Session 1: Take a moment to remember

In this lesson you will:

• reflect on your time at ABC
• make a note of memories and significant events
• reflect on your learning

Take a moment to think about your first day at ABC. Perhaps you started in Early Years or maybe you joined later on. 

• How did you feel before you started? Perhaps you had already looked around or had an older sibling here. Were you excited, terrified, nervous, unsure, looking forward to it or worried about leaving your family? Perhaps you experienced a mixture of these emotions. Write them down and describe how that made you feel and behave.
• What can you remember about your time in Early Years? Can you remember the names of your teachers? Who were you friends with? Are you still friends with them?Did anything significant happen (for example, falling over and losing a tooth, playing the Angel Gabriel in the Nativity, getting told off for the first time).
• What did you think about the older children in school, especially the children in Years 5 and 6? Did they seem grown-up and terrifying or friendly and helpful? Were any of the older children role models to you? Why?
• Finally, looking back on your personal experience, what could you say to reassure someone who was starting school in September? What words of wisdom would you share? How might you encourage the four and five-year-olds?

Here is an example:

I only have a few memories of starting at ABC but I would like to share these with you: on the morning of my first day, my older sister helped me to dress in my new uniform. I remember that my purple school jumper had a strange smell to it and my new shoes felt really heavy on my feet. Although I can't picture myself walking into school only first day, I remember how I felt: terrified! My mum walked me to the door and I wanted to run back up the path and home again - I think I might have cried but I'm not sure. It's funny because every time I get new clothes and smell the new-clothing smell on them, it still takes me back to that squirmy-tummy feeling!

I must have been in the Christmas play but I don't remember that. My greatest memory of my time in Wrens class is that we all went on a coach to a local farm and my friend Tilly was sick on the bus! I wasn't, but when we got there I fell over in a puddle and had to wear wet clothes all day! It's funny the things we remember.

The children in Year 6 seemed like giants to me when I was four years old. Once, I was walking up the stairs with some work to show the head teacher when a couple of really big girls raced past me - I was so frightened of them that I dropped my book and it fell to the bottom of the stairs. I started crying. Before I knew it, those girls came back and one of them took my hand and walked me up the stairs and the other one went and picked up my work for me. I'll never forget that. After that, I would wave at them (they would sometimes wave back at me).

My advice to anyone starting ABC is this:

• Make sure you have as much fun as you can because when I look back, Early Years was definitely one of the best years at school.
• Don't be frightened of the bigger children even though they look enormous and have big voices! Most of them are kind and will help you if you ask them.

When you have completed your first draft, read your work aloud. Does it make sense and have you included Year 6 grammar, punctuation and spelling?

You will be writing this up neatly later in the week so don't worry too much about presentation at this stage. Edit your work to improve sentence styles and punctuation (in particular, ensure you have included a range of punctuation such as , ! ? ( ) ; : ) and then check spellings.