From the Archives
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Easter Fun
Childre
Making and decorating salt-dough Easter shapes
Constructing Easter Baskets
Decorating Eggs
Easter Egg Hunt
This inspired the children to take part in a nature walk to search for feathers and twigs. On their return they used these to make nests for their chicks.
St Patricks Day
In the lead up to St. Patrick’s Day the children explored all about St. Patrick: who he was and what he did. They made leprechauns, rainbows and pots of gold as part of group projects which they displayed in their rooms. The children also went outside and used their binoculars to try and catch “Larry the sneaky Leprechaun”. The children were then given the opportunity to try on the leprechaun costume and beard and made their own hats and badges to wear in their parade.
For our St. Patrick’s Day parade on Wednesday, 16th March then children were joined by their parents, grandparents and family members. St. Patrick himself and Larry the Leprechaun led our parade along with some children from The Adeline Dargan School of Dancing, who also danced for the children and their parents. They did a super job, “Thank you so much”. Adeline invited our Preschool children to learn some Irish dancing steps and perform a little routine for their parents and families. They were fantastic. As part of our curriculum we learn and practice Irish words throughout the year. “Go Raibh Mίle Maith Agat” ….. “Thank You”.
Pyjama Day
The children celebrated Pyjama Day on Thursday, 4th March. Parents joined with children and staff in their child’s Preschool rooms on the morning to view their work and enjoyed some light refreshments. A total of €670 was raised in support of Irish Autism Action. Thank you for your continued support
All-Island Art Competition “Imagining the Ireland of 2116”
Early years setting, primary and post-primary schools were invited to create a picture based on Imagining the Ireland of 2116. This competition was ran by The Education Centre Network in conjunction with DES, DEN and the National Gallery of Ireland. A number of entries were submitted from our Service. We are delighted to announce that the image below won 1st prize in the Preschool category for their picture “Going to school in a hot air balloon”.
The children and Diane are pictured below at the awards ceremony held in the Laois Education Centre last week where they were presented with a cheque for their winning entry. The picture has been selected as one of 5 winners which will be entered into a regional final where 4 overall winners will be selected. Each of the regional winners will then have their work professionally displayed in the National Gallery of Ireland.
Valentines Day
The children have been busy making some lovely crafts from recycled materials for Valentine’s Day. These type of activities involve painting, colouring, cutting and pasting, and support the development of fine motor skills (small movements using the fingers and thumbs).
Grandparents Day
Grandparent’s Day was celebrated on Wednesday 3rd February. Thank you to Ava’s Nanny who came in to show the children in Room 1 how to knit, Amelia and Conor’s Nanny who read a story to the children in Room 4 and to Joseph’s Grandparents who showed the children in Room 2 how to Set dance.
Christmas Market
Last week the children had great fun visiting the Christmas Market. They collected all their 1, 2 and 5 cent coins and enjoyed having the chance to pay for their own goods. They were able to choose from soft toys, dolls, books, small cars and figures. After their spending spree was over they sat down beside Mrs Claus for a story. Mrs Claus was very impressed as the children sang lots of Christmas songs for her. They enjoyed the yummy treats such as cookies and buns with a warm cup of hot chocolate. It really was great fun for all the children and staff. All of the coins collected on the day will go towards the Penny Jars Appeal for Holy Angels Day Care. Many thanks for your continued support.
Having a splashing time!
Given the unpredictability of the Irish weather it is important to ensure children have equipment available in the setting so that they can play outside in all types of weather.
The children have been busy filling the Weather Box in their rooms with items such as wellies, umbrellas, hats, gloves and containers for gathering water so they can measure how much rain has fallen. They are having great fun splashing in the puddles as can be seen from the pictures below.
Looking after the environment
The children have been learning about looking after their environment, using the litter pickers to pick up pieces of paper and rubbish to put in the bins outside the Preschool.
Mini Pamper Day
The children often enjoy pretending to be hairdressers, barbers and nail technicians using the props provided in Preschool, such as: old hairdryers, combs, clips, gowns. They also like to pick out different hairstyles from hair magazines and photographs. Based on the children’s emerging interest in this area, we decided to have a Mini Pamper Day for them. Parents Regina and Caitriona kindly offered to come in and style the children’s hair and paint their nails and as you can see from the pictures below, the children thoroughly enjoyed being pampered! Many thanks to Regina and Caitriona.
Halloween
The children enjoyed lots of activities in the run up to Halloween such as:
Decorating their own trick or treat bags. They tip toed to the office to scare Diane, Gillian and Yvonne who put some yummy treats in their bags after the children had performed their “Trick or Treat” song.
They made their own delicious orange pumpkins and banana ghosts from mandarin, celery, bananas and raisins.
The children made ghosts, bats, spiders and monsters from recycled materials such as kitchen roll holders, newspapers and wool.
They were also given the opportunity to carve out their own design on a large pumpkin. They then explored what was inside; smelling, tasting and scooping out the insides!
Pumpkin Parade
The children and Staff dressed up in their Halloween costumes on Friday 23rd October and took part in a Pumpkin Parade in support of Down Syndrome Centre. If you still have a sponsorship card at home, can you please return it to the office as soon as possible so we can total the monies raised. So far we have collected over €470 for the Down Syndrome Centre. Thank you for your continued support.
Lunchbox Donation
The children are pictured with the lunchboxes which were kindly donated to the service by Irish Pride. This helps us to store food which needs to be refrigerated throughout the morning.
National Beep Beep Day
Last week was National Road Safety Week (5th-9th October). During this week the children covered the important subject of Road Safety, using a variety of resources such as; Simon and Friends (RSA series of educational books), making their own STOP and GO signs and zebra crossings and learned how to put on their own high visibility jackets. On Wednesday we held our own “Beep Beep Day”. Francis and Jean, our lollipop lady and man came to visit the children and spoke to them about using the Safe Cross Code. Francis and Jean then joined the staff and children as they paraded around the school grounds wearing their high visibility jackets and demonstrated crossing the road using the children’s own zebra crossing.
Congratulations
Congratulations to Michelle Bolton (left), Lianne Fleming (centre) and Joanne McEvoy (right) who recently graduated, having obtained the FETAC Level 6 Certificate in Early Childhood Care & Education.
Cheerios for Childline Breakfast Together
Last Friday, 9th October, parents, guardians and extended families were invited to join with their children in their Preschool rooms for our Cheerio’s for Childline Breakfast Together morning. The children wore Cheerio’s hats which they had decorated during the week and played games using straws and Cheerios, to see which Cheerio would make it across the table first. Parents, guardians and family members all enjoyed a cup of tea/coffee and some healthy snacks and were given the opportunity to view their children’s work. Thank you for your kind donations to Childline on the day.
