Kid Kare Creche & Montessori

Brand new Commercial unit for rent.

Location : 1 km outside Donegal Town on the Ballyshannon Road, at the new premises beside Kid Kare childcare facility.
Perfect for treatment rooms, speech therapy, physiotherapy etc.

50 square Meters floor Space Available : two treatment rooms, one waiting area with sink and storage facilities, one entry room and a disabled toilet, all on ground level with private and spacious parking facilities.

Contact Sharon / Keith on :
[email protected] 0872914414

***Office Administration Position Available ****

Kid Kare Crèche & Montessori are looking for part time:
Office Administrator

Duration: September 2024- July 2025 (maternity cover).

Roles and Responsibilities:
General office duties, making calls/ answering phone, emails, photocopying etc.
Registration of children for government schemes, ECCE, NCS, and CCSP - training on the schemes will be given if needed.

Requirements:
Strong computer skills- including: Word, Excel, Hotmail, and Gmail.
Good communication skills
Organisational skills
To work well as part of a team

Desirable Skills:
Knowledge of the Early Years sector
Experience with Hive, including NCS, ECCE, and CCSP registrations and maintenance
Experience with Famly software

This post is subject to Garda Vetting checks due to access to children.
Please email CV, references and certificates to: [email protected]

Kid Kare Crèche & Montessori
Tawnalary
Donegal Town
F94A895
Co. Donegal

www.kidkaredonegal.ie

Tel: 07497 40368

Kid Kare Crèche & Montessori

Delighted to have this lovely kind thoughtful and caring lady as part of our team the last 5 years. She is amazing with the children and so supportive to her co workers, congratulations Mary McCallig on your 5 year work anniversary 🥰🌷🥰🌷

I have heard far too many situations of children who are declared "naughty" because they throw(please do not use that word to describe a child...ever) .

Please listen to me:
Throwing is NOT bad behavior.
The bad behavior is adults who prevent children from throwing or worse, PUNISH children who throw.

It is the adult's responsibility to provide "YES!" opportunities to throw.

I have heard ALL the exceptions, with my favorite being "What if a child throws in anger?"

That is still not "bad behavior". That is simply a child who needs thoughtful coaching in regards to how to handle anger. It is also a child who, more often than not, does not have enough opportunities to throw.

Back to the point of this post:

Throwing is a NEED, it is usually NOT an expression of anger, it is a physical NEED.
It is one of Chris Athey's identified "Play Schemes". It is one of many ways children are wired to collect information about this world.

Think about all you learn from throwing different things! There is much to be learned.

Throwing also provides a gazillion benefits for the developing body!

Throwing IS PRE-writing (note: PRE=BEFORE). Throwing requires all the same muscles to coordinate together as writing does! Everything from the CORE to the fingers is needed for throwing. All of those muscles (core, upper back, shoulders, biceps, triceps, forearms, wrists, hands and fingers) need to be able to work together in order to throw AND in order to write.

Throwing is PRE-reading (again PRE=BEFORE). In order for eyes to read a line of words, they need to be able to track things in REAL SPACE (NOTE: not a screen. Eyes need depth, they need REAL. Throwing provides an excellent opportunity to develop visual tracking skills.

Throwing also involves eye-hand coordination, ESPECIALLY when what is being thrown is a pendelum. Eye-hand coordination is necessary for writing.

My go to solution for opportunities to throw is nylon shower puffs. They are inexpensive, they are soft and can easily be come a pendelum, or have a strip of fabric or ribbon added for even more enjoyment. Stuffed animals are also fantastic (I stocked up years ago on these stuffed mice from Ikea...wonderful for throwing)

I coach children to use the "noggin test". If they are unsure if something is okay to throw, tap it on your noggin (head) first. If it makes no sound, it's typically safe to throw. Is it a perfect test, no...but it creates an opportunity for a child to pause and think before throwing.

Obviously this method is probably not going ro work with an 11 month old who NEEDS to throw... but you can still begin coaching this technique AND....you can do your job by knowing who your throwers are and keeping safe materials near them.

Go forth and LET THEM THROW!!!
Change YOUR behavior.

