EYFS guide and planning for the first weeks General Ideas The main aim over the first few days is to begin to get to know the children (e.g. their name, likes and dislikes, interests etc). Encourage the children to try a variety of new activities, use a variety of resources and explore their new environment. During the first few days, have lots of free play/child initiated play to encourage the children to explore their new setting, new resources and meet new people and begin communicating and forming friends. Slowly introduce adult input activities and keep each one quite short. Carpet times should also be kept quite short to begin with but are very useful for discussing rules, topics, activities and also to promote good listening! Make coat peg/tray labels with pictures the children can use to identify their own peg/tray. These could use a photograph of the child (brought in from home or taken at the setting), a clip art picture, sticker or a drawing made by each child. Each child should have a different picture to aid recognition of their own peg/tray. In the past I have taken a picture of each child in the first few days of school. It’s also a good idea to write the child’s name on the label of their school uniform on the first day! Make sure other key areas are clearly labelled to help children (and adults) know where to put things like coats, drinks bottles, lunchboxes, dinner money, book bags etc. Read the children a short picture book each day. Interactive books work especially well (e.g. books with moving parts or sounds!) or a funny story that will make them laugh. Encourage the children to make a painting or drawing to take home on their first day. Ask the children to draw or paint a simple self-portrait to go on display. It could be labelled ‘Our Class’ or ‘Welcome to … Class’ as a welcome banner. This will help the children to feel more settled and take ownership of their new classroom. A ‘Class Gallery’ is also a lovely way to encourage children to add work on display. This can include any work done at school or home and the children love seeing their work on display! Some children may benefit from being told how to use the toilets/sinks and also how to wash and dry their hands. Practise getting the children to line up and walk in a line. Encourage them to play ‘follow my leader’ style games and follow the person in front of them. This can be further encouraged by asking the children to put their hands onto the shoulders of the person in front of them or by holding a skipping rope (with one hand) that stretches the length of the line. Practise different ways of getting children to come onto the carpet for carpet time. I use a tambourine to get children’s attention - after I shake the tambourine, children wiggle their fingers in the air. If you want to use a song instead that’s no problem! Just use what you are comfortable with and which method works best for you. Try to provide a mixture of different activities suitable for groups of different sizes – there should be some for individuals (e.g. a small jigsaw, colouring sheets), some for small groups (cars and car mat, small world toys, role-play activities) and some for larger groups/whole class (e.g. story time, circle time, song time). Over the first few days, introduce class rules. Discuss each one with the children and maybe create a display to remind the children how to keep everyone safe and happy in the setting. Try to use positive language for the class rules e.g “use kind hands” instead of “no hitting”. Take photographs of the different activities children do during their first few days at the setting. These could form a lovely display to show parents/guardians what their child enjoys doing and also the range of activities available. Each day make these into a PowerPoint slideshow which the children can watch before they go home. It provides a really nice opportunity for children to reflect upon their day at school as well as for adults to reinforce examples of positive behaviour and good learning that they have seen. Carpet times - Getting to know you activities Some useful games and learning ideas for helping children to settle into their new class at the start of the year. They are simple, engaging ways for children and adults to get to know each other’s names and learn a little about each other. Pass the Bear Explain that we have a class full of new friends. Sometimes it makes us feel sad if we don’t know everyone’s names so we are going to play a game to help us remember the names of our friends and teachers. Give a teddy bear to one child. The child tells us their name. Everyone repeats their name. The child passes the bear to the person next to them and the game is repeated. After the first day, the game can be changed so the teacher says “can you give the bear to...?” Roll the Ball Circle Game: A simple game to help the children to learn each other’s names. First, sit in a circle with a ball. The teacher begins by holding the ball and saying their own name for the children to hear. The ball is then passed around the circle with each child saying their name whilst holding the ball and then passing it to the next child. When the ball has completed a full circle, the teacher then rolls the ball to a child saying their name and they roll it back to the teacher saying the teacher’s name. Swap Shop: The children sit in a circle. The adult says the names of two children and they jump up and swap places. A great way to keep children active and get rid of those wriggles whilst getting to know each other. Bug in the Rug: The children sit in a circle and close their eyes. The adult taps one of the children in the circle on the shoulder and they move to the middle of the circle and are covered with a blanket. The children then open their eyes and sing, “Bug in the rug, bug in the rug. Who’s that bug in the rug?” The children then look around the circle to see if they can work out who is missing. It’s a lovely way of helping children to remember all of the children in the class as well as their names. Make a Knock Knock Book: Make a book where each child from the class has their own page. At the top of each page it says “Knock, knock! Who’s there?” and below this is a lift the flap door which has been coloured in by the child. A photograph of the child, along with their name is then stuck under the door. The class can then read the book together, guess who is behind each door and then lift the flap to see if they are right. It’s a nice idea to make a big book for the class to share, as well as a smaller version for the children to access independently in general provision. Carpet Times - Circle Time Games Circle time games are ideal for the first few days in your new class as they help children to get to know each other as well as providing a break from the usual routines. They encourage turn taking, listening skills and help to build confidence. Simon Says – Develop the children’s listening skills by playing Simon Says, gradually using calmer and calmer actions to get them settled and ready for their next activity. Feely Bag – Put an object in a feely bag and choose a child to come to the front of the class and describe what they can feel or tell the class what they think it is. This can be linked to your topic or just an object that will help your class to get to know you. For example, put your favourite toy, your favourite fruit or your favourite book in the bag. This will help your children feel they are getting to know you, as well as prompting discussion and helping the children feel comfortable to share their own likes, dislikes and favourites! Pass the Clap – Sit with the children in a circle on the floor. The adult claps towards the child on their left, ‘passing’ them a clap. They then turn to the person on their left and pass a clap to them. The aim is to get the clap passed all the way around the circle and back to the adult. Instead of a clap pass a squeeze, where all of the children hold hands and a gentle squeeze is passed around the circle. You could even cheer everyone up by passing a smile full circle! Kim’s Game – Sit the children in a circle and place a tray with a selection of objects on in the centre. (You could use objects linked to your current topic.) Talk about each object to ensure the children know what they are. Ask the children to close their eyes and remove one of the objects. Can anyone identify the missing object? Pass the Sound Maker – Pass a sound maker around the circle - this could be a percussion instrument such as a maraca, a set of keys or a squeaky toy. See if the sound maker can get silently around the circle! Pass the Toy – Pass a class toy carefully around the circle without waking it up! Hot Potato – The children pass a small round object around the circle whilst the music plays (a beanbag or tennis ball would be ideal). The object of the game is not to be left holding the ‘potato’ when the music stops. Body Percussion Echo Activity – Adult claps or taps a beat and the children echo this beat back. Lots of stories and songs!
