Oiche Eolas

• Insight into your child’s first year at school

• Practical guidance on how you can help your child.

Fáilte Romhaibh!

Happy at School• Happy child = more effective learning

• Positive experience of school in Junior Infants

• “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

Lá Scoile• 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. Cóta 2. Mála & bosca lóin 3. H.W. Journals• 9.20am school begins • 11.00am – 11.10am: sos• 12.30pm – 1.00pm: lón• 2.00pm: Am dul abhaile**

(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

Curriculum1. Gaeilge: oral language, CD., puppet. Use

simple phrases at home - confidence.2. 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 Science5. Arts – Art, Drama & Music6. P.E. Wednesdays7. SPHE (Social Personal Health Education) Religion - Alive O.

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

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!)• Dalta na Seachtaine - ar an Aoine.

Independence Builds ConfidenceEveryday 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.

Obair bhaile• Reinforce and consolidate some of the

work done in school• 10 minutes *• Sign homework notebook• Communication tool – diaries are checked

every day

CommunicationHome School Learnin

g

• Write a note in homework diary

• Sign notes• Quick word in morning or

after school• Arrange an appointment

Learning to Read and Write

• 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

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 writing1. Learning the letter sounds2. Learning letter formation3. 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.

Letter Sounds

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

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.

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

Pencil Grip

• Tripod grip• ‘froggy legs’ movement

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

AssessmentContinuous informal assessment

Assessments in literacy and numeracy at end of each termParent-Teacher meeting in

FebruaryEnd of year written report

Standardised testing in Senior Infants

Other bits and piecesToys (e.g.Toy cars/tractors/Lego)

Larger toys e.g. Kitchen/workstation

Costumes Questions