Super Sub and the Junior Experience

As a sub I'm had my fair share of all the classes and levels in school. Some I've loved others I've found harder. Junior infants for me was a tough one. I didn't have much experience with them so I asked a local junior infant teacher if I could spend a day with her in class and see how things should be done. Best idea I had all year. In the one day I spent in with her observing and getting my hands dirty I learnt more then I did in the infant ed class!  They're still not an easy class level but I really enjoyed the day with them! We spent a while doing Jolly Phonics the letters C and K. It felt a lil Seasme Street for a while but once I realised  that the kids were enjoying the song and rhyme I pretty much got over my feelings for silliness and got really into it!


Watch the video if like me you're unsure of the Jolly Phonics program. It's a good place to start and don't worry the teachers manual is a huge help too!! Maths was something I really enjoyed teaching the JIs! Using a large plastic copy of the maths book we were able to do the maths page together with some of the kids coming up to the board to help do the maths (whiteboard markers rub off easily so keep a supply of them). It was fun and I really enjoyed seeing the class grasp the new numbers! I was surprised however when some of the class didn't enjoy colouring in the pictures. I loved colouring at their age and if I'm honest I still do....I was honestly shocked when a large chunk of the boys and a fair amount of the girls refused to colour in the pictures and just scribbled. Kids have really changed since I was one!

Lunch as another interesting experience in the JI classroom. They sure make a huge mess! We discussed the healthy food and revised the Irish for the each food type úll, oraiste, arán, ceapaire etc was fun but messy! In between each lesson they sing a song or rhyme was is very sweet until I realised they have a limited supply of them and I had heard them all a few times over.....I even found myself singing them in the car and around the house afterwards. Which I'm sure isn't healthy! 

The JIs go home earlier then the rest of the school, as do the SIs and that hour that the teacher has no kids in the classroom is a golden hour. It's time to reflect on the day and plan for the next day. It's also needed to clean up the massive mess that a big group of Junior Infants can make in a day....from lunch mess and general mess the junior infant classroom needs its own sweeping brush! But I guess you can't expect 30 odd 5 year olds to be clean and tidy! Who'd have thought it eh? Hard to believe that they'll be Senior Infants next September....The big kids on the block in the infant yard!

Wise words today?  Try a day in Junior Infants, they seem scary but deep down they're not so bad! Practice makes perfect!