Scéalta – The Early Childhood Ireland Blog

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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
29 views
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Looking back and looking forward

By Maire Corbett

Tuesday 22 December 2020

As we approach the end of another year, we traditionally tend to take stock of the year that has passed and look forward to the new year in anticipation. We reflect on what we want to change perhaps and what we want to continue into the new year to come.  But if this year has […]
tags AistearblogCOVID-19Looking BackLooking ForwardscéaltaScéalta BlogSíolta
1718 views
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folder DevelopmentEnvironmentsLearningRelationship BuildingWorkplace relations

Christmas connections through social media!

By Kathleen Tuite

Tuesday 15 December 2020

Now that Christmas is just around the corner you might be thinking of ways to share the end of year celebrations with families of children attending your ELC setting.  With this in mind, we wanted to remind you all of the many ways of connecting and how important it is to have some procedures in […]
tags blogearly years settingsscéaltaSíoltasocial mediasocial media policy
1939 views
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Happy Creativity!

By Maire Corbett

Tuesday 08 December 2020

I recently spoke with Milica Atanackovic for Early Childhood Ireland’s podcast. She believes creativity is at the heart of childhood and learning and our role as educators is to support children as they make meaning of the world around them through enquiry and shared learning. Aistear supports and encourages us to see creativity in that […]
tags AistearblogCreativityEarly Childhood EducationEarly Childhood IrelandPrimary SchoolscéaltaSíolta
1364 views
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Celebrating Quality in Early Learning and Care Practice

By Milica Atanackovic

Tuesday 01 December 2020

  This year we were unable to host our annual national award celebrations in person. Therefore, we made the decision to celebrate the shortlisted entries and winners through short online videos. Our aim was to show examples of the love, laughter, passion, and adventures facilitated by educators in quality Early Learning and Care services. The […]
tags annual awardsblogEarly Childhood IrelandECIAwards20National Annual Awards 2020scéaltaSíolta
1064 views
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The beauty of ‘being’

By Catherine Mc Hugh

Tuesday 24 November 2020

“I can’t wait until….” Here is a simple quote that personally passes through my lips numerous times a day. It has become apparent to me in recent times that looking for the ‘what next’ in my future has almost overcome me to an extent where the ‘now’ is overlooked. There is such beauty in the ‘now’. A glistening feeling […]
tags AistearblogCovid responseCOVID-19MindfulnessscéaltaScéalta BlogSíolta
1908 views
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Democratic practice

By Marlene McCormack

Monday 16 November 2020

As the dust settles on the US presidential election, in Scéalta this week Marlene Mc Cormack reflects on how we can ensure democratic practice in early childhood education and care settings and reminds us that the Reggio philosophy grew out of the devastation of World War 2. If we want adults who are brave and who will stand up for justice, this must be supported from early childhood.
tags Aistearblogdemocracydemocratic citizensReggio EmiliaScéalta BlogSíolta
1223 views
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EECERA – virtual!

By Maire Corbett

Tuesday 03 November 2020

  The European Early Childhood Education Research Association (EERECRA) conference each August/ September is a calendar fixture for many in the Early Learning and Care world. It is held in various locations around Europe; indeed, it has taken place in Dublin twice and attracts delegates, who share a passion for the education and care of […]
tags AistearblogEECERAEuropean Early Childhood Education Research AssociationInternational Narrativesscéalta
1326 views
0 comments
folder AdvocacyDevelopmentLearningPlayRelationship BuildingResearch

Coming of Age

By Maire Corbett

Tuesday 27 October 2020

Last Tuesday night, October 20 Professor Anne Looney, Dean of Education at Dublin City University launched the Proceedings of the Early Childhood Ireland National Research Conference, held in Dublin in April 2019. The launch of this publication came during Early Childhood Ireland’s very first online Research Symposium, which was due to be held last April, […]
tags AistearblogNational Research Conference 2019Online Research SymposiumProceedings JournalscéaltaScéalta BlogSíolta
2256 views
0 comments
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There is more to maths than counting!

