World Book Day - UK teaching assistant guide

 World Book Day is an annual global event where books are celebrated, showcased and children go to school dressed as book characters. The teachers usually join in too. This year my year group of teachers decided to dress up as Roald Dahl characters. Easy enough you'd think, but most of them are unusual colours or have a strangely specific about item which requires more thought or time than I was prepared for.  

I settled on Miss Trunchbull from Matilda in the end. I went to Sainsbury's and found a dress which would actually be nice to wear during a regular week. Not my usual style but when I put it on my husband said he was surprised but liked it a lot. I put on a wide belt, a green tie, my hiking boots, put my hair in a bun and declared me done.  I didn't match the Quentin Blake pictures properly but with the right attitude and saying who I was then all of my colleagues and some of the children figured it out and that was enough for me.  

Here's a few bits of advice for costumes for your children:

1. Getting dressed up should be fun for the kids, so if they want to dress up as a comic book character, let them. Plenty of children were the Hulk, The Flash, Iron Man etc. Its fine! 
2. Don't stress too much about getting a new costume. A lot of characters can be achieved with the things you already have at home. 
3. A little sewing can go a long way. An old t-shirt ripped in the right way and sewn onto a newer one can easily be wings for a dragon, bat, fairy or even a flying pig.
4. Only buy what you can afford and if you want to be ultra economical and use it more than once, I would recommend something that can multi-task, be that red (For Red Nose Day), spotty (For Children in Need) or a generic theme like princess, animal etc. 
5. Consider that it will need to be worn by children who run when they play, possibly do a P.E. lesson, sit on the floor for their usual lessons. If the outfit is too restrictive or hot then they will just take it off. 
6. If the outfit has accessories like a mask, hat, toys etc then please put labels on them so that these can be returned to the correct child. Lots of children may come dressed as the same character and accessories can get switched about. 

 Some advice on how to do it as a Teacher or TA:

1. Relax, the kids will be curious about your outfit for a while but won't care any where near as much as you do. 
2. You don't need to spend loads on an outfit. Much like the kids there are loads of things you can do within your current wardrobe. 
3. Don't stress. The job is stressful enough as it is. You don't get paid enough to spend loads on an outfit you'll potentially wear once. But if its an investment, and you really want to then go for it!
4. If you want to go all out but your colleagues don't, don't let it stop you! Do what you want. 
5. Encourage inclusivity with the pupils and be positive about their choices. Especially the home made outfits. Lots of work will have gone into that and a positive attitude from you to the parents will be appreciated. 
6. When your kids arrive, pay attention to who the character could be and ask if you are not sure while the parent is there to help. They will be very happy that you recognise them. 
7. Its an exciting day but it can be overwhelming for the kids. A bit of an allowance in behaviour and understanding can go a long way. 

Above all, it is meant to be a fun day and finding the joy in books and reading. I would encourage all to look at books with your kids, see the pictures, hear the words. Many authors have poured their hearts into those collections of pages and it is worth savouring. Even if only for the day. 

Until next time

xx