Scéalta – The Early Childhood Ireland Blog

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folder Learning

Aistear is ten years old!

By Mary Daly

Monday 14 October 2019

In this weeks’ Scealta ‘Aistear’s Celebrates its 10th Birthday and reflects on how many practitioners around Ireland started to dip their toe in the water and saw that the framework wasn’t something to be feared. Instead, it was something to be embraced. It reflected very well what they were trying to do every day – helping children to learn and develop through play within the context of loving relationships.
tags AistearChildren and familiesDepartment of Education and SkillslearningNCCAplayrelationships
733 views
0 comments
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
489 views
0 comments
folder DevelopmentPlay

Social Skills Versus Academic Skills – Why the Conflict?

By Carol Duffy

Tuesday 25 June 2019

Recently we had a call to the Early Childhood Ireland office. A journalist was writing a piece on the importance of developing social skills over academic skills at the preschool stage, and wondered if we had a comment. As I played with the reply in my head, I quickly recognised the complexities of providing an […]
tags Academic SkillsAisteardevelopmentlearningplayScéalta BlogSíoltaSocial Skills
2291 views
1 comments
folder DevelopmentLearning

Budding Engineers

By Lilian Joyce

Tuesday 05 March 2019

It’s Monday again, and as usual the weekend has flown. As you wait for the children to arrive you do a quick visual check around the room. The table in the home corner is set invitingly for four, complete with tablecloth, a small vase of flowers and empty plates. As you wonder what exotic dishes […]
tags AistearEngineering IrelandEngineers WeekImaginationplayScéalta BlogSíoltaSociodramatic play
684 views
0 comments
folder DevelopmentPlay

Growing Up Outdoors

By Dr. Suzanne Egan and Dr. Jennifer Pope

Tuesday 15 January 2019

Did you know that nearly one in six Irish parents don’t think it’s safe for their five year old child to play outside at home during the day? Irish and international research indicates that neighbourhood safety has an impact on levels of outdoor play in young children. We recently analysed data from the Growing Up […]
tags AisteardevelopmentGrowing up in IrelandGrowing up Outdoorsoutdoor playplayscéaltaScéalta BlogSíolta
2103 views
1 comments
folder Play

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
3072 views
0 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
2671 views
0 comments
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
7620 views
2 comments
folder Play

Making it Count

By Michelle Quinlan and Therese Roche

Tuesday 15 May 2018

At Totally Kids we like to play outside. Actually, we love to play outside. In fact, we are almost always found playing outside! But it has not always been this way. We are an ECCE service based in St. Joseph’s School in Tipperary town. Our story began eight years ago, and back then our routine […]
tags AistearMud kitchensoutdoor playplaySíoltaWeather
2295 views
0 comments
folder LearningResearch

Inspiring Practice in Pen Green

By Valerie Gaynor

Tuesday 24 April 2018

The staff of Creative Kids and Co. from Dublin, were very lucky to spend the February mid term break on a visit to the Pen Green Centre for Under 5’s and their families. The visit was planned to inspire practice, and to get new ideas for our spaces. Pen Green is located in Corby which […]
tags AisteareducationInspirationaloutdoor spacePen greenplayQualityScéalta BlogSíolta
2071 views
1 comments
folder LearningPlayResearch

Finding Out & Sharing

By Kathleen Tuite

Tuesday 30 January 2018

Each year Early Childhood Ireland offers an opportunity for researchers, academics and students to present the findings from their research at our Irish Early Years Research Seminar. This year is no different so we are calling all researchers who have an interest in the Early Years to be part of the conversation. Click here to […]
tags AistearIrish Early Years Research & Practice Seminar 2018playresearchResearch Seminarrisky playSíolta
1626 views
0 comments
folder DevelopmentLearningPlay

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
3213 views
0 comments
folder ArtDevelopmentLearningPlay

Playschool: Not what it used to be!

