Top Tips for September (Extended)
Great, you’ve made a great choice to look at the expanded version of the Top Tips for September! I hope you enjoy reading it and gain some good tips.
As August starts to draw to a close, it’s only natural that our thoughts drift toward the return to school. Let’s be honest—some of you probably had that on your mind back in July! But now, it’s starting to feel a bit more real. The summer heat is easing off, everyone’s talking about the UK Bank Holiday and friends are starting to mention that final week of the long summer break.
Whether your early years classroom is already looking fabulous and ready to go, or whether you’re just starting to shift your focus to “The Big Job,” this blog is for you.
I won’t let you know just how many Autumn ‘returns’ I’ve readied myself and my environment for over the years—let’s just say it’s more than a few! But quite honestly, I’m feeling a little envious of you all right now as you get ready to welcome your new cohorts. I miss it!
I always remember that there’s definitely a bit of a “Groundhog Day” feeling to this time of year, isn’t there? You find yourself thinking about the children you waved off in July—those confident, capable little learners ready for the next step in their school journey… and maybe a few you secretly wished you could keep just a bit longer? But those little daydreams are just that now—memories—and it’s time to head back to the beginning! Or maybe this is your very first adventure into the world of Early Years—lucky you! You’re in for such a brilliant year. Enjoy every moment.
Thinking back on all my (very happy!) returns over the years, I started reflecting on the things that always helped make those first few weeks go a bit more smoothly. You know—the little things that keep the chaos at bay, set the right tone, and help everyone settle in nicely for the term and year/s ahead. What more could you want?
So, that’s where my Top Tips come in. Here they are, just for you...Although when it came to it I wrote too much so you have the short version at the beginning of the blog and the fuller explanation if you click the link to our Information and Resources page! Your choice, read either or both…!
1. Allow yourself time to play with the children
This may sound obvious but there are always so many demands on your time, especially in the first days and weeks that this small element can slip. It is the very best way of really getting to know your children. I understand that we sometimes feel the pressure to be ‘teaching’ and this is often seen as only happening during ‘adult led’ sessions, especially by those not so well-versed in all things Early Years. But adult led sessions are not going to give you the information you need to really dig down into the minds and personalities of these small people who have entered your world!
Simply playing, on their terms, at their pace, following their lead will give you all that you need. You can still teach! You will ‘scaffold’ (there’s a well-used term), build upon their current knowledge, interests and fascinations, model, mirror, establish mutual trust, let them get to know you, build vocabulary, support self-esteem and self- efficacy. You can also reinforce expectations gently as you play. The opportunities are absolutely vast and have been explored and explained by so many theorists. But in a nutshell, just give yourself time to play. I really think it’s one of the most valuable things you can do in the Early Years and an amazing teaching tool that sadly so often becomes lost in the years to come.
2. Start teaching phonics (when you’re ready!)
I always felt that this was a great introduction to group, adult led teaching sessions, and it was the only one we had for the first few weeks of the term (depending on the cohort). It was always undertaken at a good pace and was fun, interactive and short!
If you are in a Nursery or preschool, whatever age your children are, feel free to start a little adult led session (probably with small groups) if you like, based on the early phonics I talk about in my book The Right Start to Phonics. These fun activities will ensure that the children’s phonological awareness is established, that they can hear sounds, make sounds, manipulate sounds…or, if you’re attached to a school, you might like to use the early stages of your phonics programme, if they cater for early phonics (Phase One as it was known).
Just a note: these activities should all continue across the year – rhymes, poems, alliteration, hearing and manipulating sounds – don’t let them slip away once you start your phonics teaching! The children still need these skills as they progress as readers to bolster their knowledge and confidence.
If you have a class of Reception children, when children are starting their ‘formal’ education in the UK, spend the first few days working out or ‘assessing’ your children to see if their early phonics is embedded. Take a look at my book to see exactly what I’m talking about. If they need more early phonic support, then start group times with activities to embed this. After a few weeks, if you think your children are ready, you can start teaching ‘phonics’. If you are using a phonics programme, then start with this. As I have mentioned, I think phonics is a good starting place for introducing group times where the children are learning together. But, as I mentioned, this would be our only one in those early days or weeks.
3. Teach the children about the learning environment
Now this very much ties in with both of the points mentioned so far. The only other adult led sessions that we would have from the earliest days would be times where we showed the children what was in the learning environment. We would share all of the possibilities that were there to be explored!
