CHILDREN'S HOUSE BLOG

this week

23rd – 25th June

Here we are again, the last days of the school year have arrived already!! We had such a great week last week doing water safety & water play, & having Angela do all her amazing balloon creations – it was a great way to celebrate our last full week with the children, along with sending home their All About Me books on Friday, always an emotional time for the staff….during this short week we will be having puppet shows on Monday, board games on Tuesday and a party on Wednesday to finish up the year with, and in between we’ll be spending precious time with your children before they head off for the summer – it’s not an easy thing to say goodbye to all the little people who are moving on to ‘big’ school after spending the year or 2 getting to know them and being part of their wonderful journey of growth & learning, but they’re ready for that step, and it’s an exciting time for them and for us all! If you don’t have a child returning in the near future, we hope that you & your child will continue to visit any time – this year we had secondary school students on work experience who were ex-pupils of the Montessori, so don’t worry, we can always find a space for your children!!

We would like to thank you all as their families for being such a big part of your children’s early education journey with us – your involvement & support has made the year all the more special for us, the staff, as well as your children. We appreciate so much all the help you have given, whether it was coming on the sponsored walk, walks to GAA pitch, school tour, primary school visit, being part of Pet Visit Week, Grandparents Week, or coming into school to be part of your child’s day – it’s meant a lot to the children as well as the staff, & has enriched the preschool experience for us all! We want to thank you for giving us the privilege of having the care of your most precious little people for the past year & wish you all a wonderful summer ❤️❤️❤️

The Children’s House will be closing on Wednesday 25th June for summer holidays,

re-opening Wednesday 27th August

– have a wonderful summer everyone, and thanks for another amazing year!!

9th – 13th June

Welcome to another fun week at The Children’s House!! During this week we’ll be having the school visit as well as celebrating Father’s Day; on Tuesday we will be bringing the children who are going to be going to St Laurence’s National School in September up to visit the school – they will get to look at the school classrooms, the grounds & playground, & see what the routine of the day is like – this really helps with the transition in September. Then throughout the week we will be talking about the man in our lives before Father’s Day this Sunday – it could be a dad, grandad, uncle, neighbour – someone who’s a positive male influence in the children’s lives, & doing an art activity for this.

Father’s Day Song (tune: If You’re Happy & You Know It)

If your daddy makes you laugh jump up high,
If your daddy makes you laugh jump up high,
He minds you when you’re sad,
And that makes us very glad,
If your daddy makes you laugh jump up high!

If your daddy makes you happy clap your hands,
If your daddy makes you happy clap your hands,
He keeps you safe all day,
And he smiles & jokes & plays,
If your daddy makes you happy clap your hands!

4th – 6th June

This short week we’re having a LOT of fun activities!! The children will be dressing up on  Wednesday, and we’ll be having Sports Day with lots of fun games & activities in the garden & classrooms on Thursday – egg & spoon races, jumping hurdles, doing penguin races with ball between their legs, bean bag balancing races, cone zig zag races, obstacle courses….then on Friday we’ll be doing our annual Pyjama Day combined with Teddy Bears Picnic, so all the children are invited to come into school in their pjs with their favourite teddies or toys for the day…it’s going to be a busy fun-filled few days ahead!!

Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear

Teddy bear, teddy bear, turn around,
Teddy bear, teddy bear, touch the ground,
Teddy bear, teddy bear, jump up high,
Teddy bear, teddy bear, touch the sky!
Teddy bear, teddy bear, touch your nose,
Teddy bear, teddy bear, touch your toes,
Teddy bear, teddy bear, touch your knees,
Teddy bear, teddy bear, sit down please.

26th – 30th May

It’s all go this week as we’ve got our school tour on Friday to the Playbarn in Johnstown!! The 4 classes (the 2 morning sessions plus the 2 afternoon sessions) are going to be going at the same time, so during the week we will be pairing the children up into partners, revising our safety rules e.g. lining up, road safety, listening to instructions & safety on the bus, & also telling them which adult will be in charge of them; we are very grateful to all the parents who have volunteered to come with us, as without their help we wouldn’t be able to go on this sort of an adventure!!

As well as this, the children will also be making worry dolls – very small and colourful dolls traditionally made in Guatemala, which the child can tell their worries to and put under their pillow before going to sleep, and according to folklore, the doll worries instead of the child who can then sleep well and wake up with their worries gone! While the child is making their worry doll we always emphasise that they should always tell their parents or teacher if they have any worries – the doll is just an extra help during the night!

The Wheels on the Bus

The wheels on the bus go round & round,
Round & round, round & round,
The wheels on the bus go round & round,
All day long!

The wipers on the bus go swish, swish, swish…
The horn on the bus goes beep, beep, beep…
The doors on the bus go open & shut, open & shut, open & shut…
The driver on the bus says ‘move on back’, ‘move on back’, ‘move on back’…
The babies on the bus say ‘wah wah wah’, ‘wah wah wah’, ‘wah wah wah’…
The mammies on the bus say ‘shush shush shush’, ‘shush shush shush’, ‘shush shush shush’…
The daddies on the bus say ‘I love you’, ‘I love you’, ‘I love you’…

 

19th – 23rd May

It’s Grandparents Week this week in The Children’s House! We are celebrating grandparents, and asking if any of the children’s grandparents would like to join us during the week and talk about what things were like when they were children/ show us photos/ read a story at circle time/ anything they like at all!! The children will be talking about their grandparents, if they are lucky enough to have them, & we will be celebrating those who love us in our families.

