Latest from Crawford Childcare

Latest from Crawford Childcare Adventure Room While out in the garden the children asked for the parachute. The parachute was promptly brought out and the children had great fun hiding under it. Charlie and Jacob used cones to hold the parachute up, while Roisin and Caoimhe were running through it. Great fun was also had playing peek-a-boo under the parachute. Charlie’s Mum thought using the cones to hold up the parachute was a great idea and Sam’s Mum loved to see the children playing peek-a-boo. Discovery Room This week some of the children in the Discovery Room wen ton an outing in the local estate. They got appropriately dressed…

Latest from Crawford

Latest from Crawford Adventure Room Christmas talk is starting already! When some of the children came in this week they were talking about the Christmas lights being turned on in Cork and seeing Santa. Some of the kids wanted to paint so we asked them what colours and red or green where the chosen ones. Conor wanted to paint a Christmas tree on cardboard. Emma wanted green card like a Christmas tree and Leon chose red for Santa. Conor’s Mum commented how nice the painted cardboard was and told us how Conor was all talk about the Christmas Tree with the star and what he told Santa he…

Dining at Crawford Childcare

Dining at Crawford Childcare The preschool years are important years to help the children form positive attitudes towards foods and good eating habits. Our Early Year Educators in Crawford Childcare help the children to develop good lifelong eating habits through being positive role models. Research has shown that children’s intake of fruit, vegetables and milk increases by observing adults eat these foods. Children are active participants in their dining experience at Crawford Childcare, Glanmire. Giving children a choice of food ensures that their likes and dislikes are respected. Encouraging children to serve themselves at meal times helps to make them feel competent and in control leading to the development…

Apples and Bananas

Apples and Bananas Our babies love the Barney song 'Apples and Bananas' which has  inspired healthy food tasting in the baby room recently which of course included apples and bananas but also other types of fruit and vegetables. We used two big bowls one for the fruit and the other for the vegetables for the babies to share. We washed and chopped up a variety of fruit and vegetables and placed them in separate bowls. It was a nice day so we set up the fruit and vegetables on our outdoor mat for the babies to sit around and share the fruit and vegetables picnic style. The babies…

The importance of hand washing

The importance of hand washing Teaching children about hand washing is not just important to keep them healthier in childhood... but all through life. Hand washing really is our best defence against many kinds of bacteria and viruses that cause infection. Children typically don’t like to take the time to wash their hands therefore it is very important that they are shown the correct techniques to do so and be guided to when they should wash their hands. Children learn best through their senses, and benefit from doing and seeing as well as hearing. A good idea is to let them see you washing your hands throughout the day and…

Play and learn at Crawford

Play and learn at Crawford Here at Crawford Childcare , part of our philosophy is to help children to learn to socialise and communicate with both adults and their peers. Children learn many of their social skills through play. At Crawford Childcare, Glanmire the children play outdoors as often as possible and they especially enjoy water and sand play. Here is an insight into one of our Toddler teams observations. We hope you enjoy it! James decided to play at the water table. He knows that he must wear a protective apron when playing with water and asked an adult to help him. He happily played by himself with the…

10 tips for building a child’s well being

10 tips for building a child’s well being Here at Crawford Childcare, Glanmire we take a pro-active approach to supporting a child’s well-being through the curriculum. These 10 ideas used as daily habits will give your child the best chance possible to become a creative confident child. Be aware of your behaviour: You’re child will do as you do. Do you have minor tantrums when things go wrong? Can you stay calm during difficult situations? Be willing to say no: Children will naturally ask for things they can see. Saying “no” will give them an opportunity to deal with disappointment and to learn impulse control. Start coaching: Coaching your child will help them…

Let’s get active

Let’s get active 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…

New Year’s Resolutions

New Year’s Resolutions January is always a good time to consider what we could improve from last year for the upcoming year. At Crawford Childcare  in Glanmire we also encourage the children to talk about what they could do in the preschool environment to help themselves and to help their peers. By involving the children in deciding their own New Year resolutions they become more motivated and confident. This is how they take ownership of their goals and learn to plan. The process of starting and completing something provides the child with a sense of achievement. These resolutions should be simple in task and achievable. Examples of such…

Are you ready to brush?

Are you ready to brush? Cathy and Ashley have been doing the “Healthy Ireland Smart Start Program” to help improve the health and well-being for the next generation. Oral health was one of the topics we talked about, so here’s what we learned: Children have 20 primary teeth, also known as their baby or milk teeth. These teeth start showing at around 6 months and these can be replaced by adult teeth from the age of 6 onwards. It is very important to teach your child good oral hygiene habits at a young age because this can lead to a lifelong healthy mouth. It is very important to start brushing…