Photo by Adrian Cuj on Unsplash
Page Contents
Expert Voices
Right from my first thought of having a child, I found myself overwhelmed with a wealth of easily accessible knowledge. When I got pregnant friends kindly brought me piles of books, toys and strange gadgets. I was informed on what I should and shouldn’t be eating, how I should or shouldn’t be sleeping, what I should or shouldn’t be buying.
My husband and I had a great laugh attending birthing classes, learning how to ‘breath’ and do up a nappy. It felt like I had loads of expert voices around me. Tons of advice was available and aIl I had to do was choose the voices I wanted to listen to. (And decide how much money we were willing to spend on a pushchair – epic fail – we ended up with three!)
Where Have all the Voices Gone?
When my son was born, the information kept pouring in. It was all too easy to find the answers to the hundreds of daily questions I had – thank you Google! However, as he grew past toddlerhood I found it harder and harder to access good quality information. It almost felt like that sea of calm, experienced voices just disappeared. After we had our two year check with the health visitor it felt like, “Too-da-loo. You’re on your own now.” Silence. The silence was fine, in fact it was a welcome break for a while. However, as my son headed towards his fourth birthday, I did begin to wonder;
If I wasn’t a teacher would I know how to prepare him for school?
My conclusion was no. When I began speaking to some of my friends, they confirmed my suspicion. Early Years Educators are so well informed about how to best support the early development of key skills; but the information just isn’t filtering down to parents. There is a communication gap.
Home / School Engagement
Schools are always looking for creative ways to engage with parents and families. This is because we know that the more support a child has at home the better their outcomes will be. No matter how much ‘Mary Poppins magic’ a teacher posses, home engagement is a key factor when looking at progress and attainment.
Children who Thrive
Thrive: To grow or develop vigorously; flourish.
https://www.dictionary.com/browse/thrive
We all want to see our children thrive! That is why I am here; I am a communication bridge between home and school. On this blog I will be sharing the knowledge, expertise and resources which we, as teachers, make use of.
I will be providing you with the WHY behind teaching approaches so that you’re not left wondering. Take your time to read through my blog and learn the WHYS for yourself. These whys will allow you to observe your child’s play and see their learning processes for yourself. You will be empowered as a parent to understand and support your child’s educational development. You will be as informed as I am so that you can see your child THRIVE.
And that is what we all want right? We want our children to THRIVE! Schools want this and I know you want this. Most of us know that our children will be fine at school, but we want them to THRIVE! I am genuinely passionate about every child achieving their absolute best. Education really does begin at home. The quality of educational interactions a child has at home significantly impacts their progress and attainment at school. The children who come into school ready to learn, really do excel. The children who consolidate their learning at home, really do make accelerated progress.
The quality of educational interactions a child has at home significantly impacts their progress and attainment at school.
Teachers are Amazing!
Our teachers are amazing! They work all the hours God provides and they CARE. The amount of planning, resourcing, assessing and report writing they need to complete PER CHILD is unbelievable. Everyday they have to manage the behaviour of approximately 30 individuals and ensure those individuals are learning. They come home physically and emotionally drained and then once they have had their dinner and put their own kids to bed, they sit down and …. open their laptops. Our teacher are amazing! However, we as parent’s must recognise our incredibly significant part to play in preparing our children for starting school.
Learning at Home
Learning at home and school are totally interrelated. Which is why, you reading this blog is just incredible! You are investing valuable time to support the development of your child.
… we, as parents must recognise our incredibly significant part to play with preparing our children for starting school.
You are your child’s biggest cheerleader!