By Sandra O'Neill

Monday 19 October 2020

I’m not great at maths. My other half thinks it hilarious that I teach mathematics in a university, when I have no understanding of basic math concepts like distance (the two metre COVID restriction is a real struggle for me). The type of maths I teach is maths that can be seen in young children’s […]
tags AistearblogCountingMathsScéalta BlogShapesSíolta
1936 views
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Tell me a story!

By Marlene McCormack

Tuesday 29 September 2020

I am wondering if I have the hang of blogging. A blog, I think, is meant not only to tell but to engage – maybe to share a story! Sir Ken Robinson, who died recently, was a great storyteller.  Make no mistake about it, he had a perspective on education, one that many subscribed to […]
tags blogLearning through StorytellingscéaltaSeanchaíSíoltaStoryStorytelling
1710 views
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Reopening – Silver Linings – Mixed Age Pods

By Sarah Twohig

Monday 21 September 2020

Since I began my studies in the Early Years, I have often wondered how mixed age groups worked in practice. The Montessori method stresses that multi-age groups can be of benefit to all children. Our curriculum has always been tailored to the individual child anyway and so we became quite excited by the possibilities presented […]
tags AistearblogCOVID-19Mixed age groupspeer groupplay podsscéaltaSíolta
1738 views
0 comments
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
1296 views
0 comments
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Finding creativity inside of yourself!

By Marlene McCormack

Monday 07 September 2020

  The recent death of Sir Ken Robinson got me thinking again about creativity. I went back and leafed through his book ‘The Element: How finding your passion changes everything’, which I had read at a time when I was reflecting on what drives me in life.  Then I re-watched his famous TED talk on […]
tags blogchildren’s learningCreativityearly childhoodeducation systemPedagogyscéaltaSíolta
912 views
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Loving Relationships

By Dee Finn

Monday 24 August 2020

In response to the question “how would you describe love?” my darling friend Biel said “it feels like everything. Love the people and love the trees, love everything. It’s a really happy feeling of your heart, the heart which you feel in your body”. Biel, at five years of age, has true wisdom of the […]
tags blogemotional well-beingLoveLoving RelationshipsscéaltaSíolta
1063 views
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Stay Safe. Stay Outdoors!

By Edel Graham

Monday 17 August 2020

In 2009, I opened Corrig Kids Playschool, a huge one-acre facility, which I have developed over the course of the subsequent years. When COVID-19 hit on the 12th March, and over the following months and with emerging guidelines, I took time to consider how I could best serve the needs of my staff, pupils and […]
tags blogCovid responseCOVID-19outdoorsscéaltaSíolta
2054 views
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Trauma Sensitive Early Childhood Care and Education

By Dr. Judith Butler

Monday 20 July 2020

Early childhood adversity is a topic that is widely covered in the literature and in initial practitioner education.However, until recently the topic of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) has been less well covered.The World Health Organisation’s recognition of ACEs as a major public health challenge has raised awareness and as a result, societal change is happening […]
tags Adverse Childhood ExperiencesblogECECmental health problemsresponsive relationshipsscéaltaSíoltaTrauma-SensitiveWorld Health Organisation
2415 views
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Being Nice is not Enough!

By Colette Murray

Tuesday 14 July 2020

In this week’s Scealta Colette Murray discusses ‘Becoming more aware of our unconscious and conscious bias both personally and professionally means we are in a better position to support children and families in our services. None of us think of ourselves as racist, sexist, ableist, classist or homophobic but how sure are we about that? Most of us are confident we are not discriminating against others but is it enough to think that and say that?’
tags AistearblogEarly Childhood IrelandEqualityracismscéaltaSíolta
1322 views
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folder DevelopmentEnvironmentsPlayRelationship Building

Lockdown Effects – ‘Not the Same Child At All’

