Scéalta – The Early Childhood Ireland Blog

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folder DevelopmentEnvironmentsLearningPlayRelationship BuildingTransitionsWorkplace relations

Carol Duffy, master of the outdoors

By Lilian Joyce

Monday 18 January 2021

Last month we said a fond farewell to our colleague Carol Duffy, who retired from Early Childhood Ireland after nearly 40 years of working in the early years. Back in the 1980s, there were no childcare regulations, no accredited training for early year educators and no funding for Early Learning and Care services. There were, […]
tags blogEarly Childhood IrelandplayleaderscéaltaSíolta
1390 views
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folder DevelopmentEnvironmentsLearningPlayRelationship BuildingTransitions

Reopening – Compromises and Silver Linings

By Sarah Twohig

Monday 14 September 2020

“Dream big, work hard, stay focused and surround yourself with good people.” I’m a big fan of inspirational quotes and Facebook memes because sometimes they just hit the right note. In our service, we like to dream big which includes a collaborative dream of a “perfect” creche. This idea forms the centre or ethos of […]
tags blogCOVID-19COVID-19 Reopeningcrecheoutdoor environmentplayscéaltaSíolta
1423 views
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folder DevelopmentEnvironmentsLearningRelationship BuildingTransitions

What are we doing to our boys?

By Maire Corbett

Tuesday 25 February 2020

In Scéalta this week Máire Corbett reflects on how gender stereotypes can be damaging to children, following the online reaction to the winning project in the BT Young Scientist competition and a conversation she overheard in a supermarket.
tags Aistearbehavioural scienceearly years learninggender biasgender stereotypelearning biasman upscéaltasocial science
2042 views
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folder DevelopmentPlayRelationship BuildingTransitions

Where did the summer go!

By Arlene Forster

Tuesday 03 September 2019

Where did the summer go! Hard to believe another ‘year’ is starting. She’s off to preschool this September… these are some of the familiar statements we hear at this time of the year when thousands of children all over Ireland return or move on to the next exciting stage in their educational journey. A new […]
tags AistearplaySettling inSíoltaSummer
1172 views
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folder LearningTransitions

Our Week in Iceland

By Fiona Kelleher

Tuesday 27 August 2019

Early Childhood Ireland is delighted to be part of a European Project called TRAP – Enhancing Transition Practices in Early Childhood Education. The countries involved are Croatia, Iceland, Sweden and Ireland. The project aims to enhance and extend understandings of the practice required for transitions from ECEC contexts to primary schools. This project aims to […]
tags AistearEuropean ProjectIcelandScéalta BlogSíoltaStudy TriptransitionsTRAP
1712 views
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folder EnvironmentsTransitionsWell-being

Settling Babies

By Maire Corbett

Tuesday 09 July 2019

Sometimes we hear of people describing childcare as ‘leaving a baby with strangers.’ This always makes me sad. By the time a baby is spending a full day in the setting, ideally, the relationship between the baby, the educator and the parent should be well past being strangers. The process of settling in, in my […]
tags AistearbabiescommunityEnvironmentrelationshipsScéalta BlogSettling inSíolta
4418 views
1 comments
folder Transitions

Moving from Preschool to Primary School: Identities and Connections

By Arlene Forster

Tuesday 19 March 2019

Were you out and about at the weekend enjoying the St Patrick’s Day festivities? The special day brought crowds to villages, towns and cities across the country as ornate and creative floats passed by carrying groups of excited children (and adults!). While green, white and orange featured prominently marking Ireland’s national celebration, the day also […]
tags Arlene ForsterMo ScéalNational Council for Curriculum and AssessmentNCCApreschoolPrimary SchoolscéaltaScéalta Blogtransitions
6329 views
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folder Relationship BuildingTransitions

Getting to know you

By Maire Corbett

Tuesday 04 September 2018

Now that the initial new year busyness is easing, the ‘new’ children are settling in and parents are a bit less anxious about letting their little ones off to embark on a new journey.  We think about building a community in the preschool and we know that it takes more than a few weeks of […]
tags AistearFamily wallLearning journalsrelationshipsSettling inSíoltatransitionsWendy Lee
6128 views
3 comments
folder Relationship BuildingTransitions

Prexit (the preschool exit)

By Aisling Hearne

Tuesday 26 June 2018

We all know the feeling of closing one chapter in life and opening a new one. Some people sail through this transition seamlessly and for others it is an unsettling period. I belong in the latter of the two.  I seek a sense of closure, a moment of reflection and a chance to recap on […]
tags AistearExit interviewGratitudeImpactPrexitscéaltaScéalta BlogSíoltaThank youtransitions
4160 views
3 comments
folder DevelopmentPlayTransitions

A Hop, Skip and a Jump to School!