You’ve spent precious time in your summer holidays getting your learning environment ready, you’ve got it looking at it’s very best; enticing, inviting, organised, purposeful…value yourself and your hard work by taking the time to share it with the children. I was fortunate enough to have two other people working with me so we could split the children into three groups for this activity. We would meet to discuss the areas we had created, the resources within them and chat about how they could be used – so all adults were on the same page. Then we’d take a different space each day and take our group to play in it. Sometimes we’d model something to them, other times they would explore and we’d pick up on what they were doing and model, share their ideas and challenge their play. We would move around to a different space each day and repeat the process, not forgetting the outdoor learning environment too! We would also ensure that we modelled how to respect and replace things as we had found them and set that as an expectation. A friend of mine uses the great saying ‘ Choose it, Use it, Put it away!’ – great idea! The children all chant it to each other! At the very least, children should understand that at the end of a session, they know what the space should look like! I’ve heard it called many things but at the end of the day, it’s tidying up. A generic phrase that our society understands! Putting things away, making the place tidy! A parent might say to a child – go and tidy your bedroom – we’re supporting a life skill… If you do this activity comprehensively, then you are giving a huge gift to the children. They can now transport resources from one space to another to use them as creatively as they wish with utter independence and self-efficacy! You can support them to do this in the safe knowledge that they will know where to take them back to at the end of the session or day, making life a little bit better for all of you! Win, win!
And this activity should not be limited to the first few weeks of term. If things start to ‘fray around the edges’ as time goes on, then reintroduce a couple of these ‘sharing the environment’ sessions.
As I said before, this is a life skill we’re supporting here. Throughout their lives and into their working future, they will all need to be organised at times. We need to work together, to collaborate and to respect the things around us, and each other.
n.b. play some tidying up music that supports this. Perhaps different each week? A different genre? I’d avoid something too loud and ‘dancey’. Been there, done that and more dancing and less ‘replacing’ was the result!
4. Ensure there’s something for everyone
It’s so important that the children know that your learning environment is a place where they belong. This is easy to do, following the information from your transition processes. Make sure that items, resources, small displays are obvious, the children can then recognise that these are something that is for them. It gives the message that they’ve been remembered, thought about, provided for and that they are special! Move the train set into a prominent position, or the farm animals, place some books about dinosaurs at the front of the reading space or on a separate display beside the sand. Whatever you know sparks your children’s interest, make it obvious for them. You could even add their name or a small sentence with their name in if you like! As you’re settling the children, it may give a supportive focus for their attention. An easy win!
If you don’t have such information for any reason, perhaps make some Mini-Mes (or make them anyway!). Take a photo of each child, print, laminate and stick them onto something that will support them to make them stand – perhaps a liquid yogurt pot, a wooden brick, anything that will allow it to stand freely. The children can then have a little version of themselves to take around the learning environment for company if they are feeling unsettled or a little anxious. These could alternatively be photos of a family member or a favourite pet or toy. You know your children.
I have made and used these, thinking they would last just the first few weeks, and they lasted the entire year! We used pots that enabled the children to write messages to each other which they then ‘posted’ into their friends Mini-Me. As this idea took off, we obviously ensured that we placed notes into the Mini-Mes with no messages so nobody was left out! Across the year the Mini Mes had castles built for them, race tracks, stations, they’ve been outside in dens…marvellous idea!
5. Start self-registration
It was quite a long time ago that I realised what a long time was being spent on the carpet undertaking ‘registration activities’. Now I have always known and valued the vital importance of saying good morning to each child, making eye contact and that has never waned. But, it isn’t necessarily a thing only to be done with all of the children sitting on the carpet waiting.
In my mind, one of the negative points of having an interactive whiteboard is that so often, the adult will face the whiteboard or computer to complete the register (or even to read a book!) with their back to the children…! Wow! We need to demonstrate the value of communication and language to the children! So you can see this isn’t a great attribute of the IWB!
If you ‘coach’ the children to undertake a ‘self-registration’ type activity in the morning, this will let you know who is present and who is not – and save you a good amount of time for something far more engaging. In my Early Years class, we used to invite all parents to come in with their children in the morning – I can hear the gasps! I actually undertook some research on this as part of my Masters, and the value of parents coming in with their children can be incredible. Fostering and nurturing parental engagement. I think this is one of the negative legacies of covid unfortunately.
With the self-registration, as an example, we used to have colour coded lunch choices and, out in the lobby, the parents and children, or children on their own, placed their name card into the coloured pot that matched their choice. Self- registration 1 complete. In my experience, the vast majority of children aren’t going to forget about food! Now, to go with a ‘belt and braces’ approach, I did a second self-registration that the children did inside the classroom with their parents if they were with them, or with the help of a classroom adult if not. These were in the style of a question. It could be a simple ‘how are you feeling today?’ with two or even three options for answers. You could place an acorn with two choices – is this an acorn or a conker? These could eventually take the form of a ‘Which would you rather’…type question or something more philosophical such as ‘If your name was different would you still be you?’ Be warned though, I did actually use this one morning and a gorgeous little boy in my class was with his dad and became quite tearful because he thought we were going to make him change his name and he rather liked the one he’d got! So do be careful! Self registration 2 complete and an adult would then quickly go through the electronic register popping in the information as we did something else much more fun (and likely educational!) than sitting waiting.