By Dr. Suzanne Egan

Wednesday 08 July 2020

In this week’s Scealta – Dr Suzanne Egan shares preliminary findings from PLEY Survey which measured the play activities of children aged 1 – 10 years at home due to COVID-19 crisis. Findings show that Children’s lives have changed dramatically, suggesting that some children will need a lot of additional support in the coming months. With the closure of schools, creches, playgrounds and restrictions on physical movement and interactions, a number of effects on many aspects of children’s lives, including on their play, their social relationships and emotional development were found.
tags blogCOVID-19 crisisEffect of LockdownscéaltaSíoltaThe Play and Learning in the Early Years
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Reopening – ‘Seeing Joyful Faces’

By Sharon Skehill

Monday 29 June 2020

In this week’s Scealta, Sharon Skehill talks about reopening and says that ‘The children are at the centre of everything we do. Am I nervous about re-opening this week? I don’t think I am. I know that we have done everything we can to minimise risk to children, their families and the staff. I also know that those children coming back to us this week will be greeted with joyful faces and huge hearts. We will be grand!’
tags AistearblogCOVID-19 Reopeningjune29reopening irelandscéaltaSíolta
1529 views
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Reopening Childcare – Reimagining it as it Could be

By Lee Herlihy

Tuesday 23 June 2020

As many settings approach the final days of preparation for reopening on June 29th Lee Herlihy takes a look at what really matters most for the children. She says ‘I didn’t want the children to see worried, stressed, anxious adults. I wanted them to see familiar, welcoming happy and relaxed adults, excited to show them how this space, their own space, still belongs to them
tags blogELClockdownReopening ChildcareSACscéaltaSíolta
2531 views
1 comments
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Your Place

By Maire Corbett

Tuesday 16 June 2020

As we count down the weeks to the reopening of many full day care settings, Máire Corbett discusses some considerations for changes to our environments and keeping the child central to those considerations. She mentions the excitement, as well as the apprehension we may feel about having personal connections to children and families after months of virtual contact.
tags blogEarly Childhood IrelandHand HygienescéaltaSíoltaUniversal Design GuidelinesYour place
817 views
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Pedagogical Leadership

By Kathleen Tuite

Tuesday 09 June 2020

In the Scéalta this week Kathleen Tuite outlines why she feels that pedagogical leadership is a key aspect of the reopening of our settings. She says that Having to carve out new pathways to cope and come up with innovative ways to ensure that our children, families and communities are safe, nurtured and supported requires rethinking the old ways of doing things and effective leadership is needed to do that.
tags AistearblogPedagogical leadersPedagogyplay podsscéaltaSíolta
1084 views
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Together while apart

By Veronique Didi

Monday 25 May 2020

Early Learning and Care settings all over the country have been so creative and innovative in how they are keeping connected with children and families. Veronique Didi from Co. Wicklow tells us how she has responded to the children interests and maintains an emergent curriculum on line!
tags AistearblogCovid19 crisisGoToMeeting appkeep in touchscéaltashow and tellstaying connected
1196 views
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folder Relationship Building

Valentine’s Day – ‘Appreciation Day’!

By Kathleen Tuite

Tuesday 12 February 2019

This time two years ago I wrote about ‘sowing the seeds of love’ with children on Valentine’s day. This year, let’s focus on nurturing those seeds of love with the adults/early learning educators who provide loving care each day to our children. While Valentine’s day is associated with chocolates, cards, flowers and gifts (all ok […]
tags AppreciationblogLovescéaltaScéalta BlogSmilesTeamworkThanksValentine's Day
1001 views
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Formalised Curiosity

