Friday – Day 4 – week one

The day in the classroom started just past 9am this morning and proceeded slowly. In my observations since shadowing is that the teachers tend to set the pace around the children’s moods. Today some of the kids were a little unhappy and crying so the video’s were put on earlier to help calm them down. After watching a couple of videos they had all calmed down so then the teachers started the days exercises with “whose in the classroom” today. Then what day is it and the date.

I found out that Fridays are done differently than the rest of the week. One of the kids went out with another teacher and had physical activities in the yard with kids from other classes.

I have also noted that the videos that are being played also use hand signals as some of the children in the class are non verbal. So I’ve been trying to learn some of the hand signals. It is a great way to learn sign language. As the kids were watching TV, another teacher was setting up a row of tables in the kitchen area with table cloths and plastic table covers. Mid, we were joined by the junior infants class and after they all sat down and settled, an A4 booklet with spaces on it to glue pictures in was placed on every table with cut outs of baking products, numbers and aftercare after baking were paid on each table. Bit by bit the kids were guided on where to glue the images for the recipe of a ‘Berlingozzo’ cake. Then Steps one through to ten and the steps to take after to clean up which includes washing their hands. It was great fun and the kids appeared to really enjoy themselves. After the recipe booklet was finished, everything from the exercise was cleared away and all the children were guided towards the table to help another teacher measure and mix all the ingredients for the cake.

Once all the ingredients were successfully mixed, the cake was then put in the oven to bake. As the cake was baking, it was time for their lunch break so the junior infants with their teachers went back to their classrooms and our class settled down for lunch.

When the cake was baked, slices were given to all the kids, and the rest was passed around amongst the adults. It was a fabulous day and an amazing opportunity to see how the kids took to the making and baking of a cake when they are so young.

At 2pm, which is when we finish, we all wished the kids a lovely weekend as each parent collected their child.

Later that day, all of us on the Erasmus+ trip had a boat trip from the harbor at 4:30 pm. The trip was amazing and we saw a dolphin pod that kept pace with us for most of our trip. It was such an amazing sight, I’ve been on boat trips in the past when on holiday and never ever seen dolphins so this was a real treat. They were so close and the water so clear that you could see the dolphins so very clearly. The boat trip itself was really good and it was a real treat. It’s a really good way to get everyone together and have fun whilst getting to know each other better. So far on this trip I have made some great friends and I’ll cherish this experience forever.