Teaching younger children brings so much joy: from the awe on pupils’ faces when they discover that yellow and red paint make orange, to the lightbulb moment when they first count to 100.
But, according to teacher Lisa Jarmin, there is a lot to be learned from our youngest pupils, too:
• If you leave the room and return wearing a hat and doing a comedy walk, five-year-olds will absolutely love it.
• Didn’t come first in a race? Never mind - you still get to be the winner by saying, “We’re doing ‘first the worst, second the best, third the one with the hairy chest’ today.”
• Never tie a boy’s damp shoelaces. There is a reason that those shoelaces are damp.
• Play-Doh clogs up the toilet.
• PVA glue washes easily out of already-grubby school sweatshirts but it will cling stubbornly and mercilessly to your favourite £80 French Connection skirt.
• Covering vomit with sand does not remove the smell.
• Lunchboxes are a treasure trove of gastrological wonder: Barny Bears are the snack of the gods.
• Aren’t conkers brilliant?
• Do not rely on a five-year-old to keep a secret. You can teach knowledge-filled lessons Monday-Thursday, only to receive an unexpected classroom visit from the headteacher at the end of your week as you gleefully settle your P1s down to a bit of light colouring in. Why? Because some loose-lipped member of your class told them it’s “Feet Up Friday”.
• There is nothing more exciting than that first moment when snow starts to fall.
