Like many teachers, I have been blessed with gaining two Ukarainian children in my class of infants. With an overwhelming desire to support their wellbeing and happiness, came a genuine lack of understanding of how to support these children to learn.

In this post, I’ll share some strategies, tips and resources that we have used in order to help somebody in the same situation. There is no one stop shop with supporting these wonderful children, however I hope that you can take something from this post to help to support the Ukarainian children in your care.

Letting your Ukarainian Children settle in

This was HUGE. I let the children wander, play, explore for two whole weeks before beginning to engage them in lessons. This is not going to work in every school setting or classroom, and while it was very different from your typical classroom setting, it allowed them the time to figure out their surroundings, the routine and the other children all on their own.

I left things on their desks that I knew were of interest to them and hoped they’d engage with it at some point in the day. For instance, these ‘Mindcraft’ colouring pages were a big hit! (AF)

We prepared a book for them to take home in their bags with key images and vocabulary (remembering they are 4 & 5 so cannot read yet) with a picture of anyone who worked with them and our names. We also included a picture of their seat with the word ‘chair’ and images of the yard with the words ‘yard’ and ‘playtime’. We hoped that this would allow them to show their parent at home their new school and hopefully associate the English with the images.

We celebrated any success, smile, drawing or construction they did (and still do) to build a relationship with them and allow them to feel safe in their new environment.

Lastly, we used the app ‘SayHi’ to communicate with them (and their parents) to ensure their wants and needs were being met.

Supporting Ukarainian Children Academically

Again, this paragraph will relate to the Ukrainian children in my class (Junior Infants). Some of this may not apply to you, but hopefully there will be something that you can take away and use with any of your students.

Fortunately, in my school we are blessed with adult support. The SET teacher and SNA have been a god sent in supporting these children. Such as creating resources for them and adapting their timetable to fit in much needed EAL interventions with them together.

In an Infant classroom, there are lots of opportunities for playful learning and this definitely allowed them to engage more in lessons. However we wanted to increase their spoken language each day so ensured to plan some key vocabulary input through each activity.

Support during Play Time

Following their interests and allowing them to choose where they wanted to play was crucial. When they were settled and engaged in the play, we played with them and introduced some language naturally while playing. For example: ‘water beads’, ‘pour’, ‘gentle’, ‘wait’, ‘scoop’, ‘hold’. etc were all used while playing with the water beads. As often as possible, we would use an action to demonstrate what we were saying to enhance understanding.

We also were able to teach the colours in English very naturally, while playing with the water beads and let me tell you, they soaked up the vocabulary like a sponge. Children really are so intelligent.

Supporting Ukarainian Children during Literacy

Since they have joined us, we have moved from whole class Phonics lessons to Literacy Stations. Our Ukarainian children join in during Literacy Stations and have been doing really well. They engage with letter formation on iPads, guided reading with a teacher, guided writing with a teacher, free writing in their blank copy or a phonics game with their group.

As many of these stations are led by an adult, we have found it to be quite successful in supporting them in all areas of Literacy. Separately each day, the SET teacher withdraws these children for EAL/Phonics work. This has been incredible for increasing their confidence and achieving success each day.

During EAL withdrawal, the SET teacher follows thematic topics to increase their oral language. Our school follows the ‘First Steps’ program. Some great information here: https://myresources.education.wa.edu.au/docs/default-source/resources/first-steps-literacy/first005.pdf?sfvrsn=425304dd_3

They adore being able to engage in the same activities as the other children during stations. They are applying the phonics they are learning during this time and the smiles on their faces are golden.

We tried to expose them to as much ‘real world’ words as possible as we thought it may be difficult for them to relate the sounds to words, with little English. Activities like this worked great initially, for them to experience success with reading and recognising sounds.

The children would use many colours to form the letter S. and then stick these images around the letter to associate the sound S with words.

Find this activity here!

Support during Maths

We found our two were well able to participate during Maths lessons. They learned the vocabulary as we went along with each lesson. Maths in Infants is quite ‘hands-on’, so we found this to be incredible for their ability to engage during Maths lessons.

We would draw extra attention to modelling the language during whole class input. Then, ensure they understood the concept as they built their structures independently.

For us, hands on and practical where possible is helping us to achieve success. The best part about this is that this benefits the entire class anyway, so it’s no extra work on the teacher and an inclusive lesson all-in-all.

For some practical Maths ideas for older Childre, check out this post: Teaching Maths: using a range of techniques for a range of needs.

Other Strategies that seem to help

• Visual timetable. 
• Hand gestures to aid the understanding of spoken language. 
• Praise, praise, praise.
• Keeping with the daily routine as much as possible.
• Using the ‘T’ symbol with hands to indicate their need for the toilet.
• Feelings/emotions chart visible in the room.

Lastly, recognising when they are having a tough day and being understanding of that. Just like any other child in your care. We are professionals at noticing a shift in mood or a need for 1:1 chat.

I hope this was somewhat helpful to you.

Best of luck.