How to write an abstract
How to write an abstract
Insights And Future Developments - A review of Early Years Education Focused Inspection: April 2016-June 2017
Insights And Future Developments - A review of Early Years Education Focused Inspection: April 2016-June 2017
https://www.education.ie/en/Publications/Inspection-Reports-Publications/Evaluation-Reports-Guidelines/a-review-of-early-years-education-focused-inspection-april-2016-%E2%80%93-june-2017.pdf
Ethical Research Involving Children (ERIC)
Taken from their website:
"ERIC aims to assist researchers and the research community to understand, plan and conduct ethical research involving children and young people in any geographical, social, cultural or methodological context.
ERIC is motivated by a shared international concern that the human dignity of children is honoured and their rights and wellbeing are respected in all research, regardless of context. The critically important element in achieving this is YOU – your attitudes, values, beliefs, assumptions and practice – since these ultimately shape the research experience for children much more than any written procedures or checklist.
Many researchers report feeling isolated in their research activities, despite the increasing emphasis placed on the value, importance and legitimacy of research that captures the views and perspectives of children and young people. This sense of isolation is increased when it comes to making informed decisions about complex ethical and methodological issues.
This ERIC website has been specifically designed to provide a rich repository of information and resources to assist researchers, and guide and improve research involving children. It also aims to encourage critical reflection, dialogue and collegiality within and across the international research community.
We hope you will find this website useful in reflecting on your research and the children and young people involved. We warmly welcome your comments, suggestions and contributions."
To go to their website click HERE
Create an Anti Bias Environment with Diverse Resources & Toys
Russian Cathedral Architectural Building Blocks
Creating an environment that offers all children an inclusive experience whilst simultaneously creating opportunities to engage in diverse play with resources that offer an insight into different cultures, abilities, families, or ways of life can often be hard for services. Some websites we would recommend researching include:
Below, we offer a range of resources and toys that may help with that hunt to create an Anti-Bias environment. Clickable links to find more information and purchase the resources are offered below each item:
(1) Anatomically Correct Dolls
(2) La Baby Asian Washable Soft Body Play Doll For Children
(3) La Baby Hispanic Washable Soft Body Play Doll
(4) La Baby 11-inch African American Washable Soft Body Play Doll
(5) Lottie Dolls Bundle (Irish Company)
• Muddy Puddles Lottie Doll
• Kite Flyer Finn Boy Doll
• Forest Friend Lottie Doll
• School Days Lottie Doll
• Autumn Leaves Lottie Doll
(6) Indian Doll
(7) Indian Doll
(8) Boy Doll With Downs Syndrome With Dark Hair
(9) Budkins Grandparents Set
(10) Click n' Play Doll Wheelchair and Crutches Set, Perfect For 18 inch dolls
Doll Wheelchair and Crutches Set
(11) Friends with Diverse Abilities Figure Set
(12) Traditional African Outfit
Doll Clothing Traditional African Boy
(13) Traditional African Outfit (dress)
Doll Clothing Traditional Afrian Girl Dress
(14) Traditional Asian Outfit
Doll Clothing Traditional Asian Boy
(15) Traditional Asian Outfit
Doll Clothing Traditonal Asian Girl
(16) Traditional Oriental Outfit
Traditional Oriental Doll Clothing
(17) Somali Traditional Dress Clothing
(18) Sari Doll Clothing
(19) Multicultural Dolls Clothes
Multicultural Dolls Clothes Set
(20) Model India Tuk Tuk / Autorickshaw / Rickshaw Taxi
(21) WONDERWORLD HOUTEN TUKTUK - VA
(22) Le Toy Van New York Car Set
(23) Le Toy Van London Car set
(24) Melissa & Doug® Sushi Slicing Wooden Play Food Set
(25) KidKraft® Shabbat Set
(26) Learning Resources Multicultural Food Set
(27) Melissa & Doug® Roll, Wrap & Slice Sushi Counter
(28) KidKraft® Chanukah Set
(29) HABA Russian Cathedral Architectural Wooden Building Blocks - 55 Piece Set
Russian Cathedral Architectural Building Blocks
(30) HABA Middle Eastern Wooden Architectural Building Blocks - 50 Piece Set
Middle Eastern Wooden Architectural Building Blocks
(31) Lego City Bus Station
(32) American Girl Diabetes kit
(33) Star Gazer Lottie Doll
(34) Our Generation Professional Doctor Doll
(35) This is where we had hoped to put the male dolls dressed in attire traditionally associated with female dominated professions to counter-balance the female dolls dressed as scientists, doctors, pilots etc. but we couldn't find any. We would appreciate it if our members could please email us if they know of any such dolls available to purchase. This makes us wonder about the messages we are giving to boys as well as the messages we are giving to girls… We feel a blog coming on!