6. Remember to take opportunities to teach, observe and assess through play.
If you take my advice to just play with the children, this is all going to happen so organically and naturally it won’t feel like a chore. Yes, I know you have to do the statutory assessments in the Reception Baseline in some countries, but so much else can be gleaned through simply playing. Child Initiated Learning within your continuous provision is the greatest gift in the Early Years. Get down to the children’s level as much as you possibly can. Work at their level and be inspired by them. That was a quick one!
7. Don’t create an overly ‘busy’ environment at first but do make sure there’s enough!
I remember working with a teacher once who was absolutely passionate about the Early Years and was aghast once when she saw the lack of resources in a learning environment. ‘It looks like they’ve been burgled!’ she exclaimed! I still remember her perhaps rather dramatic reaction with a smile but I know exactly what she meant. I have sadly seen it all too often over time since that day.
I was brought up as a teacher to create a ‘bright, stimulating environment’. Back in the days of my training and early teaching this very clearly meant something quite different from what we expect to see now but I think the words themselves mean the same. Clean, well organised, purposeful and with natural light if possible is great, stimulating means enticing, engaging, inviting in my mind. But please give the children enough resources to work with. A really simple and effective way to evaluate the environment is to get onto your knees to look at it. You’ll then see what the children see! It can be quite a revelation! Are you inspired to go and play there? I also used to find that taking photos worked well. I’d see things differently when I was somewhere away from my classroom and looking at the photos more as an outsider.
I wonder if some practitioners have missed the ‘sharing the environment’ bit, so fear (or have experience of) children being less than respectful with the resources e.g. getting every available resource out and not using any of them purposefully or effectively and then not putting them away? I understand that you might choose to start with a core of resources, but please think about providing more, to enrich the environment and what’s on offer to the children as the year progresses. How can the children learn to make choices and decisions if there is not enough for them to choose between? Making choices is most certainly a skill for life! We need to support this. How can they be challenged, use their critical thinking skills if they just have ‘duplo’ bricks in the construction for a year? My turn to be dramatic now! Introduce new resources to the children in the same way as at the start of the year. They will understand the expectations and the additions will be purposeful and further entice engagement.
8. Remember to go outside!
Whilst we enjoy the last remnants of summer enjoy the outdoors. When you’re preparing your learning environment it’s often the indoorcontinuous provision (all the things that are continuously available for the children to access) that we focus on and the outside becomes the poor relation, only thought about once the indoor environment is sorted. Take a moment to think about those children who come into their own when they are outside? The outdoor environment offers a completely different sensory experience from what is on offer indoors. You need to think also about children who have little experience of the outdoors.
I specifically remember two children in my last cohort, a boy and a girl, who both become different characters once they were outside! Both of them suddenly became chatty and outgoing compared to the quiet, shy creatures they were indoors. Outside was their ‘safe place’. When my grandson was tiny, sometimes the only way my daughter could calm him was to carry him outside. It's something called Biophilia. It’s a subject that fascinates me and is to do with our innate connection to the outdoors stemming from our ancestors. So, in order to get the whole picture of every child, spend plenty of time outside, whatever the weather!
9. Make the most of Talking Time
Ah, Talking Time; one of my very favourite times and such a bonus for Early Years practitioners in so many ways! Before the children go off to spend time in their learning environment, talk to them about what is on offer, where they might go to play first and what they might do when they get there. Some people like to walk the children around the environment to do this. This might work for you, but it didn’t for me. I liked to get my children into their three key-worker groups, sit them in a circle and pass a teddy around. When they held the teddy they could tell us what their choice was going to be. This has its roots in the High Scope system which in turn helped to shape our current Early Years Foundation Stage in England. It was one of my friend’s favourite parts of our morning (so much so that I’d often have to give her a nudge to stop as she and her group were having such a good chat that they’d forgotten to move!). I sometimes had a book with photos in of children at activities so if a child couldn’t think of something to do this could be a prompt. Sometimes, other children in the group might make suggestions to them – fabulous! This would evolve over time and the children would engage with each other so much more. ‘I’m going to play with Tommy making the water flows that he did this morning’ or ‘Shall we work together Rohan?’ - the conversations were so valuable and huge Personal Social and Emotional Developments would take place never mind Communication and Language and numerous other areas of the EYFS. The conversations should be supportive and constructive. Take a little more time with two or three children (different ones each time) and delve a little more into what they might be going to do. Link it to previous play and embedding learning, offer suggestions (good old scaffolding again!) and remind about additions that have been made to the continuous provision. What I have described is so much more than you just ‘telling’ the children what you have put in the learning environment. Do that as well but not instead of engaging them in talk. It places a much higher value on their choice of play. I hope you take this idea and run with it. I remember it fondly and miss it!
