News & Events

In Adamstown this week, Chef Audrey made one of the children’s favourite dinners: Shepherds pie. This hearty dish is featured as part of our Autumn menu this season and so far it’s going down a treat in the centres – There are never any left overs when our chefs prepare this warming dish! We use either lamb […]

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 […]

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 […]

The pumpkin is a type of squash vegetable and has become one of the most iconic symbols of Hallowe’en.Pumpkin carving wasn’t always an Irish tradition but it seems to grow every year. It is a great sensory activity for children with the added bonus of creating a Halloween decoration at the end. You can also […]

Celebrating Grandparents Day at Giraffe!

We recently held a special informational evening with our Parent Coach, Aoife Lee of Parent Support. The topic of the parent discussion was “Managing Change Together -Settling into Crèche, Moving Rooms and Preparation for School”. Our parents had provided feedback over the last few months on what they found were some of the more challenging aspects of parenting. […]

Summer is festival time in Giraffe! The children look forward to the Summer Festivals every year, and every Giraffe Centre hosts different events through the summer months. This year, we saw Teddy Bear Picnics, Jungle Days, Magic Shows & Magicians, Beach days, Family BBQs and much much more! We have as many fun outdoor activities […]

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 […]

In 2013, the staff at Giraffe Park West welcomed Erica to their toddler room. She was an energetic and friendly child who loved dressing up in her princess dress and holding tea parties! Erica was diagnosed with Leukemia in 2014, and has since had to spend a lot of time receiving special treatment at Crumlin Children’s […]

Supporting Wellbeing in the Workplace! April 8th was Ireland’s second National Workplace Wellbeing Day. Giraffe Childcare were proud to participate in this initiative to help improve employee health through promoting better nutrition and physical activity. Our teams came up with creative fitness activities and focused on wellbeing throughout the day. Healthy Eating Initiatives On Friday morning, all of […]

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 […]

Mum’s are wonderful We celebrate our wonderful Mums in Giraffe by holding a Mother’s Day Breakfast on the last Friday before Mother’s Day. The children help to decorate with lovely Mother’s Day themed arts and cards and gifts and the Mums are invited to have breakfast with us in the centres, or take one of […]

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

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 […]

As the excitement of Christmas and Santa letters begin to ripple across homes around the country, both children and parents prepare for the build-up and giddiness that goes with it. Along with Easter and Summer time, the Christmas holidays are one of the longer spells that children are at home from school and crèche, like […]

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. […]