News & Events

Giraffe Training Academy  – Wobbler Staff Workshop Giraffe Childcare’s Training Academy hosted a training day for 75 practitioners on Saturday with Lillian and Carol from Early Childhood Ireland, delivering a session on Facilitating Play Based Learning.  There were also a range of skills demonstrations modules delivered by some of Giraffe’s senior crèche managers to promote best practice in […]

Our step by step guide to pumpkin Carving with the family!

Celebrating Grandparents Day at Giraffe!

Staff from each of our centres get together once a year to do a 10km mini marathon. This year a record number of our staff – 102 (!) signed up to take part in one of the biggest women’s sporting events of the year in Ireland – the VHI Dublin Women’s Mini Marathon. Our staff […]

“It takes a big heart to help shape growing minds”. (Anon) Every morning, the pitter-patter of tiny feet and the sound of joyful little voices resonate around the rooms at Giraffe Childcare. Every morning, the carers, chefs and staff teams welcome the children and families at their centre with energy and enthusiasm for the upcoming […]

We had a great time celebrating Easter in Giraffe. The centres did fabulous artwork to decorate their centres for Easter, they made wonderful Easter bonnets for an inter-centre competition, the children had Easter egg hunts and a special visitor turned up to make their hunt even more egg-citing! Easter Arts and Crafts In Park West […]

Fun, educational and sometimes surprising, our 33 (and a Third!) Facts about St. Patrick’s Day infographic is bound to put a smile on your face for this St. Patrick’s Day

In Giraffe we believe play is a crucial part of any child’s development. Children play because they enjoy it, and its fun!  We try to make each child’s learning experience from day one in our setting as positive, fulfilled, and as imaginative as possible on a daily basis. We carry out many different activities daily […]

For a parent or child, we all know what it feels like to get that full nights’ sleep, we are bright, well rested and full of energy and ready to take on the day, for our children they are content, full of beans and are ready for action! Often with young children, we can experience […]

As we wind down from the Christmas festivities, encouraging calm after the sugar rush, and as Santa returns to the North Pole, we begin to focus on the widely anticipated return to our normal day-to-day family life, whether that is back to work, school or crèche. Although we may have sustained some form of routine […]

Preparing mum and baby for the world of work……… After we spend those first six months or more nurturing our tiny babies, it’s decision time for many parents as they have to consider their return to work and that very important decision of childcare. For many it can be a roller-coaster of emotions, some finding […]

Each year, children of all ages eagerly anticipate the arrival of Christmas Day. The cultural and the commercial aspects of the holiday are marketed very effectively to children and it can be challenging for parents both to prepare for the build-up to Christmas and to manage their children’s excitement. Everything’s so commercial now, it’s easy […]

Making your own salt dough at home couldn’t be easier and it’s a fun activity for children of all ages. Recipe for salt dough 1 cup of salt 2 cups of plain flour (don’t use self-raising as it raises when cooked) 1 cup of lukewarm water Add food colouring or glitter for a festive look. […]

The lucky children in Preschool Kenya, Celbridge had a very special and interesting visitor last week during Science Week! David, one of our parents, is a scientist who collaborates with the Science Foundation Ireland and he took time out to visit us in Preschool Kenya. As our theme of the month is Space, we asked him if […]

Heuristic play and creating treasure baskets are a great way for babies and toddlers to learn about the world, writes our Director of Childcare, Dearbhala, in today’s Irish Independent. What is Heuristic Play? New mums often encounter the term Heuristic Play for the first time at a mother and toddlers group or when their child […]

Here’s a great idea to make use of the pumpkin flesh after carving your pumpkin. These are a lovely treat for a Halloween party too. You will need: Pumpkin puree (from one large pumpkin) 250g Self Raising Flour 150g Caster Sugar 2 tsp baking powder 1 tsp cinnamon 1/2 tsp ginger 1/2 tsp all spice […]

Pumpkin carving can be a fun activity for you and your child to enjoy. Here we tell you how to do it safely, with your child’s help. At this time of year, pumpkins are easily sourced in most supermarkets and farmers’ markets. Choose a small to medium-sized sturdy pumpkin by knocking on the skin (as you would […]

The children and staff at Giraffe Leopardstown host a rugby day in honour and support of the Irish Rugby team. Our Giraffe Leopardstown pre-schoolers had so much fun showing their support by preparing rugby related artwork and learning ‘Irelands Call’ assisted by their teachers, Ciara O’Reilly and Ivonne Gonzalez. Our deputy manager, Roisin Byrne, accompanied […]

Last week it was Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. To celebrate it with all our children relocated from Israel, we invited Maya’s mum Efrat to come today to bake a Challah with us at our centre in Celbridge. Challah is a special Jewish braided bread. The one made for Rosh Hashanah is made with […]

Father’s Day is a great chance to celebrate the Daddies and it is a lovely family day. We brought a real sense of that into the centres with many activities leading up to the day.The boys and girls in our crèches had a busy week leading up to Father’s Day preparing gifts and cards for their […]