****Beginning Sept 1, posts like this will only be available via email OR subscribing to this page!!!!! ❤️❤️❤️******

Email sign up: http://eepurl.com/iR2EKE
Subscribe here: https://www.facebook.com/100064041760545/subscribe/

***Book my VALUABLE keynote or workshop for your next training event : "The MISSED NEEDS in "MISS"behaviors". It is all about the needs ALL children have that, when missed by the adults leads to unnecessary stress in the environment. It addresses SIMPLE changes and awareness that leads to significant reductions in stress for both adults and children so EVERYONE can be their best self!****

A very happy birthday to Sophie who is new to the team, Sophie has just recently completed her BA in Early Childhood Care and Education and we are delighted to have her join us, Hope you enjoyed the celebrations at the weekend. 🎈🎉🎈🎉

What an emotional week we had here at Kid Kare as we come to the end of our pre school journey. 🎓

In the last few weeks we have celebrated our amazing children Graduating from Kid Kare and moving to primary school.
👩‍🎓 🧑‍🎓We are so proud off them and know they will rock junior infants.

We are so lucky to have the best early years educators and want to thank them for their dedication and passion they give everyday, we are blessed to have them on our team 💕

What a wonderful and very fast year we have had to make the most precious memories with you all, and thank you for choosing Kid Kare to be the start of your child’s learning journey 🎓

Thank you to our families for your kindness, cards and warm heart felt words this week, it means so much 🥰
We hope yous all have a wonderful summer 😊

Parents of children starting primary school in 2024 can collect a free Little Library book from any branch of their library. Here's a video of librarian Sinéad reading the English language book. Special thanks to publishers The O'Brien Press and author Paddy Donnelly.
My Little Libraries - Donegal librarian Sinead Noonan reads ‘Fox & Son Tailers’ by Paddy Donnelly https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mPlXLhJjdc

Why Hazel Couldn't Sit Down for Circle Time When we sat down for circle time, three-year-old Hazel didn't sit. Or rather, she would lower herself to her knees until she...

Happy Father’s Day to all our wonderful Dad’s. Have an awesome day 🎈🎶🎈

A few snaps of our Castle Adventure trip, amazing place, and the children all had an amazing time, 🐥🦆🦅🐮🐰

Some interesting events over the summer.

The first-ever International Day of Play was celebreated yesterday- 11 June 2024, and marks a significant milestone in efforts to preserve, promote, and prioritize playing so that all people, especially children, can reap the rewards and thrive to their full potential.

Beyond mere recreation, it is a universal language spoken by people of all ages, transcending national, cultural, and socio-economic boundaries. This shared passion fosters a sense of community and national pride.
It also fosters resilience, creativity, and innovation in individuals. For children in particular, play helps build relationships and improves control, overcome trauma, and problem-solving. It helps children develop the cognitive, physical, creative, social, and emotional skills they need to thrive in a rapidly changing world.
Restricting opportunities for play directly impedes a child's well-being and development. In educational settings, play-based learning has been recognized as an effective approach to engage students actively in the learning process. It helps make learning more enjoyable and relevant, thereby enhancing motivation and retention of information.

What better way to start the International Day of Play than taking part in a music and movement session, kindly given to the children in our ECCE sessions in Kid Kare by our parents Katie and Danny McDyre. A million Thank you’s, it was enjoyed by all, children and adults. 🎶🎶🎶

Empower young minds and they will become to trust in themselves and build resilience 🧡

What is child led play?

From Zen reader and amazing EC professional that I can’t wait to meet in-person some day, Shirley Devuono Rempel:

Free play or child led or play based programming does not mean there is no structure, no routine, or no adult expectations. Will the room be busy, loud, messy at times, and even chaotic at times? Yes, because we work with children, and honestly, it would be weird if a room of children were always sitting still and quiet.

What this means is that educators follow the children's leads and needs and facilitate the play by giving the children the time, materials, and space to fully participate as they want and need. This is directly from the Alberta Flight Framework, taught in Alberta ELCC programs, and by almost all of the ELCC coaching programs out there.

Educators set up the environment based on relationships they have with the children, based on both conversations with children and parents, and based on observations the educator has through the day. That is what the educator controls.

The children control what to play with, how to play, with whom to play or not, and for how long to play.

If you have any questions about this ask here, check out the Flight Framework online (there is a PDF of the framework, get it printed and bound at Staples for about $40 or, you can purchae a physical copy through the MacEwan bookstore) and if you havent already done these, register for Possibilities for Practice, Supporting Curriculum Practice or the MacEwan Flight Course.

Please remember this is best practice and its part of our jobs to be practicing current methods of pedagogy as thats what is best for the children and truly honors them. This is what this group advocates for. Always.