Later in the week the children will be taking part in the Barnardos Big Toddle, when they can dress up for the sponsored walk to raise funds for vulnerable children in Ireland. They will also be playing the “compliments game”, which is a lovely activity for children to think of a compliment, or positive thing, to say about their friends at circle time!

Families

Some families are big                               (spread arms out wide)
Some families are small,                          (bring arms close together)
But I love my family,                                 (point to chest)
Best of all!                                                  (throw hands up in air)

12th – 16th May

We’ll be talking all about summer this week at The Children’s House, as all this sunny weather is making us feel excited about the summer coming!! The children will be discussing the signs of summer arriving – for example, days getting longer & nights shorter; warmer weather so we’re wearing shorts & t shirts; flowers blooming & trees full of leaves; swallows returning from Africa for the summer; butterflies flying around; baby birds learning to fly; fruit & vegetables growing e.g. strawberries & tomatoes.

As well as this, we will be doing a group lesson about the importance of the sun – talking about how plants couldn’t grow without the sun, & without plants what would herbivores eat? Without herbivores what would carnivores eat? What would people eat? This acitivity is the first step in learning about the food chain!

Finally, the children will be enjoying a lot of activities celebrating the sunshine – water wall play, obstacle courses outside, bubble painting & car wash activity on the tuff tray!!

Mr Sun (with Lámh signing)

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=445673402692249

Oh Mr Sun, Sun, Mr Golden Sun,
Please shine down on me,
Oh Mr Sun, Sun, Mr Golden Sun,
Hiding behind the tree,

These little children are asking you,
To please come out so we can play with you,
Oh Mr Sun, Sun, Mr Golden Sun,
Please shine down on me!

6th – 9th May

This week at The Children’s House, we will be learning all about the last continent on the children’s world map – Africa!! We will be discussing interesting facts about Africa, talking about the animals that live there, & the children will be tracing, painting & glueing the continent on to their maps at the end of the week. The children will get to look at African musical instruments, listen to music, play with a sensory tray, & do African animal yoga!!!

On Safari (tune of Frere Jacques)

On safari, on safari,
Elephants, elephants,
Zebras & lions, zebras & lions,
Tall giraffes, tall giraffes!

On safari, on safari,
Wildebeest, wildebeest,
Rhinos & hippos, rhinos & hippos,
And meerkats, and meerkats!

28th April – 2nd May

Welcome back to everyone after Easter, we hope you had a lovely time with your families!! This week we will be hearing all the children’s news after their 2 weeks off school, & progressing with our world map project. We will be learning about the continent of Australia this week, where many children may have relations living, & about different animals &  people that live there. The children will be tracing & painting their own continent to stick on their world map, & be doing koala handprint art! We will also be discussing the change of month as we welcome May in….

5 Little Koalas (tune of 5 Little Monkeys)

5 little koalas jumping in a tree,
1 fell off & bumped his knee,
Mammy rang the doctor & the doctor said:
“No more koalas jumping in the tree!!”

4 little koalas jumping in a tree…
3 little koalas jumping in a tree…
2 little koalas jumping in a tree…
1 little koalas jumping in a tree…

7th – 11th April

It’s all about Easter this week at The Children’s House; we will be decorating the school for Easter and doing some lovely arts and crafts, & towards the end of the week the children will be cooking some yummy Easter nests. Finally on Friday our last day of school we will be having some fun games, and the traditional Easter egg hunt!! We hope you all are looking forward to a wonderful Easter break ahead!

We will be closed for holidays from this Friday April 11th, reopening until Monday April 28th – have a lovely break everyone!!

5 Little Easter Eggs (fingerplay)

5 little Easter eggs, lovely colours wore,
Mother ate the blue one, then there were 4.
4 little Easter eggs, 2 and 2 you see,
Daddy ate the red one, then there were 3.
3 little Easter eggs, before I knew,
Sister ate the yellow one, then there were 2.
2 little Easter eggs, oh what fun!
Brother ate the purple one, then there was 1.
1 little Easter egg, see me run,
I ate the last one, then there were none!!

31st March – 4th April

April is arriving this week, and Spring is marching on!! At The Children’s House we will be continuing on our group project; this week the children will be adding Antarctica to their own world maps & learning all about the continent – interesting facts like it is the coldest, windiest continent, people don’t live there for long but scientists are always studying there, 5 million penguins live there, & there are only 2 seasons – winter & summer!

It will also be science week, so we will be doing a lot of experiments throughout the week – from doing sink & float experiments with different objects in water; making ‘gloop’ (mixing cornstarch with water to show how a mixture can have the properties of a solid or a liquid depending on the pressure exerted on it); using a weighing scales to illustrate heavy vs light; making ‘explosions’ using vinegar & baking soda….all this as well as going for a nature walk outdoors! Children are born with a natural curiousity about how things work in their world and they love to experiment and discover in their environment – their questions should be encouraged as their potential as scientists is unlimited!!

I’m a Little Penguin (tune: I’m a little Teapot)

I’m a little penguin, black & white,
Short & wobbly, what a sight.
I can’t fly at all but I love to swim,
So I’ll waddle to the water & dive right in!