Activities for the First Week Back

The Easter holidays are over and children and teachers across the country are thinking about their first day back. As the next term is quite short, most schools will be hitting the ground running but just in case you do end up with a little bit of spare time, why not have a go at one of these activities:

1) Share holiday stories

Children love to tell their teachers all about what they did in the holidays. As keen as they are, having a designated time to talk about their holiday stories can help keep them on task during lesson time as they know that they will get the opportunity to tell you all about their Easter holidays later.

With Passover, Vaisakhi and Eid al-Fitr around a similar period to Easter, it is also a great opportunity for everyone to learn a little more about each other’s traditions and beliefs – if pupils want to share. For some it might just be a great opportunity to spend time with relatives they don’t normally get to see, for others it may be acts of worship with their family. Sharing stories like this is a great speaking and listening opportunity and lets you learn more about your pupils.

2) Mindfulness activities

Getting back into routine can be a little tricky for some pupils. Introduce short mindfulness sessions or relaxation techniques to help students ease back into the school routine. Simple breathing exercises or guided meditations can work wonders.

For some children, a short, soothing video can make all the difference. There are a range of children friendly ASMR videos online that captivate their attention and allow them to take their minds away from playground issues enough for them to calm down.  A personal favourite of mine is Lego cooking.

3) Team Building Activities

It has been a while since the whole class has been together so building in some time to solidify that community spirit is important Kick off the term with some team-building exercises. These can be simple games like "Human Knot" or "Hula Hoop Chain," or more structured activities like group projects. Team building helps strengthen relationships and fosters a collaborative classroom environment.

4) Quizzes

There are so many great apps out there where the whole class can get involved. Often they have pre-prepared quizzes linked to the topics you are teaching to help children remember some of the key details of the unit. It is a great consolidation activity or can be used to revisit previously taught materials.

Kahoot and Blooket have a great bank of quizzes on their system already and allow children to interact with the quiz. If you want to do a quick quiz as a whole class, BBC Bitesize and CBBC Newsround have some great quizzes all based on news, events or national curriculum topics.

5) Class reading

Whether it is giving them time to read their own book or reading a book as a class, reading is a calming and therapeutic activity which inspires imagination and creativity in our young people. Reading aloud is also a great way to support children in understanding punctuation as they get to hear teachers reading with fluency, pauses and intonation. If this is something your class struggles with, get them to parrot each sentence back in the exact way you said it. It will help them know where to pause, where to add emphasis and have a little fun being a copycat.

Remember, the first week back is hard for everyone – pupils, school staff and parents. Be kind to yourself and have a fantastic Summer term.