The Article is about Get Set for Learning

During the morning, children in IG1, 2, and some others have been doing Get Set For Learning in the mornings to help them get prepared for learning time. This is a new program we've been trialling with great success. Children spend 20 minutes going through a circuit of activities, aimed at. First, they spend 5 minutes on Active - they run around to a high energy song. Children find this music prompt very helpful - children start moving the moment they hear the music, getting off apparatus, and finding adults they want to run with. One has taken my hand to try and get me to play the song when he was bored of waiting for the others to get ready, showing excellent Anticipation. This step helps raise everyone's energy levels, as many children either are too energetic to learn when they come in, or too tired to concentrate.

After this, equipment is taken out and they spend 5 minutes on Organising. These are activities that require children to think about their next movements, and to coordinate their bodies carefully. They balance on beams, climb up and jump down onto mats from elevated heights, and jump on trampolines. Some children have used this to improve their balance, conquer some fears, and making new friendships. Children struggle to go from high to low energy, so organising is excellent at transitioning them between these two opposites.

Finally, they sit or lie down on mats to calm down to calming music. This brings their mood to the optimal mood for learning, and they re-enter their classrooms much calmer and ready to learn. Slowly but surely more and more children have been doing these stages without adult intervention, even if they do it in their own way - for example, a couple of children don't like sitting on the mats, but sit on elevated equipment instead. We're excited to continue building on this success.