At our school, parents (and other relatives) are invited to join their child for lunch. We have up to ten parents per day, in the hall, eating with their children. If you don't already, maybe you should give it a go. Anyway, as a result of that, we, as teachers, have brought our own young children into school to eat with us.
A few weeks ago, my thirteen moth old daughter and wife were due to join my for lunch. I asked them to come in an hour early and we had a lesson with my class before lunch. Here's what we did:
The children sat in a circle, with my daughter in the middle.
We waved to her and she waved back. We all said hello in turn and she followed the sound.
We passed a ball to her and she passed it back.
We pulled her train around the circle for her to follow.
Of course, we played peek-a-bo. Both her and the class loved that.
We sang 'Twinkle Twinkle' to her.
We said 'Ta', 'Baby' and 'No' for her to copy.
The children asked questions and generally interacted with her.
Why did I choose to do this? In my Year Five class of 30 pupils, only two of them have a sibling of a similar age. Some are from single child families; others the youngest child. The ones who do have younger siblings are similar in age. It gave them chance see and interact with a one year old baby. Many of the class appreciated this and they don't get the opportunity to in their extended families. In addition, my daughter thoroughly enjoyed her time in the limelight!
So, if you have access to a small child and would like to spend some time with them in your classroom, I'd recommend it.
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