I worked in Primary education for about 10 years. I started with the younger ones. Year 1 was the easiest. Foundation was the hardest - it was mentally, physically and emotionally draining because it was like herding little puppies into classrooms.
In any Foundation class, I'd have one sleeping, one eating, one having wet themselves etc... There were also a lot of children coming through without the supports needed for inclusion. e.g. children who did not have a diagnosis, first-time parents who didn't know how to navigate the system etc.
Despite these challenges, the kids were lovely. I was only reading a Christmas card from one of my year 1 students 7 years ago. The thanked me for teaching him science, and said he wanted to become a 'Mad Scientist'.
I've kept some of the cards from my students.
I've really enjoyed my years teaching primary. I mainly taught STEM. There were some times I had to teach core subjects, but that wasn't an issue.
Now this moves me to my years in secondary education.