Winner of Best Creche 8 years in a row
Christmas is a fun time of year for children and their families. It is about creating fun memories that last a lifetime. Quite often, on the lead up to Christmas, parents and children are busy getting prepared for the Christmas season. Sometimes, it is just nice to pause and take stock of what is important and for young children it is time! They just adore it when the adults get down to their level and get involved in what they are doing. As adults, this can be often tricky to be in the right headspace for this. As we have hundreds of mental lists building in our heads of all the things that need to get done. If you can set aside 30 minutes – it will be the best 30 minutes of your life! To see your little one smile, laugh and cherishing every moment will be the best gift you can ever receive.
Christmas time is great for this as there is some many fun little activities that you can do.
Us adults do not often understand the importance and value of play in a young child’s life. It assists a child to learn life skills and often social interactions. There is so much to do -pretending to make a family train using the dining chairs it opens the world. Discussing where you are going, what you will see along the way and where you can stop will create a magical new world for you both to experience along the way! Who knows you might even get to meet Santa Claus himself!
If taking the magical train is not up your street, why not try creating a Christmas tea party with dolly and all her little friends can often spark conversations about friendships and other little social interactions.
Just having a boogie around the kitchen to all the Christmas songs that we as children once loved can be really good fun, it can tire everyone out and use up all the excess energy whilst creating little memories.
There are hundreds of ideas online, but this is a really cute one from Sitters.co.uk.
Upcycle your Christmas BaublesTry jazzing up some of your old Christmas baubles for your Christmas tree by creating some cute finger snowmen. It is easy and simple to do plus great fun!
1xChristmas tree Bauble1x washable paint – White, brown and red paint1x paint brush
For some the idea of baking with children can cause panic. The thoughts of flour going everywhere can cause fear! However, baking does not have to be in the traditional sense of baking. It could be to make some simple no-baking treats for all the family to enjoy with very little mess. Here is a real easy recipe from Tesco!
Once the chocolate has stopped dripping and is starting to set, hold the dippers over the coconut or sprinkle bowls and scatter pinches over them, spinning to coat all over (any falling off will go back into the bowl). Once coated, leave to set on the baking paper for at least 1 hr in a cool place. Keep in a cool place for 2 weeks if using lollipop sticks, 2-3 days if using candy canes
Spring is here!
It is that wonderful time of year again where the witches and goblins are out on show and there are magnificent displays of pumpkins everywhere.
Mindfulness for children is about awareness of their thoughts, well-being and feelings.
While the seasons are slowly changing from winter to spring, and the days continue to get a little bit brighter, the children in Giraffe have enjoyed a wide range of spring time activities. Below are just some of the wonderful events that have taken place over the last few weeks in our centres: Pyjama Day […]
February has been an exciting month in Giraffe! With so many wonderful ‘early spring’ activities taking place over the past few weeks, we want to share some of the magical photos with you here. Fun in the Snow! Some of our centres enjoyed playing outside in the snow on a couple of occasions this month. The […]
A team Workshop focusing on the Preschool learning environment.
Keeping calm…
Halloween is just around the corner and it’s time to prepare! Whether you’re invited to a party, you’re planning on going trick or treating, or whether you’ll just be hanging out at home, kids just love to dress up for this special occasion. Here are some ideas for easy homemade costumes that won’t break the […]
Here are the highlights from our Summer Festivals in 2017!
Congratulations to the 2017 Preschool Graduates! Here are some photos that capture the excitement of the most recent celebrations.
Learning through play
The children are waiting patiently at the lunch table, while Chef Natalia presents them with one of their favourite dishes…. Pork & Apple Casserole! Natalia has been our chef at Giraffe Blanchardstown for 4 years, and creates exciting seasonal menu options for the children. Pork and Apple Casserole from our Spring Menu The ingredients in this […]
Peter’s story-time tradition started after our Leopardstown centre held their annual Grandparents Day in September & invited the children’s grannies and granddads to join them for games and activities.
The children were all very egg-cited when a special Easter visitor hopped into our creches last week!
Some helpful travel tips
Celebrating our national day makes us all feel proud to be Irish, and it allows the children to gain a better understanding of Irish culture and traditions ( Aistear themes, Identity & Belonging).
Reading is an intrinsic part of our culture and a life skill.
Staying fit as a Family
Giraffe Training Academy – Toddler Staff Workshop Last Saturday, Giraffe Childcare’s Training Academy hosted a training day for 63 practitioners with Lillian and Carol from Early Childhood Ireland, delivering workshops on Facilitating Play Based Learning. Our senior crèche managers acted as our In-House workshop facilitators on the day, and covered a wide range of topics on Managing Children’s […]
What is Heuristic Play?
Halloween is the time when scary skeletons, spooky ghosts and wicked witches roam the world. All of the Giraffe centres enjoyed the build up to Halloween last week, and the children and staff certainly got into the spirit of the festivities! The children were delighted to dress up for the whole day for their Halloween parties. For […]
Weaning on to Solid foods
Tips for Toilet Training
The Affordable Childcare Scheme is currently available for ‘FIS’, Medical Card holders and One-Parent families. It is also available to Adult Learners enrolled in VTOS or ETB courses.
Tips for preventing cold and flus this winter
Celebrating Grandparents Day at Giraffe!
If you really want to break the cycle of rivalry and children clashing with one another, allow them to pick activities that they can do together.
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 […]
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 […]
Supporting a clingy child
Dealing with Biting
Understanding Nutrition
Planning for the potty is all about timing… it’s when your child is ready! You will know when the time is right when your child has developed enough physical skills to be able to walk and climb the stairs, to wash their own hands, and are showing an interest in what is happening in the […]
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Giraffe have 24 crèches across the greater Dublin area, Navan & Kildare, find which is closest to you....