Latest in Crawford
24 Feb, 2014
The weather has been a bit wintery and we have even enjoyed going out in the odd flurry of snow. This was great for the Montessori’s theme of the Winter Olympics last week. We tried our hand at our own versions of tobogganing, bob sleighing, skiing and ice skating – check out our latest learning story on this in reception. We also explored the Olympic rings and each made a spectacular torch craft which we run home with. However Spring has definitely sprung in our crèche in Glanmire. The babies and the toddlers have been working on spring tree displays for their rooms complete with…
The babies have been busy exploring lots of new materials in their treasure basket. Our basket is full of safe and interesting materials. Babies learn through their senses so we have included materials which stimulate all 5 including sight, sound, smell, taste and touch. Baby toys are often made of plastic but with so many things made from this material it limits the babies’ experiences and learning. Objects in our treasure basket are made of natural materials including metal, leather and wood. Our babies are left to explore these on their own while their keyworker sits closely nearby to supervise. Once a baby is able…
Traditionally young children in Ireland were cared for in the family home and went to school after the age of 3. Today childcare services not in the child’s home are a necessity for many. There has been a lot of debate over how to describe the different types of childcare services available for children aged 0 to 6 years. Until recently Irish policy made a distinction between childcare and education. However Hayes (2007) explains “the inseparable nature of education and care in early years provision across all settings and highlights the caring nature of education and the educative nature of care.” The social nature of…
