This week we will be learning about our earth, and how to take care of it! The full time children will be starting to make their individual world maps this week, and we will be talking about the importance of taking care of the earth by not littering, and by recycling; to follow up on this we will be going on a Spring Clean Walk, where we take our new litter picker out for a walk and clean up the car park! It’s a real shame to see so much litter in our environment, but we are going to show how everyone can do their own bit to help keep the earth clean and litter free. As well as this, the children will be doing some Spring/Easter crafts, making some very cute chicks!

Welcome back everyone & hope you had a wonderful St Patrick’s Day and long weekend! We’re back to a packed week, with Mother’s Day coming up as well as starting our group project about the world. With all the negativity that’s going on today in the world at large regarding differences between people, we decided that we’d really like to celebrate with the children all the nationalities and differences that exist in the school – as a microcosm of the world – that make us all so special and unique, and in this way further promote the diversity and inclusion that the children naturally embrace. To this end, we’re starting this week to look at the world and our place in it at the moment, to talk about where some of our families have come from, and the different languages that are used at home. We will be learning how to greet each other in Irish, English, Polish, Nigerian, Chinese, Spanish, Arabic and Bangladeshi languages – to name a few!! As part of this project we will be inviting family members in to talk about where they’re from and show photos if possible, so be prepared!

As well as this we will be making some crafts for Mother’s Day from bread (!), pastry cutters, paint, glitter – always a favourite! – and wool, and later in the week practising more yoga, and using the musical instruments.

Monsieur Pouce (Mister Thumb – French fingerplay)

Toc! Toc! Toc! Monsieur Pouce, es-tu là?      Knock! Knock! Knock! Mr Thumb, are you there?
Sshhh, je dors!                                                     Sshhh, I’m sleeping!

Toc! Toc! Toc! Monsieur Pouce, es-tu là?     Knock! Knock! Knock! Mr Thumb, are you there?
Sshhh, je mange!                                                Sshhh, I’m eating!

Toc! Toc! Toc! Monsieur Pouce, es-tu là?     Knock! Knock! Knock! Mr Thumb, are you there?
Sshhh, je bois!                                                     Sshhh, I’m drinking!

Toc! Toc! Toc! Monsieur Pouce, es-tu là?     Knock! Knock! Knock! Mr Thumb, are you there?
Oui, je sors! Bonjour!!                                       Yes, I’m coming out! Hello!!

Happy St Patrick’s week everyone!! This week will be a short one, and we will be preparing for the national celebrations on Friday for St Patrick’s Day by making flags with the children and having a little parade on Wednesday Have a lovely long weekend everyone!!

The Children’s House will be closing on Wednesday 15th March, re-opening on Monday 20th March

Istigh sa Zú

Istigh sa zú,                               (In the zoo)
Tá an babaí cangarú                (Is the baby kangaroo)
Léim anois, léim anois,           (Jump now, jump now)
Léim anois go luath!                (Jump now quickly!)

Istigh sa zú,                                (In the zoo)
Tá an mamaí cangarú              (Is the mammy kangaroo)
Léim anois, léim anois,           (Jump now, jump now)
Léim anois go luath!                (Jump now quickly!)

Istigh sa zú,                               (In the zoo)
Tá an dadaí cangarú                (Is the daddy kangaroo)
Léim anois, léim anois,           (Jump now, jump now)
Léim anois go luath!                (Jump now quickly!)

It’s all about spiders and insects this week at The Children’s House! The children have been showing a LOT of interest in spiders for the past while, having spotted (the very odd) spiders in the school – and they’re always checking to see if they’re still up on the ceiling, which they generally are, despite enthusisatic brushing of their webs!! We will be learning about the differences between spiders and insects (spiders have 8 legs, insects 6, spiders’s bodies are in 2 segments, insects’s are in 3 etc); it’s a good way to get children used to small creatures and overcome any fears they may have, as well as practising the skills of comparing and classifying within the first studies of entomology! The children will be making their own insect or spider lifecycle, and also making playdough representations…it promises to be a very fun, if slightly scary week!!

Incy Wincy Spider

Incy wincy spider climbed up the water spout,
Down came the rain and washed the spider out.
Out came the sun and dried up all the rain…
And the incy wincy spider climbed up the spout again!