By Deborah Reynolds

Tuesday 21 November 2017

Over the past decade, there has been a seismic shift in how Early Years Services operate. Parents who have used Early Years Services over this time, will definitely have observed these changes. Every year there seems to be new requirements for settings. It can be difficult for us professionals to keep up with new policy […]
tags AcademicsAistearArtEmergent CurriculumparentsplayPlayschoolPolicyScéalta BlogSíolta
7485 views
6 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
2627 views
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folder Play

Stick to play

By Dr. Carmel Brennan

Tuesday 15 August 2017

This week it was really encouraging to hear about a package of sensory play equipment that will be made available free to settings, from the DCYA.  Could this herald another step on our Aistear journey, another step in our national thinking. A shift from talking about literacy and numeracy and giving children an early start […]
tags AistearDCYAplay
3331 views
0 comments
folder DevelopmentLearningResearch

Studying enquiring minds – the challenges of early childhood practice research

By Maja Haals Brosnan

Tuesday 27 June 2017

If we put the researching child at the centre of our own research we do not have to spend weeks or months thinking up the best research question, the kinds of questions we should be asking, what to observe, what to note down, what to analyse. Take any given day in the baby, wobbler or preschool rooms and there is a plethora of questions and lines of enquiry right there!
tags AistearChildren's Research Networkoutdoor playplayresearchSíolta
2568 views
0 comments
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Playing with Roles

By Lorraine O'Connor

Tuesday 30 May 2017

The complexity of children’s play continues to leave me with many questions. Recently, I was visiting my friend, and her curious 2-year-old who has begun to show an interest in doctors and patients. On this day, she ran excitedly across the sitting room, and suddenly, progressed into a slow walk with both hands on her […]
tags Aistearplayrole playing
1408 views
0 comments
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Children’s Rights in Small Places

By Sheila Long

Tuesday 23 May 2017

Valuing the ECEC professional – Children’s Rights in Small Places Many ECEC practitioners working in early childhood settings in Ireland will have some awareness of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, ratified by the Government of Ireland in 1992.   If you were to hold a full copy of the UNCRC in […]
tags AistearChildren's RightsECCEplay
6416 views
1 comments
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Beauty is in the eye of the Beholder

By Carol Duffy

Tuesday 09 May 2017

As I scanned the garden I was struck by the “state” of the place. I pondered how earlier in my life I might have been perturbed about what I was looking at. A natural space not as nature may have intended, but as what it can become when it is a loved place of play. […]
tags outdoorsplayScéalta Blog
3097 views
1 comments
folder LearningPlay

Listening to Children: Children’s Perspectives on Quality

By Karen Cremins

Friday 28 April 2017

Whilst researching the topic “Quality in ECEC” as part of my Degree in Early Years Studies, it became apparent that there were a lot of opinions (from adults!) on what quality in an early years setting looked like. However, I was interested in what the preschool child’s perspective was on quality in an early years’ […]
tags DegreelearningplayQualityTraining
5552 views
2 comments
folder Learning

Reflections on Degree Level Training

By Dr. Mary Moloney

Tuesday 25 April 2017

People often ask why somebody would need a degree to work with young children. The assumption being, that little training is needed to ‘mind’ a child. Thankfully, there has been a shift with regards to the importance of early childhood education and care worldwide, and the complexity of working with young children is increasingly in […]
tags AistearlearningplayScéalta BlogSíoltaTraining
13290 views
2 comments
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Wonderful Loose Parts

By Maire Corbett

Tuesday 18 April 2017

In the run- up to Easter I was in a preschool setting. The educator had brought in some polystyrene eggs for the children to paint for Easter. She had them on a counter top ready to introduce them when the time was right. One little boy saw them an immediately appropriated them! You see, he […]
tags EasterplayScéalta Blog
2826 views
0 comments
folder DevelopmentLearningRelationship Building

Traffic Lights – a child’s perspective

By Milica Atanackovic

Wednesday 04 January 2017

‘I feel a bit sad today,’ said my five-year-old daughter when I collected her. ‘Did anything happen to make you feel sad?’ I asked. She had just started primary school and it was a few weeks into the term. She described a behaviour management strategy in place in her classroom, ‘It’s the traffic lights, when […]
tags AistearBehaviourExclusionlearningplaySelf-EsteemSíoltaTraffic Lights
3879 views
1 comments
folder DevelopmentLearningPlayRelationship Building

