Giraffe Training Academy – Preschool carers Seminar

Spring is here!

We are often asked by parents when is it appropriate for their children to return to creche after an illness.

Christmas is a fun time of year for children and their families.

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.  

We are currently hiring experienced childcare staff for roles in our centres located in Dublin, Kildare and Meath.

Wobbler care Seminar – Giraffe Training Academy   Giraffe Childcare’s Training Academy hosted a training day in May 2018 for 60 of our childcare practitioners with a focus on interactions with children in the Wobbler age group –  1 to 2 year olds. It was very educational day,  and we all enjoyed sharing ideas on curriculum […]

Last Saturday, Giraffe Childcare’s Training Academy hosted a training day for 40 baby group carers. Our senior crèche managers acted as our in-House workshop facilitators on the day, and the group broke up into smaller workshops for the afternoon. The topics ranged from preparing the learning environment for young infants, to curriculum planning and effective communication. A […]

Our wellbeing week was full of activities running across all of our centres, including the LunchtimeMile, healthy eating and wellbeing initiatives.

All of our centres were full of creativity and inspiration last week leading up to the festivities of Easter. The centres took part in our annual Easter project where they were all provided with an Easter pack of art supplies to allow the children explore and express their own creativity. As part of our Reach […]

Mindfulness for children is about awareness of their thoughts, well-being and feelings.

Lá fhéile Pádraig Sona Daoibh go Léir! ☘️ 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).St. Patrick’s Day is an exciting time for all children! In the run up to the day, […]

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 […]

Learning to Learn Every Day All of our centres are currently hosting parent developmental evenings. The parent evenings are an excellent opportunity for parents to discuss these records with their child’s key carers, and to look at their child’s holistic development linked to the Aistear curriculum themes : ·         Exploring and Thinking ·         Well Being ·        […]

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 […]

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 […]

Congratulations to the 2017 Preschool Graduates! Here are some photos that capture the excitement of the most recent celebrations.

Learning through play

The workshops covered topics such as play-based learning, transitions for children moving rooms, and a wide range of skills demonstrations modules to promote best practice in care for the Wobbler age group

Staff from each of our centres get together once a year to do a 10km mini marathon. Over 80 staff members signed up to take part in the 35th annual VHI Dublin Women’s Mini Marathon, one of the biggest all-women charity events in the world. Team Work! The rain on Monday June 5th certainly tested our spirits!  But […]

The children were all very egg-cited when a special Easter visitor hopped into our creches last week!

Every year in the month of March, Giraffe children and staff spend an entire day in their comfy pyjamas!

The Carers and children at Childcare Liffey Valley held a special charity day in aid of A Princess called Emily.

At Giraffe, we believe that through a commitment to our role as carers and educators me make a positive difference to the lives of families, a children, our community and each other.

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 […]

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

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 […]

“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 […]

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 […]