By Maire Corbett

Tuesday 22 January 2019

I recently came across this quote: ‘Research is formalised curiosity. It is poking and prying with a purpose’ (Zora Neale Hurston). As we in Early Childhood Ireland plan our fifth annual National Early Childhood Research Conference, it struck me as very apt. Aistear encourages curiosity. The themes of Identity & Belonging and Exploring & Thinking both […]
tags AistearAlbert EinsteinblogEarly Childhood Ireland’s National Early Childhood Research Conference 2019Exploring and ThinkingIdentity and BelongingPobal sector profileresearchResearch Conference 2019Scéalta BlogSíolta
1415 views
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Wrapping up Christmas

By Kevin McLoughlin

Tuesday 18 December 2018

Ten tips on how families can ReCreate something festive using leftover packaging this Christmas! There’s no denying that Christmas is a special time of year. We all enjoy spending time with family and friends, recharging the batteries and unwinding in front of the fire with a box of chocolates attached to the hip. Of course, […]
tags blogchristmasReCreateRecyclescéaltaScéalta BlogWrapping paper
1619 views
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folder DevelopmentLearning

Halloween – A Trick or a Treat?

By Carol Duffy

Tuesday 30 October 2018

Coming so soon after the settling in period, for many children Halloween is often a mixed bag of tricks and treats. On the one hand it can be a treat, a time of great excitement negotiating the emotions of scary and funny, the concepts of real and pretend, and the delights of being out in […]
tags AistearblogHalloweenScéalta BlogSíoltaTrick or treat
2711 views
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Orla Kenny: A tribute

By Teresa Heeney

Tuesday 31 July 2018

I was very sad to hear of the death of Orla Kenny on July 19. Many of you will know Orla from her work as an artist and more so as the co-founder and passion behind Kids Own, the children’s book publishing partnership. Many Irish early years organisations will have worked with Orla and produced […]
tags blogKids OwnMinister for Children and Youth AffairsOrla KennyscéaltaScéalta BlogThe Lullaby Book
1875 views
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Cillian and Adam

By David King

Tuesday 24 July 2018

At Creative Kids & Co., we build our curriculum around the children.  We base it on their interests and on what emerges from our observations within the group.  Sometimes this leads to learning about dance, sometimes dinosaurs or buildings. Sometimes the children’s interests can take us on a journey that lasts weeks, or on occasion […]
tags AistearAutismBlocksblogLearning StoriesLearning Stories AwardLight tableScéalta BlogSíolta
3048 views
4 comments
folder DevelopmentLearning

San Miniato: Quality Early Years Education – A Tuscan Perspective

By Susan Quirke-Crowley

Tuesday 10 July 2018

On Sunday June 10th 2018, I had the privilege of travelling to San Miniato, Italy, with a group of 15 like-minded individuals on the Early Childhood Ireland Erasmus+ Léargas Study Trip in pursuit of international perspectives on quality within the Early Years Education Sector. Our host, Barbara, at La Bogetta Di Gepetto afforded us the […]
tags AistearblogCPDcurriculumERASMUS+FamilyLeargasSan MiniatoScéalta BlogSíoltaVertical grouping
2499 views
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Let the Children Play – Children’s Rights and our Responsibilities

By Dr. Emer Ring and Dr. Lisha O'Sullivan

Tuesday 03 July 2018

As early childhood educators, we have a strong belief in the value of play for children’s learning and development. This belief is based on national and international research, which repeatedly highlights the significant contribution of play to enriching children’s well-being, cognitive, social-emotional and physical development and for children’s success in school and beyond. For children […]
tags AsIAmblogINTOlincNCCAplayScéalta Blog
4287 views
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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
3494 views
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Who’s for a Photo?

