I'm a Reception Teacher - ask me anything!

[Danceintherain2018]

Happy to answer any questions anyone has. I understand that I cannot prove I am who I say I am (happy to try if you can think of a way) so I completely understand if you don't feel happy replying to this thread.

If you do, feel free to ask anything you'd like! I'm happy to answer and I hope I can reassure you!

Anyone?

Do the kids smell a bit or look grubbier than parents realise when they say you only need one jumper a week and a bath on a Wednesday

If a child were to wear the same jumper all week and only bath once a week, then it is possible that they wouldn't smell great. I have experienced that in the past and it was written down in the 'I am concerned' log.

I can imagine that runs to several pages!

i want to know if you are all sweet and cuddly, as most of my DDs' primary teachers were, with a few notable exceptions.

Not everyone no. I know of one teacher who is very proud of her scary reputation. I am one of the cuddly ones!

See I knew you were cuddly!!

I can think of loads more but if its just going to be me and you ...

If you could tell parents one thing without consequence or accusations what would it be

whats the strangest thing a parent has said/done to you?

How do you fo it? Honestly, I do PPA cover once a week and need counselling.

Have you spotted any new starters that clearly have ASD but the parents don't seem to see it? How have you handled it? (I was the parent BTW).

Is reception more difficult to teach than other years? As when they come to you initially, you teach them everything from expected behaviour within school to reading.

That's better!! Ok so if a parent was clearly a bit rushed and came in with some pretty poor quality flowers in a bit of paper they'd torn off a roll of wrapping paper, would you judge them for it?

When parents "chat" to you every morning when the kids line up wtf are they talking about that actually changed from 24 hours before..

What do children need to be able to do to start school?

StaplesCorner - ask away!

Gileswithachainsaw - hmm, that's a hard one! I think it would be, that when their children tell me they love me, I wish I could say it back. Some children may never get to hear anyone tell them they love them. I would if I could.

sockunicorn - hmmm, that's a hard one. Being threatened and sworn at because his child behaved at school wasn't nice. She was a nightmare at home and GP wouldn't refer because we never saw any of that behaviour at school.

TiffanyDoggett- this happens more often than you might think. We just support the child the best we can. Sometimes it's glaringly obvious to me that a child has ASD but it's very difficult to broach this with a parent who doesn't see it. It's usually not until year 2 or 3 that they get a diagnosis as often behaviour in Reception can be seen as simply linked to their age rather than anything else.

DryAsThingysFootwear - I don't think it's harder. Personally, I think it's easier as hey haven't learnt any bad school habits. We get to start from scratch and teach them all the basics, from how to line up to how to read. It's a very rewarding year group to teach.

StaplesCorner - not at all. If a parent gave me flowers I would be most touched and wouldn't judge them. I would be very appreciative of the kind gesture.

Gileswithachainsaw -it's usually to talk about something that happened the previous day e.g. A child pushed them in the playground at lunchtime.

adviceonthepox - in a ideal world? It would be amazing if all the children joined the school being able to manage their own needs in the toilet, zip up their own coat, recognize their name, have good fine and gross motor skills, be able to distinguish the different sounds in words (no need to recognise them, just be able to hear the sounds!). Recognizing numbers and being able to count objects with good 1:1 correspondence would also be a bonus too!

Anyone else?

:)

Do you ever find yourself frustrated trying to do the same basics over and over again or irritated when the childrem can't seem to master something simple?

How do you keep that endless enthusiasm that FS need to have?

I'd love to be a fly on the wall in foundation stage.

Ok....erm...

Its often said on MN that little chikdren cant be nasty or bullies. Have you ever had kids start who despite being so young really are mean and nasty and picked on the other kids repeatedly....

Do you keep a mental track of children you've taught through the school and have an interest in how they've turned out by Y6, or are you very focused on the current YR?

Partly a general question (I have kids at primary who are in KS2) and partly prompted by the recent thread about kids in nappies in YR, when lots of parents said that they had been seen as bad parents, but were later vindicated by their child being diagnosed a type of special needs that affected their ability to toilet train.

MaisyPops- no, don't get frustrated really. Although I do wonder why in rare circumstances children simply cannot retain anything despite daily, 1:1 intervention.

I think the enthusiasm comes from a genuine love for the job and teaching this age group. It's very evident when people don't enjoy it!

Gileswithachainsaw- yes I have. More than once (although not for about 8 years now!) One little girl deliberately would tell tales on others to get them into trouble, tell her friends to do unkind things and then watch it unfold pretending to be innocent. She would sometimes also make things up that others had said or done just to get them into trouble. She was caught out when said child was away and she hadn't realized! Scary that's 4 year old could be so manipulative.

So following on from that would you say parents massively under estimate what their kids are capable of doing and that you worry what will happen further up the school when these children are the size of their parents and unresponsive to the consequences schools are able to administer ?

TheWineDarkSea - yes I do, I love to see how they're doing as they move through the school. Will often ask others how certain children are doing. No-one else at my school does this so thinks it's odd that I care how a child's reading etc is after They've left my class.

No judgement. If a child is to come to us in nappies, we work closely with their nursery or pre-school to see if the family need any support in helping their child or if there is any additional needs that mean they can't manage their own needs. 



dance That's great. I think FS must have special powers.
I don't think I could show that much enthusiasm for 'drawings' which are largely scribbles on a daily basis and that someone caught a ball (no criticism by the way. I wish i could! A friend is teaching in Foundation Stage and I'm in awe)