is a mixture of artworks throughout history with a little bit of art history and some reflective questions to get pupils talking and experiencing art. They could easily be used across primary and secondary.

Designing an art curriculum: Key Skills

Skills progression has an important part to play in designing a well-rounded art curriculum but what does the term ‘skills progression’ actually mean?

In its most basic form, it is essentially advancing pupils through a series of simple steps that becomes progressively more advanced in order to develop proficiency in more complex skills.

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Emma Cate