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…
The pre school years are a time of remarkable development. Pre school may look like just fun and games which include music, story time, dancing and art but these activities all stimulate the brain and your child’s development. Children learn through play in safe and nurturing environments. Building blocks for example are not just amusing but also teach problem solving and physics. A love of learning should also develop in the pre school years. Good learning habits begin to form and the child’s self esteem should build. Resilience also develops at this time. Children should be allowed to make mistakes and feel okay about this.…
One of the hardest decisions for a working mum is who to trust with their care of their child. When deciding on a crèche we recommend visiting a few to get a general feel of how a place operates. Watch out for how the adults interact with the children and whether the children seem happy to be at crèche. Ask lots of questions during your visit and after if that is when they come to mind. At Crawford Childcare we recommend taking a list of things you would like to ask about. We have put together a list of 10 questions we consider crucial when…
For children, physical activity is one of the vital ingredients to a strong and healthy development. As a result of this, at Crawford Childcare we love to keep fit and active. The children love to have fun and be energetic so we try our best to keep up!!! In the baby room, our little babies spend endless hours exploring the environment both indoors and outdoors. There are various tools in the baby room which allow our babies to be active and to strengthen their physical development. They love crawling through the tunnel, climbing over the steps and riding on the bike. For such little beings,…
Brrrrrr….. there has been a definite drop in temperature in the last week or so. Cool, dry and bright spells have meant we are still able to get outside. We believe it is better to learn about the seasons by experiencing them first hand and not just talking about them – although this is important too! Remember there is no such thing as bad weather – just bad clothing. We strongly advise hats, gloves and warm padded jackets. Wellies can ensure little feet are kept dry and cosy too. For the children who are with us in the afternoons the darker evenings mean we can…
This week all 3 rooms will be celebrating Halloween! Halloween is full of stories, symbols treats and games which make it so fascinating to learn about. Each room has carved its own pumpkin which the children have now named, Penelope, Mr. Pumpkin and Oisin. There were a lot of ideas about what was actually in the pumpkins before we opened them. We found pulp and slippery seeds! The children tested the pumpkins for weight and liked its fruity smell. Each child will make a pumpkin wish for Halloween – we hope they all come true! All the rooms have been echoing with witches cackles as…
The Cheerios Childline Breakfast Together Week took place from October 7th -13th 2013. Childline has been listening to Ireland’s most vulnerable children for 25 years. Childline is the only 24 hour listening service for children in Ireland. In 2012 Childline received 771,301 calls from children. Due to lack of funding it was only possible to answer 510,003 of those calls. 261,298 calls were left unanswered. In Crawford Childcare we believe that every child should be listened to. To show our support for Childline we organised a breakfast on Wednesday 9th October 2013. There was a party atmosphere at Crawford and breakfast fun run through the…
Painting is an important part of the curriculum in all 3 rooms in Crawford Childcare. Painting offers many learning opportunities including sensorial play, creativity, mark making, recording information, communication, literacy and numeracy skills. Brushes and paints are popular of course. The team at Crawford Childcare also like to introduce more creative painting ideas to the children in each room. We thought we would share a few in this week’s blog so that the more adventurous amongst you can try them too. Just remember to dress the children (and yourself) in clothes you are not too worried about. It is also a good idea to have…
