I recently asked teachers who follow me on Instagram for ideas for school tours around Ireland. I’m putting their answers below, hopefully you’ll find a suitable tour for your class. I will just include links to the relevant websites rather than prices etc. as these can change each year. Junior and Senior Infants Airfield Estate (Dublin) Explorium (Dublin)  Imaginosity (Dublin) – not currently open due to Covid Newbridge Farm (Dublin) Ardmore Open Farm (Waterford) Leahy’s Open Farm (Cork) Rumleys Farm (Cork) Mollie Moo’s Pet Farm and Playground (Mullingar ..read more

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Irishprimaryteacher (@irishprimaryteacher) View this post on Instagram A post shared by Irishprimaryteacher (@irishprimaryteacher) View this post on Instagram A post shared by Irishprimaryteacher (@irishprimaryteacher) View this post on Instagram A post shared by Irishprimaryteacher (@irishprimaryteacher) View this post on Instagram A post shared by Irishprimaryteacher (@irishprimaryteacher) View this post on Instagram A post shared by Irishprimaryteacher (@irishprimaryteacher) View this post on Instagram A po ..read more

Styrofoam Food Nature Other objects Lego Blocks Fork Buttons Dice Spools Comb Coins Bottle caps Cotton buds Sponges Hot glue Tin foil Bubble wrap DIY stamps ..read more

Materials As much as possible I try to use recyclable materials for construction art lessons. I source these from Recreate or ask the children to bring things in from home. Recyclable materials Bottles Caps Cardboard boxes (cereal/shoeboxes etc.) Wrapping paper Scrap paper Containers (yoghurt pots/egg cartons) Other materials Tin foil Scissors Foam sheets Stickers Crepe paper Pipe cleaners Tape Techniques Diorama Animals Nature Paper Abstract Buildings Other Useful websites I Am An Artist Scoilnet Education.com  ..read more

Transitions really help to keep your classroom running smoothly – especially as a substitute teacher. Transitions are a perfect way for the children to have a quick break after a busy lesson, to calm the children down after a very active lesson, to motivate them or to give you 5 minutes to get the lesson organised especially when you get a last minute call in the morning and there’s no plan left as the class teacher is absent unexpectedly. Calming transitions Guided meditation There are tons of these on YouTube. Choose your favourites beforehand. Breathing exercises (triangle breathing or ..read more

Remember When you’re a substitute teacher, classroom management can be more difficult than it would be in your own class. There’s many reasons for this; You don’t know the class/class dynamics etc. The class might test the boundaries (especially with a teacher who is new to the school) The class teacher has different expectations/ a different way of doing things Hopefully the ideas and strategies below will help you with your classroom management when subbing. Expectations Be clear about your expectations at the beginning of the day. Explain who you are, what you’ll be covering during th ..read more

This is a new series of blogposts focussing on each strand of the Art curriculum. I know how hard it can be to find a good lesson so hopefully these ideas will save you some time when planning Art lessons. Landscapes Perspective Flowers Still life ..read more

Ciara McGuane is the Summer Course Director for Rahoo.ie. Her career highlights include being filmed by BBC London teaching in the classroom and guest-lecturing at the Institute of Education in London. She has worked as a teacher, school leader, teacher trainer and initial teacher training tutor prior to setting up Rahoo. One of her favourite memories of teaching is when her class (with the help of kind colleagues!) organised a surprise engagement party for her and sung Bruno Mars “Just the Ways You Are” to her! One of her most embarrassing moments is getting locked into the school building ..read more

Building a developing school This guest blogpost was written by Journey of a Primary Principal. Please check out her first guest blogpost on becoming a principal here. When I joined my school, it was in its second year and was growing from 3 to 45 students. The founding principal did so much amazing work that first year, gaining the trust of all of these families. Her vision for an inclusive, caring environment with a progressive approach to education was so strong, and her enthusiasm was infectious. Our school started with only Junior infants, and grew each year- we are up to 4th class thi ..read more

Guest Blogpost This is a guest blogpost written by a primary school principal who runs the teaching instagram account ‘Journey of a Primary Principal.’ She offers practical advice, support and ideas for primary teachers and principals and I’m constantly screenshooting and saving these ideas! Definitely someone to follow! https://www.instagram.com/journeyofaprimaryprincipal/ A bit of background I taught for 15 years in a large school, and loved it. I had an AP2 post but never had any aspiration to be a principal. I think it just seemed like a different job altogether to teaching! A new sch ..read more