MID TERM BREAK

We will be closed for mid-term break from Monday 31st October until Friday 4th November,

re-opening Monday 7th November –

Happy Halloween everyone!

It’s all getting very Hallowe’eny this week at The Children’s House!! We will be getting ready for Hallowe’en by doing lots of arts & crafts; we will be making pumpkin, ghost & spider art & learning about the parts of the pumpkin – before we carve it! We will also be learning about Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights which originated in India, which falls this week; this is a wonderful occasion which celebrates the victory of light over dark, and good over evil; we will be learning about all the different preparations and rituals that are practised at this time such as the lighting of lamps, the cleaning of houses to let go of unnecessary things and worries, and the wearing of new clothes to mark the beginning of a new journey by forgetting all the troubles of the past and stepping into the light. Then we will be doing some spooky science experiments – making a bubbling witches brew, & slime – and at the end of the week we will be having a fancy dress Hallowe’en party, & playing lots of games – it’s going to be a great week!!!

5 Little Pumpkins

Five little pumpkins sitting on a gate,                                     (hold up 5 fingers)
The 1^st one said “Oh my, it’s getting late!”                             (put hands to cheeks)
The 2^nd one said “There are witches in the air,”                      (flutter fingers above head)
The 3^rd one said “but we don’t care!”                                      (shake head)
The 4^th one said “let’s run & run & run”                                 (mime running with arms)
The 5^th one said “I’m ready for some fun!”                            (thumbs up)
Then ‘Oooo’ went the wind, and out went the lights…           (clap hands)
And the five little pumpkins rolled out of sight!                      (roll arms)

Hibernation is in the air this week in The Children’s House…we will be talking about some of the animals that winter here and how they survive through the colder months, some by gathering food supplies and sleeping as much as possible; in particular we will be looking at the mouse, squirrel, frog, ladybird, bat and hedgehog – the last 2 being the only Irish mammals that truly hibernate, meaning they drop their temperature and heart rate and go into a type of coma for a few months to conserve energy! The children will be making a bed for the model hibernation animals to sleep in our classrooms over the winter, doing a hibernation animal puppet craft, role playing with the puppets, and at the end of the week we will do a drama of the book: We’re Going on a Bear Hunt. We will also be decorating the classrooms for Hallowe’en, & using the Tuff Trays with playdough to make emotion faces!!

Bear is Sleeping (Sung to: Frere Jacques)

Bear is sleeping, bear is sleeping,
In the cave, in the cave.
I wonder when he’ll wake up? I wonder when he’ll wake up?
In the spring, in the spring!

This week we will be continuing with the topic of Autumn and planting bulbs, as well as focussing on our emotional well-being. At the pre-school age, children are usually learning a lot about emotional self-regulation, often needing support to handle their emotions; we as adults can help by doing things such as naming their emotions for them e.g. ‘I can see that you’re feeling upset/ angry/ frustrated by what’s happened’, and coming up with possible solutions e.g. ‘maybe taking some deep breaths would help you to feel better’ / ‘do you think you’d like a hug?’; then at a later stage when the child is familiar with using strategies to calm themselves, ask them to choose their own self-regulation strategy, e.g. ‘what do you think would make you feel better?’. So at the start of the year, we talk about emotions, how they make us feel, and start to use various props in the classroom such as an emotions wheel (children can turn the arrow on the wheel to point to the image of the emotion that they’re feeling). We will be focussing on relaxation techniques like yoga, and deep breathing, and expression of emotions through using puppets.

During the week we will be making a worry box with each of the classes – this is a box that we decorate together, and if any of the children are worried about something, we write it down on a piece of paper and put it into the box until the child decides that they’re not worried about it anymore, whereupon they can tear it up and put it in the recycling bin! This gives a very real representation to the children that worries are temporary things, which come and go, so it can help to put anxieties they may have to rest. And at the end of the week we will plant daffodil bulbs; gardening is a very relaxing and grounding activity that children really love to take part in. Lastly, we will also be doing an experiment to demonstrate heavy vs light, discovering which object falls faster due to its weight, & looking at weighing scales – showing that just because something is big it might not necessarily be heavier than a smaller object, e.g. a large leaf is lighter than a conker!

If You’re Happy & You Know It (using LÁMH)

If you’re happy & you know it clap your hands,
If you’re happy & you know it clap your hands,
If you’re happy & you know it & you really want to show it –
If you’re happy & you know it clap your hands!

If you’re sad & you know it wipe your tears…
If you’re angry & you know it stamp your feet…
If you’re scared & you know it say ‘oh no’…
If you’re happy & you know it shout ‘hooray’!!…

It’s hard to believe October is here already, but it’s been a fantastic start to the school year!! The children have all settled in so well, and are happily working away in the classrooms in both individual and group activities. We are holding Zoom observations days in all the classes this week, where family members are invited to observe the children at their work, to give an understanding of what they are doing while at school (as we know that some children are less communicative at home about what exactly they do than others!) Following this we will have parent teacher meetings, which is a great opportunity to review the observations, to discuss any questions there may be, and to have a chat about your children’s progression throughout the year in general and how you can be involved in that as much as possible. We value your input and will be inviting you to come in throughout the school year, whether to join in activities, tell a story at circle time, or demonstrate/talk to the children about your own specialised skills! Also, please remember that if you ever have any issues or concerns, we are always here to talk to.

