The 8th of September marked International Literacy Day and the children at Glen Outdoor School had a great day marking the special event. The children really enjoyed sharing their favourite stories with their friends and we had great fun in our teepee. Here’s some pics from the day…
We had a great day supporting this year’s National Pyjama Day. Run by Early Childhood Ireland, it’s a great opportunity to support some amazing charities and this year all funds will go towards three children’s charities, each supporting children under 6 years of age with additional needs. The children had a great day and here’s some pics from Glen, Ray and Letterkenny…..
As the Christmas season approaches, we wanted to let you know a few key dates for your diary.
Friday 16th – ECCE Children’s Christmas Songs for Parents at 11am
Wednesday 21st – ECCE Children Finish Up
Thursday 22nd – Toddlers and Babies Christmas Show 11am
Friday 23rd – Closing for Christmas at 1pm
Tuesday 3rd January 2017 – Re-Opening
Monday 9th January – Children Starting New ECCE Term
We would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your support over the year and wish you a very peaceful and happy Christmas and look forward to 2017.
A lack of sunshine didn’t dampen our fun this summer and we really enjoyed hosting a series of week long summer camps throughout June, July and August. Each of the summer camps had a different theme combining the magic of the outdoors with science experiments, natural arts and crafts, drama and music, water fun, baking and getting fit. The children had a ball. Check out the pictures below…
We’re very excited about the upcoming Early Childhood Ireland ‘Play on the Brain’ conference which is being held this weekend, Friday 17th and Saturday 18th April at the Croke Park Conference Centre, Dublin. The two day event will involve over 40 inspirational early years’ practitioners and practices from around the country and will recognise the positive impact they have on children and families. The awards will be presented by Nóirín Hayes, visiting Professor at the School of Education, Trinity College Dublin and our very own Glen Outdoor School team will receive two ‘Learning Stories’ awards. We are also in the running to receive an ‘Overall’ award at the conference.
The first award is in recognition of The Glen Outdoor School “Enormous Turnip” activity. The activity takes places in autumn, the same time as harvest season and the children re-enacted The Enormous Turnip story so they could harvest their own pumpkin. The children put so much effort into it and they had to pull and transport the pumpkin. Parents often ask, how will we do all this and we reply, the Glenswilly way….
The second award, which has been shortlisted for the overall award, is in recognition of “Our Christmas Play”. The children gathered their ideas of what they’d like their Christmas play to look like and then went around and gathered up all natural, outdoor materials to create their stage and setting. It was truly wonderful to watch children use their imagination and create something brilliant from the materials that surrounded them. They’re hoping to have something very special for next year too.
Early Childhood Ireland represents over 3,500 childcare professional members who support over 100,000 children and their families through preschool, afterschool and full day-care provision nationwide. We’re honoured to be recognised in this way and we look forward to a great night on Friday. For more information on the awards and Early Childhood Ireland contact Carmel Doyle 087 247 3537.
We’re hosting a series of information evenings for parents on the benefits of outdoor play in childhood. It’s a great opportunity to find out more about our schools and there’s no obligation to register. Come along, have a chat and get answers to any questions you might have. You can also meet some of our parents who’d be happy to tell you why outdoor schooling is right for their children. Here are the details (double click on the image to enlarge it) and please feel free to spread the word….
And here’s an article on our schools from The Letterkenny Post…