By Kathleen Tuite

Tuesday 12 June 2018

Have you as an Early Years Educator ever been in the situation in your setting, where you want to take a photograph of an individual child or a group of children and suddenly realise that one or other of the children’s parents have not given consent for the child’s photo to be taken? What do […]
tags AistearblogConsentGDPRGeneral Data Protection RegulationPhotographsScéalta BlogSíolta
2742 views
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folder ArtDevelopmentLearning

Same Thing, in a Different Way

By Lorraine O'Connor

Tuesday 17 April 2018

‘Let’s make playdough’ is a popular sentence with many children. The simplicity of the flour, oil, water and colouring continues to amaze children each time it is made. Each time I engage in making playdough with a child or a group of children, the process appears wonderous, this is evident through their curiosity as they […]
tags AistearblogPlaydoughScéalta BlogSíolta
1332 views
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‘Tuning in’ with Learning Stories

By Catherine Mc Hugh

Tuesday 10 April 2018

As the final countdown commences to Early Childhood Ireland’s Awards night, the amazing stories from our sector continue to blow us away day by day. The hard work and dedication of the educators, who wholeheartedly devote their energies into providing the best care and education for the children in their setting, is oozing from each […]
tags AistearblogdocumentationLearning StoriesLearning Stories AwardNational Awards 2018Scéalta BlogSíolta
3987 views
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Montessori Musings

By Maire Corbett

Tuesday 16 January 2018

Back when I left school, I knew I wanted to work with young children, very young children. Yes, there was Primary Teaching, but those children were too old! I heard something from someone about Montessori, an approach to working with children under six and I was sold! I bought a book by EM Standing called […]
tags AistearblogECCEEM StandingHome CornerlearningMaria MontessoriMontessoriplayScéalta BlogSíolta
4893 views
0 comments
folder ArtLearningPlay

Making Scents of Christmas

By Evelyn Egan Rainy

Wednesday 06 December 2017

The Christmas Season is upon us, as evidenced by shopping centre aisles filled to capacity with tons of cheap, commercialized, plastic toys. For months now, great trucks thundered up and down the country delivering their cargo of ‘must have’ Paw-Patrol, Nerf guns and Lovabella dolls, stacks of colouring books and arts and crafts paraphernalia. Similarly, […]
tags ArtblogchristmasChristmas CreativityCraftFrosty the SnowmanGlitterSantaScéalta BlogScentsSequins
8339 views
2 comments
folder DevelopmentLearningPlayResearch

Play – No Overload!

By Amy McArdle

Tuesday 28 November 2017

A few weeks ago, I wrote the first of two blog posts called ‘Admin Overload?’, which documented my learning from a day shadowing Valerie Gaynor, member of ECI’s Policy and Implementation Panel and Manager of Creative Kids in Dublin. Since I have no personal experience in operating, managing or working in an early years service, […]
tags AistearblogFundingInvestmentPolicy and Implementation PanelScéalta BlogSíolta
3402 views
0 comments
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Technology Guilt?

By Debbie Mullen

Tuesday 07 November 2017

Next week is Science Week. When we think of the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) subjects, the issue of Technology and the related screen time can be emotive. Debbie Mullen considers this from a parent perspective. When your child discovers your phone or tablet, should you feel guilty about letting them use it? This […]
tags blogEngineeringLegoMathsScéalta Blogsciencescience weekSTEMTechnologyXbox
2476 views
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Admin Overload?

By Amy McArdle

Tuesday 31 October 2017

My name is Amy McArdle and I have been the Policy Officer in Early Childhood Ireland (ECI) since May 2016. My background is in law, human rights and politics, but I have been working in policy for over 10 years. There are a lot of policy issues relevant to early years services like those inspected […]
tags Administrative BurdenAdvocacyblogDCYAPIPPobalPolicyScéalta BlogValerie Gaynor
4959 views
1 comments
folder DevelopmentLearningPlay

Stories from the Heart

By Maxine Ryan

Tuesday 17 October 2017

When I set out on my journey writing learning stories I felt very anxious. Would I know what to write? Would I know what to look for? Did I have the right words to explain the story? I soon discovered the more I did it, the more comfortable I became with the process. I realised […]
tags AistearblogLearning StoriesMount EverestScéalta BlogSíolta
2950 views
0 comments
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Change in the Air

By Montessori and Early Childhood Professionals Ireland

Tuesday 10 October 2017

This week within the early childhood education and care sector there has been wide-ranging debate on a scale never seen before; a debate which has been refreshingly professional in nature. On Thursday 5th October, the Irish Times printed an article written by Carl O’Brien in which he discussed the release of a 10-point plan for the […]
tags blogMECPIMontessori & Early Childhood Professionals IrelandQualificationsScéalta BlogSeas Suas
3212 views
2 comments
folder DevelopmentLearningPlayRelationship BuildingResearch

Budget 2028 anyone?