By Dr. Suzanne Egan and Dr. Jennifer Pope

Tuesday 19 June 2018

As we come towards the end of the preschool year, parents may now be focused on the summer holidays and making the transition to primary school. Parents may be asking you what they should be doing over the summer to prepare their children for school. Based on our research, our advice is to encourage them […]
tags AistearblogGamesHealthoutdoor playplayPrimary SchoolRunningScéalta BlogSíoltaSporttransitions
3848 views
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folder DiningLearningTransitions

Snack time at anytime

By Sinead Early O Brien

Tuesday 05 June 2018

Snack time was an area of practice I struggled with but wasn’t brave enough to change until I was inspired by Dr. Mary O’Kane, on the Level 8 BA in Early Childhood Teaching and Learning, to reflect and acknowledge daily transitions in our service. In doing so I realised that we, the adults, were deciding […]
tags Decision MakingDecisionsplayrespectScéalta BlogSnack TimeSnackstransitions
11025 views
2 comments
folder DevelopmentLearningRelationship BuildingTransitions

What’s in a name?

By Lorraine O'Connor

Tuesday 04 April 2017

Every day we use children’s names without realising. Mark Twain (1835-1910) reminds us names are not always what they seem. The Welsh name Bzjxxllwcp is pronounced Jackson. However, what is in a name? Does it matter if we say a child’s name wrong, shorten it or don’t use it at all? Irelands population is growing, […]
tags AistearblogCultureMark TwainNamesNorwayScéalta BlogSíolta
4748 views
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folder DevelopmentLearningTransitions

The power of transition: supporting children to predict and cope with change

By Dr Mary O'Kane

Tuesday 21 March 2017

“To be responsible for your children at the start of a journey is a daunting prospect. To be in a position to influence the route they take and how they view themselves as they travel is even more of a responsibility.” Drummond (1999, cited in Abbott, 2000) Children in Ireland experience a broad range of educational […]
tags AistearAistear Siolta Practice GuideAnnual Conference 2017Dr Mary O'KaneECCEMasterclassScéalta BlogSíoltatransitions
7700 views
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folder DevelopmentLearningPlayRelationship BuildingTransitions

Priceless Times

By Emma Reilly

Tuesday 14 February 2017

There’s only one thing more precious than our time and that’s who we spend it on Leo Christopher Recently I was fortunate to be part of an Erasmus plus trip to Italy to job shadow in early years’ services in an area called San Miniato. I visited ‘Nido Pinocchio’ infant and toddler centre and came […]
tags ERASMUS+ItalyroutineSan MiniatoSelf Help SkillsShoesTimetransitions
4780 views
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folder DevelopmentRelationship BuildingTransitions

My personal journey of being involved in my children’s playschool

By Debbie Mullen

Tuesday 25 October 2016

As the mum of Eoghan and Elliot, now 5, being involved in their preschool year was a wonderful experience. The experience affected my life in so many ways – I got to know my two boys as they became part of a group and developed an identity as pre-schoolers, while seeing their individual interests and […]
tags AistearcommunityexperiencejourneymemoriesparentspreschoolrelationshipsSíolta
2827 views
2 comments
folder Transitions

Just Give me 5 Minutes: Toddlers Transitions within the Daily Routine

By Kathleen Tuite

Tuesday 09 August 2016

Have you ever heard a toddler say ‘I’m right in the middle of something, just give me 5 minutes’? In early childhood settings we recognise that toddlers are capable and competent, with interests, emerging interests and needs all of their own. They experience many changes throughout their lives, some small, some big and learning to manage [...]
tags AisteardevelopmentroutineSíoltatoddlerstransitions
6284 views
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