I sometimes take on supply teaching and endeavour to do this when I am in the Early Years. It usually is with the whole class, but I know very well that it adds a focus and purpose to the children’s play. And I’m sure I don’t need to say this but if a child says they’re going to work with the bricks then, as they’re walking to the bricks they notice Saira doing something wonderful in the water tray, it is fine for them to join her! Maybe later on you could remind them of their earlier choice? It’s the thinking, the planning and the talk that’s the important thing along with them knowing that what they think and say is important!
10. Read to the children at every opportunity!
Well, I can’t reiterate this strongly enough! Think about the language, the vocabulary you will be flooding those children with the more you read to them. It will give a purpose, a reason for the daily phonics lesson. Take opportunities to embed print concepts, front of book where the writing is, is it upside down? Never mind instilling a powerful enjoyment of reading! Take them with you on a journey into the world of books and reading, both stories and non- fiction books. Read to whole groups, small groups and individuals. Please read to children during their play, their independent learning time, their child initiated learning – whatever you call it! It’s truly the greatest gift you can give them for the future.
Try for at least two books a day as a group, then build on that. First thing in the morning, before or after lunch, settling at the end of the day before they go home and oh, whilst I’m talking about home time, please do not ever get your children to gather their coats, book bags, lunch boxes, water bottles, sticky models, hats, gloves and anything else they have to take home BEFORE you read an end of day story. What value are you giving to that story when you have children concentrating on not losing their book bag that looks like everyone else’s, keeping their coat away from Toby’s sticky picture for his dad…it’s not saying to the children that This Story Is Important. It’s giving quite the opposite message. Organise your time so that things can be gathered AFTER the last story. Some of your children won’t be getting a nurturing bedtime story at home, so this might just be it. Food for thought…
So there you have my Ten Top Tips – for September of course but also for any time of year! Things for you to think about adding to your Early Years Repertoire of Brilliant Things to do that will make your life better as well as giving the very best to those children in your care.
There you have it! My Top Tips
I hope you find them useful. Maybe some are reminders of what you used to do? Maybe some are light bulb moments or maybe gratefully received advice to newbies from an old hand. I truly loved just about every moment I spent in the Early Years – and still do! I hope these ideas help you to as well.
I keep thinking of more ideas to share! If you’d like to know more about these top tips or any other advice, reach out and invite me to come and support you!
Email me at contact@therightstartearlyyears.co.uk
Enjoy!
Please click the button below to view an extended explanation of ‘My Top Ten Tips’
Questions, questions, questions
Another thing that has become apparent is the consistency with which all of us must have been saying ‘ooo, what was that?’ whenever there was any sound within hearing! We know this because his first sentence, almost before individual words were appearing were some vowel-containing successive utterances of ‘ohhhh…uhhh…aaaaah?’ Now this is always used as a question due to his intonation, in context and at amusingly varying speeds (often very elongated with pauses between to create drama and suspense!) but is his very first conversation piece! Very clearly saying ‘What… was…that?’
What a joy to think that the little chap is so tuned into and clearly so interested in sound that he tells us when he’s heard something. It is, of course always followed by the adults around him with a reply of either ‘I have no idea what that was…shall we look?’ or an explanation if the sound is known… or a good guess at least!
I think this all just demonstrates the vital importance of really listening to and hearing sounds in our environments and the importance of drawing our young children’s attention to them. I know that this will serve them so well when they finally begin their own, individual phonic journeys – not to mention a great big dollop of general knowledge (cultural capital if you like) on top!
To purchase the book please click on the book or alternative click the button below.
My book is designed for anyone spending time with small children. For parents, grandparents and other family members, for those who might be training to become early years practitioners, play leaders, those supporting children in hospitals or home schooling their children, teaching assistants, nursery workers or managers. For trainee teachers, whether phonics will be taught discretely in their preferred key stage or not, there may well be children in Key Stage 2 who will benefit from these listening activities. For Literacy or English subject leaders and for senior leaders in schools. It may provide new information for some or reminders for others. The crucial element in my mind is to ensure that all children get the very best possible start to their lifelong reading journey!
If you would like further information or support to enrich children’s Early Phonics or to enhance and develop a broad and rich early reading approach, don’t hesitate to get in touch.
Rose Blair, Early Years Consultant at The Right Start Early Years Consultancy
