The end of year is insight, and as educators, we need to really step up to prepare our little friends for their next year.
“Let’s do what we love, and let’s do a lot of it.” – Marc Jacobs
We reflect on the previous terms. We take some time to reflect on the previous terms and what went well, what could be improved, and what our little friends learned. This helps us to plan for the last term and ensure that it is an effective and enjoyable experience for our little friends.
We set goals for our last term. We discuss what we want our little learners to achieve in the last term. And once we know our goals, we start planning our lessons and activities. We review our curriculum, making sure that it is aligned with our goals for the last term. Sometimes we may need to make some adjustments to our lessons or activities to ensure that they are meeting the needs of our little friends.
We plan for their transitions at the end of our schoolyear. The last term of the school year is a time of transition for our little friends. They may be moving to a new school or grade level, or a different teacher. We prepare them for these transitions so that these adjustments can happen as smoothly as possible.
We create a positive learning environment. We find the last term of the school year can be a busy time, but it is important to still create a positive learning environment for our little friends. This will help them to stay motivated and engaged in their learning.
We celebrate each little success. As the last term of the school year progresses, we make sure to celebrate all the successes of our little friends - no matter how big or small. This will help them to feel proud of their accomplishments and motivate them to continue learning.
We remind ourselves to still focus on play-based learning. We find they learn best through play, so we make sure that our lessons and activities are engaging and fun. We need to be patient and understanding. Our little friends are still developing their social and emotional skills, so being patient and understanding when they make mistakes or have difficulty following directions, keeps them motivated and in a positive frame of mind.
We are big on encouraging independence. Our little friends are becoming more independent, so we encourage them to do things for themselves, such as putting away their toys and getting their own snacks, fetching their own spoons, cleaning up when they have spilled and help setting up our class activities.
Communication with our class parents is a priority, especially this time of year, as everyone is becoming very busy with catching up and meeting deadlines for work. We keep our parents updated on their child's progress and let them know about any upcoming activities or events.
Don't sweat the small stuff. We make this our motto in our last school term. It is important to remember this in the last term, more than any other school term, as everyone is more stressed, rushed and stretched to their limits, than before.
Remember to breath and to be kind. We remind each other to be kind to ourselves, to our colleagues, to our own families, to our school parents, and mostly of all, to be kind to our little friends in our class.
This is a short time we have left with our little friends. We make it memorable. We make it count. And above all....we have fun!