This week we will be continuing with the topic of Autumn, and talking about leaves! It’s a wonderful time of year to observe the change of colour in the leaves all around and to see them falling on the ground. The children will be asked to collect & bring in autumnal objects for their nature table, and we will be examining and trying to identify different leaves, and will learn an Irish poem about dancing leaves to accompany this topic. We will be doing leaf rubbings & also have a lovely handprint leaf craft this week, as well as doing music & movement pretending to be leaves falling from trees! Finally, we will be doing some science experiments, the first after talking about the lengthening nights and shortening days, using a torch & spinning globe in the darkened classroom to see how the sun shines on the earth so that on the opposite side of the earth to us it is always night time when we have our day time, and vice versa. The second experiment will be making ‘goop’ – 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!

Duilleoga Deasa (Nice Leaves)

Duilleoga deasa deasa, (nice nice leaves)
Duilleoga deasa buí, (nice yellow leaves)
Duilleoga deasa deasa, (nice nice leaves)
Ag damhsa leis an ngaoth. (dancing with the wind)

We’re doing all things Autumn this week at The Children’s House, as the season is definitely kicking in now! With the weather getting colder & the evenings (sadly!!) getting shorter, we’ll be talking about these noticeable changes & encouraging the children to tell us of any other changes they see in their environments, & to bring in any leaves, nuts, etc that they might find on the ground to put together a nature area in their rooms.

We will be learning about the lifecycle of the apple, doing apple printing art, & making stewed apple – yum!! The children will also be starting their All About Me books, a project that we do throughout the year with them, & they will be making their own self portraits!!! We will end the week with some mindfulness, always a great tool to introduce from the earliest age along with yoga – even the smallest exercises such as putting their hands on their tummies & focusing on taking long deep breaths can really help a child to learn how to relax when needed. Closing their eyes & listening to the sounds all around them, or to music is another nice activity to do, as well as mindful colouring.

Here we go Round the Apple Tree

Here we go round the apple tree,
The apple tree, the apple tree,
Here we go round the apple tree,
On a cold & frosty morning.

This is the way we climb the ladder,
Climb the ladder, climb the ladder,
This is the way we climb the ladder,
On a cold & frosty morning.

This is the way we pick the apples,
Pick the apples, pick the apples,
This is the way we pick the apples,
On a cold & frosty morning.

This is the way we eat the apples,
Eat the apples, eat the apples,
This is the way we eat the apples,
On a cold & frosty morning!

It’s Pets Week this week at The Children’s House, so we’re asking families to bring any appropriate pets to come & visit us this week in school! We’ll be learning all about different pets, what they need & how we can look after their needs, safety of being around animals & we’ll be doing different pet sorting activities, feather painting & washing muddy pets sensory trays – it’s going to be great fun!!

Slither Like a Snake (poem with actions!)

Slither like a snake,
Bound like a bunny,
Scurry like a hamster,
Talk like a parrot,
Peck like a chicken,
Lick like a kitten!

It’s all about road safety this week at The Children’s House, so we will be doing many safety activities during the week, such as practising crossing the road safely (stop look & listen), doing a traffic light game, as well as some process art activities like making car tracks using cars, paint & coloured card – lots of fun!! Teaching children about road safety from a young age is very important – especially living in places with lots of commuting traffic such as Sallins or Naas – so developing habits such as wearing high vis jackets, holding hands crossing the road, and remembering to stop look & listen when crossing are something we can help to reinforce from preschool age.

Twinkle twinkle traffic light

Twinkle, twinkle, traffic light,
On the corner shining bright,
Red means stop, green means go,
Yellow means very, very slow!
Twinkle, twinkle, traffic light,
On the corner shining bright.

The first full week of Montessori at The Children’s House is here!! We will be talking all about our families & friends in school; it’s important for the children that we establish the link between their home/family & school from the beginning, so they see that their families are valued, & a consistency is built for them between the 2 places. The children love to see photos of themselves & their families in their class, so we’re asking all children to bring in a family photo this week which we’ll put up on the wall to make a family display. During the week we will then be talking about our families, discussing the similarities & differences, naming all the people in our families who love us, and talking about what makes our own family so special. Verbalising and naming these things aloud can help reinforce the children’s feelings of security and reassure them of all the love surrounding them – a lovely thing to do at any age!

We will also be learning & practising a lot of practical skills needed in the classroom, such as carrying chairs & trays, rolling mats, saying please and thank you, and using a quiet voice indoors – we’ll be using drums and shakers to explore the difference between loud and soft sounds! Then at the end of the week we’ll be doing some yoga and relaxing exercises with the children.

Families

Some families are big                    (arms out wide)
Some families are small                (arms in close)
But I love my family                       (point at self)
Best of all!!                                       (throw arms up in air!)

Rolaí Polaí (Irish rhyme)

Rolaí polaí suas, suas, suas,                    (roll arms and raise them up)
Rolaí polaí síos, síos, síos,                       (roll arms and lower them down)
Rolaí polaí amach, amach, amach,        (roll arms and stretch them out)
Rolaí polaí isteach, isteach, isteach!      (roll arms and bring them in, hugging yourself)

A very warm welcome to The Children’s House to all our wonderful new and returning children and their families!! We have a short week to settle everyone back in, and we will be focusing on getting to know each other, learning each others’ names, practising how we walk slowly and talk quietly in the classroom, and lots of songs, games, and fun activities in circle time – we really can’t wait to get to know the classes!

Circle Time Song

Hello everyone and how are you today?
We’ve come to our circle time to sing and laugh and play!
And when we’re up we’re up, and when we’re down we’re down,
And when we’re only halfway up we’re neither up nor down.
So roll your hands so slowly, and roll your hands so fast –
Give your hands a clap clap clap,
And place them on your lap lap lap!

We are holding our open day on Monday 29th August , from 10am – 12pm, & 7 – 8pm

All are welcome to come in, view the school with your children and meet the teachers…

Can’t wait to see you there!!

Classes resuming on Wednesday 31st August