Spread the Happiness!
Reynolds Academy hosted an Early Years Get Together with “The Dough Disco Lady” and Early Years Sensation, Shonette Bason.
The event welcomed over 100 people from Early Years settings across North East Lincolnshire and beyond for an evening of motivation and fun, packed with dancing, singing and mingling with other likeminded people.
The event brought people together from across the regions EYFS settings to ‘Spread the Happiness’ with outstanding and up to date practice that impacts the classroom in 2024.
Shonette delivered the free session, motivating and inspiring everyone to be less fearful of observations and inspections and empowered each person with clear direction from her own teaching experiences.
Shonette is the creator of Dough Disco™, an exercise she encourages on a daily basis in her own classrooms to improve fine motor skills and improve literacy by getting children to learn to use their fingers much quicker. She created the exercise after realising how many children in her class were struggling to write letters.
Those who attended left the event feeling confident and full of ideas for the future of their own Early Years spaces.
Assistant Principal from Pilgrim Academy, Julia Somerscales commented: “It was a fantastic opportunity to get together with other early years practitioners and share our experiences. As usual, Shonette was a joy to listen to, and inspired us all in a fun and engaging way to develop our practice even further!”
Assistant Principal and Early Years Lead from Reynolds Academy, Helen Rushworth commented: “Shonette was truly inspiring and because she is currently teaching in an Early Years setting, she gave an honest insight into Early Years Development from the front line! I know the team at Reynolds Academy really took away lots to think about and what their next steps will be in developing their own classroom practice, to support the needs of all children within the setting.”
Shonette said: “I am all about bringing positivity to the role of Early Years teachers. I want to challenge what we know about childhood and bring it back to what it should be and bring the fun back!
The pandemic changed everyone’s outlook, but childhood has not changed! I am on a mission to spread happiness and joy in our Early Years environments and make it a fun place to be for adults and children alike!”
Principal at Reynolds Academy, Rebecca Scott added: “It was lovely to see so many people from schools and settings across the region and beyond. It was a great way to showcase the fantastic work that our staff in Early Years do every day.
Being able to share our setting and what we do here at Reynolds with others was a lovely bonus as we are immensely proud of what we have achieved.
I would like to thank everyone for their ongoing hard work and dedication to our children and to everyone that helped to make the evening a success.”
