Say Hello to Oreo
23 Feb, 2015
Crawford Childcare adopted a fallabella horse in the latter half of 2013 and named him Oreo. He lives at Tir na Sí Open Farm in Watergrasshill where Julia and Paul McCarthy look after him on our behalf. Each morning and evening they feed Oreo and clean out his stable. We appreciate their work very much. On the farm Oreo's friends include pigs, sheep, horses and alpacas to mention but a few. Also the many parents and children that visit the farm stop by to chat to Oreo. He does love the attention he receives from everyone. Oreo is fifteen years old, this was confirmed by…
Recently in the toddler room we had some messy fun painting on a large roll of paper, generously donated to us by Spohia’s mum – thank you! We covered two tables with the paper and we also upcycled some plastic containers and paper tubes that the children had brought in. Arts and crafts are part of the many daily activities here at Crawford Childcare in Glanmire. The children have lots of fun and the activities are more than just to develop their creativity. Arts and crafts can also aid their cognitive, physical, language, social and emotional development. Robyn pressed very hard with both hands…
So it’s a new year and even though we don’t have the best weather, the Montessori class decided to get active and what better way to start the new year than doing some physical activity. We don’t need good weather to get active and as we know children love the outdoors, they don’t mind if it’s wet, windy or cold, all they want to do is run around and release that extra energy they have. Physical activity is very important for young children, it decreases their chances of becoming overweight or even obese and it also helps develop their gross motor skills. Children should never…
At Crawford Childcare, Glanmire we all love to sing and dance. None of the teachers will be the next Mariah or Celine but we like to think we all have the X factor. The children seem to enjoy joining in or maybe they are really trying to show us how it is done! Whether it is “All the rain drops” or “Do you want to build a snowman” we will give it a go. Even those of us who are not quite walking yet are well able to boogey and wiggle those hips. Singing is a great way for the children to express themselves and…
We all had had a busy time last week dressing up for Halloween. It was great to see all the different costumes and the bright colours. All the children were delighted to show off their outfits to their friends. Dress up and role playing is an important part of child development in Crawford Childcare in Glanmire. It helps children develop all five areas of development such as their physical, cognitive, social, emotional and language. Dress up allows the children to dress up as their favourite superhero, princes and princesses, fairies or even every day workers such as doctors, nurses, firemen, or gardai. Dress up allows…
So Halloween is fast approaching and we all know what that means? Christmas is only around the corner –ha ha ! Only joking we love Halloween here at Crawford Childcare, Glanmire. Its such a nice time to introduce our children to the joys of dressing up be it scary, funny or nice. Though sometimes we may think Halloween is all about sweets and trick or treating there is actually a lot more to it. Halloween is the second most celebrated holiday. Pumpkins and the carving of them originated in Ireland. People believed that placing a candle in them would keep away ghosts and that carving…
Wednesday 15th October 2014 Today we were warned to wear good walking shoes/ boots as our day begun with a bus journey and 15 minutes walk to Haikasen Nature barnehage (Childcare facility) - a one year old building set in beautiful forest surroundings with a forest school philosophy of valuing nature and being in the outdoors. Facilities for children and staff were impressive with lots of space, shower areas and equipment to protect staff from repetitive injuries. The sun was shining and the sky a clear blue and I felt really fortunate to have such a fantastic learning opportunity. The male principal/ leader discussed his…
Tuesday 14th October 2014 A second day at Queen Maud University College (QMUC) campus today. Something that strikes me is how children are invited and welcomed into this adult setting. Of course it makes sense that people training to become early years teachers need to be around children. Common sense is common in Norway! We had several lectures today including: - Lecture on physically active play in Kindergarten - Lecture on children with special needs in Norwegian day cares - Lecture on mentoring new teachers - a state funded national development programme. There was a lot of information much of which I am still…
In the baby room at Crawford Childcare in Glanmire we have noticed that Mother Nature keeps changing her mind regarding the weather. So instead of planning for a sunny or rainy day the babies have decided to prepare for both by making some colourful sun/ rain umbrellas. The umbrellas will be used for some ‘Singing in the rain’ as well as keeping us shaded for when ‘Mr Sun does shine down’. We used paper plates and lollipop sticks to make our multi purpose umbrellas. Ellie and Roisin really enjoyed choosing their rainbow colours for their umbrellas. While we were making our brollies it began to…
Here at Crawford Childcare Creche, Glanmire we use the Montessori method. The Montessori curriculum consists of practical life, sensorial, mathematics, language and culture. Eva walks to the shelf and picks up the tray carefully and walks to the table where she sits down with her work. She begins to polish the little shoe meticulously and intricately. A practical life activity has begun. Neave and Michaela walk to the basket to get their mats, they roll them out carefully on the ground. They decide to work with the brown broad stairs and place them gently on the mat. They build a castle first before identifying the…
