Fabulous February


Friday, February 23rd, 2018

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 staff and children bundled up into their winter warmers, and frolicked in the snow! For some of the children, it was their first experience in a frozen playground, and they had a wonderful time. In one or two centres, we even had snow indoors for our sensory play tables!

Pancake Tuesday

Here are the children’s instructions for pancakes: Pour, Stir, Mix, Mix, Mix, Pour, Cook, Flip, Fold ….and Enjoy!

Love & Friendship on Valentine’s Day

On February 14th, many of the older children created beautiful Valentine’s Day cards and artwork to share with their friends and families. They also spoke about friendship and kindness, what it means to care about their families and how we can share with our younger siblings too!

Sensory play

Everyday, the children are using their senses to explore real-life objects made from different materials that come from nature and also from around the house. Through this sensory play, young children begin to make their own choices and decisions and start to gain an understanding of the world around them. This is such an important part of the children’s holistic development. The baby group in Elm Park are exploring the different textures of these sensorial materials, and the sounds they can make with wooden spoons and baking trays!

Chinese New Year Celebrations

Chinese New Year (or the Spring Festival) began  this year on Friday the 16th of February, and will be celebrated until the 2nd of March. In the Chinese Zodiac calendar, 2018 is the year of the dog. Thank you so much to Emma’s Daddy, Richard in Navan who came in to teach the preschool class all about the traditions and celebrations that happen during Chinese New Year.

Read more about the daily and weekly activities in Giraffe.


Gardening Fun with Children

Spring is here!

Wednesday, March 22nd, 2023

Read More

The A to Z of Getting Fit with Your Children

If you’re a parent, then you know it’s a constant challenge to balance keeping the kids both healthy and entertained at the same time! That’s why we at Giraffe Childcare have come up with a clever, informative and adorable infographic, titled The A-Z of Getting Fit with Your Children. From Football to Yoga, Playgrounds to […]

Saturday, February 11th, 2023

Read More

Christmas fun with the family

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

Tuesday, December 6th, 2022

Read More

Have a spook-tastic weekend!

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.  

Wednesday, October 26th, 2022

Read More

Supporting your child’s emotional well-being

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

Tuesday, April 3rd, 2018

Read More

Spring has Sprung!

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 […]

Friday, March 16th, 2018

Read More

Giraffe Training Academy – Preschool carers Seminar

A team Workshop focusing on the Preschool learning environment.

Wednesday, October 11th, 2017

Read More

Making a plan to stay calm

Keeping calm…

Monday, October 9th, 2017

Read More

A History of Halloween Costumes

Starting way back in the 8th century, dressing up and playing tricks is a Halloween tradition!

Thursday, October 5th, 2017

Read More

Easy Ideas for Halloween Costumes

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 […]

Wednesday, October 4th, 2017

Read More

Summertime Fun @ Giraffe

Here are the highlights from our Summer Festivals in 2017!

Monday, August 28th, 2017

Read More

Our Wonderful Giraffe Graduates

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

Thursday, July 13th, 2017

Read More

Risky Play – Teaching our children to trust themselves

Learning through play

Wednesday, July 5th, 2017

Read More

Tuesdays with Grandpa Peter

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.

Wednesday, May 24th, 2017

Read More

Easter Egg-citement at Giraffe

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

Wednesday, April 19th, 2017

Read More

St. Patrick’s Day celebrations at Giraffe

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).

Monday, March 20th, 2017

Read More

Children’s Books We Love

It’s never too early to foster a love of books with your child. Stories will teach them all they need to know about the world they live in,

Monday, February 27th, 2017

Read More

Staying fit as a Family

Staying fit as a Family

Wednesday, February 15th, 2017

Read More

Their world is our world

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 […]

Thursday, November 10th, 2016

Read More

Affordable Childcare Schemes

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.

Wednesday, October 12th, 2016

Read More

Beating the winter bugs

Tips for preventing cold and flus this winter

Wednesday, October 5th, 2016

Read More

102 Giraffe Staff Members Take Part in Women’s Mini Marathon!

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 […]

Wednesday, June 22nd, 2016

Read More

New Year, New Routine

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 […]

Tuesday, January 5th, 2016

Read More

Managing Sibling Rivalry over the Christmas season

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.

Thursday, December 17th, 2015

Read More

13 preschoolers | 2 teachers | 2 rugby coaches|1 bodhrán player and a whole lot of fun

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 […]

Wednesday, October 14th, 2015

Read More

Father’s Day – Happy Daddies and Happy Little Ones!

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 […]

Wednesday, July 1st, 2015

Read More

Planning for the Potty

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 […]

Tuesday, March 26th, 2013

Read More
Show Buttons
Hide Buttons