How can I get my current class to respond as well to Golden Time as previous classes have?
Q: I have been using Golden Time in my classroom for several years now. It helps my children keep to the Golden Rules and gives us all something to look forward to at the end of the week. My current group of children, however, are not responding to it as I hoped they would. They don’t seem to get excited about it. Can you recommend anything?
A: Golden Time is only golden if you make it so. You must build it up into a celebration by your language, by everything. You have spent several years with Golden Time so it may be 'old hat' to you, but it is new for your current class.
They need to know that it is special and that you value it highly. Take a few moments to think about how you sell Golden Time to the children. What sort of language do you use? What sort of priority do you give it? How do you make it special, a celebration?
Another possible source of problems could be the activities that are on offer. It would be worth talking in a round with your class during Circle Time about what activities they value highly and find really exciting. Maybe what is on offer is somehow dated or tatty, or has lost its gilt-edged Golden Time charm? You can try everything from having special visitors to the classroom to using computers, doing cookery (quick things like icing a biscuit), to establishing special clubs or doing parachute games.
Once you have a list of what your children value most highly, you can work out if there is any money available in the budget, or maybe arrange some trips to jumble sales and car boot sales to buy new games, puzzles, dressing up clothes or whatever else will help to put the sparkle back into Golden Time.
Remember that there may be resources within your school that you can use - play areas indoors or outside, the assembly hall, musical instruments, a parachute or computers. You can always vary the activities between individual, paired and whole class fun.
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