The importance of repetition and child lead play

One of The Secret Superpowers of Learning: Repetition Top 5 reasons repetition is beneficial for learning. In this video we talk about how repetition helps give children a sense of security, how it deepens learn...

A Very happy but belated birthday to Sandra from our little Discovers room, (birthday was Wednesday 😊) Sandra is an amazing early years educator who does amazing work and care with her little people every day. Hope you enjoyed the birthday celebrations 🎉🎉🎉

https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/understanding-challenging-behaviour-in-the-early-years-tickets-910283631847?aff=oddtdtcreator

https://www.idonate.ie/cause/donegaldownsyndrome

Some photos of our fundraiser yesterday, thanks again everyone for a fun day.
Link above ⬆️ to donate to Donegal Down Syndrome.

Todays the day and the sun is shining ( at the minute) 🤞🤞some more lovely prizes left in for our raffle - Thank you 🙏🏽
Please leave any baked goodies for the cake sale into the office or in your child’s room this morning or at ECCE collection . 🎫🎤💚💛💚💛 🍪 🎫🎤💛💚💛💚

Another big thank you to our parents and staff who have donated these prizes and vouchers for our raffle on Wednesdays fundraiser. 🎫
Only 2 days to go….. let’s hope the weather stays nice ☀️
Don’t forget to donate online to Donegal Down Syndromes.

A very happy 30th birthday to Sheena, who has just recently joined our team. We have known Sheena for a while as her little boy is in our Montessori Earth room. 🌍 Have a wonderful weekend and enjoy the celebrations 🎈🎉🎈🎉🎈🎉

Exciting times: Less than a week to go to our annual fundraiser, more gifts has been left in for our raffle on Wednesday, thank you to the parents. Much appreciated.
Down Syndrome Donegal colours are yellow & green, so if possible please dress your children in the colours of green or yellow, for our Wednesday’s event.
💚💛💚💛💚💛💚💛💚💛💚💛💚💛

I post a LOT on this topic.
I am passionate about helping adults understand that sitting young children at a table and telling them what to do is a huge detriment to their development.

Children NEED to MOVE their whole bodies. That movement happens best through child-led play, where incredible social-emotional development also happens, quite organically. ZERO curriculum necessary. (Im looking at you social skills curriculum)

I think we forget what PRE means, and far too many do not understand human development.

PRE = BEFORE, PREVIOUS TO

EVERY movement a child makes IS pre-writing.

Rolling, crawling, standing, balancing, climbing, pushing, pulling, jumping, running, pumping, hopping, throwing, catching, walking, skipping, dancing, squeezing, grasping, picking, cutting and threading are ALL "Pre-writing activities"

*****PRE-writing lives authentically in child-led play. ZERO adult lesson plan nor directing required. In fact, adults who interrupt play with pre-planned activities often times actually get in the way of what a child is doing so effortlessly. *******

It is so simple, so natural....if adults would take the time truly understand how our bodies work.

When children have ample time(and by ample I mean AT LEAST five hours a day) to lead their own play, you can ✅ pre writing off the list.

Remember: Writing does NOT begin with the fingers and hands. It begins with the CORE. The core must be strong and coordinated and able to work together with upper back muscles, shoulders, biceps, triceps, forearms wrists, hands and finally fingers.

Writing is about more than just fingers and hands. Pre-writing stations that involve sitting and squeezing, threading, grasping and tracing is just an itty bitty part of pre writing.

I ditched adult-directed "pre-writing" 10 years ago...the results have been children who have bodies and brains developed through their play PLUS intrinsic motivation (their own reason to write) who can simply WRITE. No need for months/years of tracing letters or isolating a letter for a week. Children need bodies that are ready + brains that are ready + a meaningful reason to write. ❤️❤️❤️

The biggest part of advocating for play-based and child-led practices comes from referencing decades of supporting science and highlighting new research that continues to affirm these ideas.

Join neuroscience educator, Nathan Wallis for 'Engage the Brain' on Day 1 of our Free to Play Summit, May 18th, as he challenges cultural misconceptions and champions the clear benefits of play.

For more information on how to reserve your free pass click the link below:

https://freetoplaysummit.com/summit2024/

Less than two weeks to go to our annual fundraiser this year for down syndrome Donegal .

Thank you to our parents who have left in some lovely gifts for the raffle prizes. It is much appreciated. 🩷

Happy birthday to my other half, the man beside me all the way, I’d be lost without you Keith. Hope the rest of your birthday is fabulous.  🥰🎉🎈🎂🎉🎂 🎈