By Frances Byrne

Tuesday 03 October 2017

The pace of change in the early years sector is something which only those of us trying to engage with it, can begin to grasp.  When your role, as mine does, involves analysing and responding to this change on behalf of a large, and growing membership, sometimes the grip feels quite tenuous, such is the […]
tags AffordabilityblogBudget 2018ECCEQualityScéalta BlogSustainability
2279 views
0 comments
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Looking in on Play

By Dr. Carmel Brennan

Tuesday 05 September 2017

In my previous post Stick to Play, we looked at how children play and how simple loose parts provide opportunities to be creative and imaginative. Just look at the following scenarios and you will see that through all these activities children are building their identities as capable participants, adventurers, possible Mams and Dads and big […]
tags blogFantasy playLearning Storiesoutdoor playplayRole playScéalta Blog
3688 views
0 comments
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Early Years Educators ‘Your Well-being Matters’ too!

By Dr. Jennifer Pope

Tuesday 13 June 2017

As summer approaches, consider the advice they give on the plane before take-off…’In an emergency, put your own life-jacket and mask on first before you attend to your children’. In our day to day work we are usually told to start with the child and be child-centred but when it comes to our health and […]
tags Aistearblogearly childhood educatorrelationshipsScéalta Blog
9067 views
0 comments
folder DevelopmentLearning

Reading to Superheroes!

By Aisling Hearne

Tuesday 11 April 2017

As a working Mam, I cherish story time with my son. It is our time. Every night a new adventure. Each story a new place we get to visit together. It is truly my favourite part of the day. Our bedtime routine usually begins with 10 minutes of an intense selection process. If my son […]
tags blogbooksreadingScéalta Blogstory time
3865 views
0 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
4605 views
0 comments
folder ArtLearningPlay

The Arts as a Curiosity

By Deirdre Rogers

Tuesday 28 March 2017

Deirdre Rogers is delivering a Masterclass at our Annual Conference: The Art as Curiosity. Click to book >> The Arts are a curiosity and children learn through the Arts. Children have a spontaneous desire to move, experiment and explore. I envy how their imagination allows them to create magical imagery and outrageous ideas, which make […]
tags ArtArtsblogcuriosityDeirdre RogersDrawingImaginationPaintingReCreateScéalta BlogSPICE Framework
4325 views
0 comments
folder DevelopmentLearningPlayResearch

Builders of the future

By Maire Corbett

Tuesday 07 March 2017

It is Engineers Week this week. The purpose is to celebrate engineering in Ireland.  This starts with us, the educators who are passionate about play, the educators who realise that the very young children we work with everyday are the builders, scientists, architects and engineers of the future! The concept of STEM subjects is a […]
tags Aldo FortunatiblogBuildersEngineeringEngineers WeekJengaLegoMathsNAEYCScéalta BlogscienceSTEMTechnology
3816 views
0 comments
folder DevelopmentLearningRelationship Building

Capturing the Wonder of Childhood

By Catherine Mc Hugh

Tuesday 21 February 2017

A day in the life of an early year’s educator can be fun, interesting and full of playfulness. It is commonly heard from educators that they love working with children because no two days are ever the same. Children are spontaneous, unpredictable and full of curiosity. We, as adults, need to find our place in […]
tags AistearblogChildhoodcuriositylearningLearning StoriesSíoltaWonder
5523 views
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