Sharing Play Stories

By Dr. Carmel Brennan

Tuesday 22 November 2016

‘The tigers can’t be near the giraffes ‘cos they might hurt them’ I’m intrigued by the stories that children tell in their play. They are stories that one player suggests and another player continues, contributing another idea or initiative. So the stories are emergent because the players have to respond to one another’s ideas and […]
tags Aistearplayplay storiesSíoltastories
3417 views
0 comments
folder LearningPlay

Playfully becoming the Mathematicians of tomorrow

By Catherine Quinn

Tuesday 18 October 2016

It’s that time of the year again… Maths Week has arrived. Last year, Maths Week Ireland engaged well over a quarter of a million people. What an accomplishment! Children from all corners of Ireland celebrated their passion for learning maths. As early year educators we all know that it is not a time to sit […]
tags AistearMathematiciansMathsMaths WeekMaths Week IrelandplaySíolta
3175 views
0 comments
folder LearningPlay

Educating Feisty Children

By Dr. Carmel Brennan

Tuesday 11 October 2016

    Margy Whalley is coming to Dublin. She will present a keynote, along with Aldo Fortunati, at the Early Childhood Ireland conference on Working with Children from birth to 3 years in Marino Institute of Education, Dublin on the 27th October. It’s an occasion not to be missed. Margy has been a long-time friend […]
tags AistearAldo FortunatieducatingfeistylearningMargy WhalleyplaySíolta
1785 views
0 comments
folder Play

Discovering Play with a Grandchild

By Dr. Carmel Brennan

Tuesday 06 September 2016

The Power of Human Nature I became a grandmother to Dónal almost a year ago. I’m obviously a mother (4 times over) and I’m an early childhood specialist with a particular interest in children’s play. I bring all that experience to being a grandmother – and yet what a learning journey grandparenting is all over […]
tags AistearbabiesdevelopmentgrandchildinteractingplayrelationshipsSíolta
1850 views
1 comments
folder Play

Outdoor Play: A Prayer for Mushroom Hill

By Carol Duffy

Tuesday 02 August 2016

“Soon they discovered a very big hill with mushrooms growing all over it, and they very aptly named it “mushroom hill”.  Deansrath Family Centre winner of our Innovation in Outdoor Provision Award  shared with us their story of the children experiencing their local park. One part of their story refers to the hill. Images and […]
tags Aistearmushroomsoutdoor spaceoutdoorsplaySíolta
1684 views
2 comments
folder Risk Assessment

Child’s Play – Risky Business

By Carol Duffy

Tuesday 19 July 2016

RISKY ENVIRONMENTS, – do the words conjure up interesting engaging spaces that are exciting to be in, or do they stir up feelings of apprehension within early years educators? Risk of course means different things to different people. In early years terms, we often celebrate risk-taking without maybe realising it. Think about the cheers of […]
tags Aistearplayriskrisk assessmentSíolta
11990 views
3 comments
folder Play

Outdoors – Simply Spectacular

By Carol Duffy

Tuesday 12 July 2016

Do you find yourself watching travel shows and longing for the pleasure of sinking into that azure sea, or practically eating that scrumptious dish with Jamie Oliver as he tantalisingly raves about its taste? You can almost feel the frustration of sensory deprivation. I feel the same frustration when I try to write about the […]
tags Aistearoutdoor spaceoutdoorsplaySíolta
12302 views
0 comments
folder Learning

Developing curriculum for children in mixed age groups

By Kathleen Tuite

Wednesday 29 June 2016

Is your curriculum designed to follow the interests of children? Is it open-ended enough to meet the needs of mixed-age groupings? With the introduction of the second free pre-school year many practitioners are wondering about their curriculum.  How will they cope with children from maybe 2 and a half years old to 5 years plus, all […]
tags AistearcurriculumlearningplaySíolta
18586 views
10 comments
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