Closing the Day

The final leg of the day is just as important as the start of the day. The children will remember every step of the journey, I can assure you. If there are any parents waiting outside the room, this is the time that they will judge your professional skills for themselves. It is also a great time for the principal to come for a "cruise" past, just to see how your day went. (I would and I did!) Your one relief teaching day is really like a whole year in one day. You need to leave the room in a better shape than you found it as well as a well organized outline of the day's events. Work is best to be collected and corrected. Your day is not over when the children walk out the door. This is where your true professionalism will shine.

I will write about this in another blog. For now dismissing the class, no matter what year level I go by the recall, reflect and respond rule.


RECALL: A calm finish to the day is essential. You may like to call the roll again. You could play a game with each child's name on the roll....be creative! Allow enough time to distribute any school newsletters and give homework reminders. Thank the children for the happy day. Review the day’s events by recalling the major events one by one. I do this with the help of my remembering hand, one finger, and one event!

REFLECT: Encourage reflective thinking in the learner by questions such as….What did you enjoy the most about today? Which part are you going to tell Mum or Dad about first tonight? What would you like to do more of in the future? Did I give everything my best effort today? How could I do better tomorrow? What are my goals for tomorrow,at home, in the playground, in my learning?

RESPOND: Closing the day with prayer, interesting story, lateral thinking puzzle or even a song is a calming finish to the day for all the year levels.


The upper primary love being able to go home with a riddle or trick to stump their parents. Something as simple as What has a face and two hands but cannot talk? A clock! What do you call the tags things on the end of your shoelaces? Aglets. I love collecting them! While I am on roll.....What do you call someone who keeps talking loudly to a crowd even though no-one is listening to a word they are saying? A relief teacher! Don't let that be you! Ha,ha!

Blessings for the journey...
Live,laugh and learn!
Carmel