Oiche Eolas Insight into your child’s first year at school

1. FáilteRomhaibh! • OicheEolas • Insight into your child’s first year at school • Practical guidance on how you can help your child.

2. Happy at School • Happy child = more effective learning • Positive experience of school in Junior Infants

3. “parents are the child's primary educators, and the life of the home is the most potent factor in his or her development during the primary school years". (Primary School Curriculum Introduction, p.21) How did your parents involvement in your learning influence you? Home + school = learning Parents

4. LáScoile 9:00am – 9:15am Supervision in the líne(straight into líne* - treehouse & balancing beam are out of bounds before school) 9:15am School bell 1. Cóta2. Mála & boscalóin3. H.W. Journals 9.20am school begins 11.00am – 11.10am: sos 12.30pm – 1.00pm: lón 2.00pm: Am dulabhaile** (write note in diary if alternative arrangements) * Wet days: Mr. Mahony’s room ** Pick up @ 2pm from back gate – collect your child from shelter area

5. Curriculum • Gaeilge: oral language, CD., puppet. Use simple phrases at home - confidence. • English: oral language, Jolly Phonics • & handwriting. • 3. Maths: Curriculum covers 0 - 5.Hands on, practical. Incorporate into daily life – shape, time, length, money. • 4. SESE – History, Geography and Science • 5. Arts – Art, Drama & Music • 6. P.E. Wednesdays • 7. SPHE (Social Personal Health Education) • Religion - Alive O.

6. Play is Important! Aistear( 0-6 yrs.) The Early Childhood Curriculum Framework. Highlights the critical roles of play, relationships and language for young children’s learning. Part of daily timetable. Different types of play; constructive, manipulative, creative, sand, small world, roleplay. Children learn through play – develop fine and gross motor skills; a time for thinking, communicating, developing relationships, problem solving, planning, investigating, experimenting, practising. www.ncca.ie

7. Classroom Management Emphasis is on rewarding positive behaviour. Focus on children being good. Children organised in groups; glas, gorm, buí, dearg, corcra and oráiste. (30 children in Ms. Glynn’s: 13 girls, 17 boys, and 2 boys in Ms. Lennon’s special class who will join us at various times throughout the week) Group and whole class rewards Timeout (thinking chair!) DaltanaSeachtaine - ar an Aoine.

8. Independence Builds Confidence • Everyday tasks/skills • Hang up coat • Put on coat when sleeves inside out • Fasten/zip coat • Put on shoes (*velcro shoes best for infants) • Open homework diary on correct page • Open & close ziplock folder and place A4 page/HW journal inside • Open and close lunchboxes/drinks bottles • Pierce drink with straw • Open yogurts, packets (frubes not allowed in infants) • Open fruit (bananas, oranges) • Recognise their own name (twistables etc.) • Sharpen a pencil • Flush toilet and wash hands • Look after belongings, no scribbling on books or book labels etc.

9. Obairbhaile Reinforce and consolidate some of the work done in school 10 minutes * Sign homework notebook Communication tool – diaries are checked every day

10. Communication • Write a note in homework diary • Sign notes • Quick word in morning or after school • Arrange an appointment

11. Learning to Read and Write

12. Fun, multi-sensory approach to teaching literacy. foundation for reading and writing. International research: the best multisensory method of teaching phonics. Actions, stories and songs make it very motivating for children. After one year’s teaching, children taught with Jolly Phonics have an average reading age around 12 months ahead of their actual age. Jolly Phonics

13. Jolly Phonics - 42 main sounds are taught in a specific order (not alphabetically). -This enables children to begin building words as early as possible. (s,a,t,i,p,n = sat, tip, pin, tap, sit …) Five key skills for reading and writing Learning the letter sounds Learning letter formation Blending (blend sounds together to read new words e.g. /c/ - /a/ - /t/ =_______) 4. Identifying the sounds in words (Segmenting) Listening for the sounds in words helps children with spelling. 5.Tricky words irregular spellings that children have to learn.

14. Letter Sounds

15. Jolly Phonics – Overview • Term 1 -learning majority of 42 sounds • -letter formation (pencil grip, fine motor control) • -blending sounds to read words (wordlists) • -‘Tricky words’ • Term 2 -handwriting • -graded readers; 1 per week • -completion and revision of sounds • -blending • -Tricky words • Term 3 -graded readers; 2 per week -alternative letter sound spellings • -independent writing; short stories

16. Jolly Phonics at Home • Revise new sound (action, song, CD). Cut sound/ tricky word from sheet and add to box. • Revise sounds/ tricky words previously learned. • JP Workbook 1; say the sound, colour picture, practise letter formation, complete activity (pictures), blend the sounds to read words. • Monitor pencil grip. • Encourage reading. Read with your child.

17. Starting to write • Good muscle and fine motor control is important for good handwriting. • Activities: • -Colouring, drawing, painting, cutting • -Manipulating materials such as márla, jigsaws, threading and using stencils. • Posture, hand/arm/wrist position. • Pencil grip: froggy legs/ tripod • Common mistakes: • -thumb/index finger overlap • -3rd finger on pencil

18. Pencil Grip • Tripod grip • ‘froggylegs’ • movement

19. Staff working with Junior Infants • Additional support from Learning Support Staff • Aim: • address the needs of children finding particular concepts difficult to grasp • challenge children who grasp specific concepts quickly

20. Assessment • Continuous informal assessment • Assessments in literacy and numeracy at end of each term • Parent-Teacher meeting in February • End of year written report • Standardised testing in Senior Infants

21. Other bits and pieces • Toys (e.g.Toy cars/tractors/Lego) • Larger toys e.g. Kitchen/workstation • Costumes • Questions