10 Children's Books that deal with Bereavement
On the Wings of a Butterfly by Belinda Messer
Ten children's books that deal with differing aspects of bereavement and death. Click on the link underneath the book titles to find a description of the book and where to purchase it:
(1) Missing Mummy : A Book About Bereavement By Rebecca Cobb
(2) The Memory Tree By Britta Teckentrup
(3) A Place in My Heart By Annette Aubrey , Illustrated by Patrice Barton
(4) Where's Jess: For Children Who Have a Brother or Sister Die by Marvin Johnson
(5) The Invisible String by Patrice Karst
(6) When Grandma Climbed the Magic Ladder by Priya Narayanan
When Grandma Climbed the Magic Ladder
(7) I'll Always Love You by Hans Wilhelm
(8) The Goodbye Book by Todd Parr
(9) I Miss You by Pat Thomas
(10) On the Wings of a Butterfly by Belinda Messer, illustrated by Jessica Smith
30 Children's Books about Families, Homes, & Home-Life
All Kind of Families by Mary Ann Hoberman
30 Children’s books that address the many different types of families, homes and home-life that children in Ireland may experience. These books and the conversations they would provoke underpin the theme of Identity and Belonging within Aistear the Early Childhood Curriculum Framework (NCCA, 2009):
(1) The Family Book By Todd Parr
(2) Mommy, Mama and Me By Leslea Newman , Illustrated by Carol Thompson
(3) Daddy, Papa and Me By Leslea Newman , Illustrated by Carol Thompson
(4) The Great Big Book of Families Illustrated by Ros Asquith , By Mary Hoffman
(5) Two Homes By Claire Masurel , Illustrated by Kady MacDonald Denton
(6) Living with Mum and Living with Dad: My Two Homes By Melanie Walsh
(7) Who's in a Family? By Robert Skutch
(8) Who's In My Family? : All About Our Families By Robie H. Harris , Illustrated by Nadine Bernard Westcott
(9) Why Don't I Have A Daddy? By George Anne Clay , Illustrated by Lisa Krebs
(10) Somy's Search By Carmen Martinez-Jover , Illustrated by Rosemary Martinez
(11) Waiting for Baby Illustrated by Rachel Fuller
(12) Look at Me! Illustrated by Rachel Fuller
(13) I'm a Big Sister By Joanna Cole & Rosalinda Kightley
(14) I'm a Big Brother By Joanna Cole , Illustrated by Rosalinda Kightley
(15) All Kinds of Families! By Mary Ann Hoberman , Illustrated by Marc Boutavant
(16) All Families are Special By Norma Simon , Illustrated by Teresa Flavin
(17) Heather Has Two Mummies By Leslea Newman , Illustrated by Laura Cornell
(18) Stella Brings the Family : A Tale of Two Dads on Mother's Day By Miriam B. Schiffer & Holly Clifton-Brown
(19) My New Family : A First Look at Adoption By Pat Thomas , Illustrated by Lesley Harker
(20) I Wished for You: An Adoption Story By Marianne Richmond
(21) The Day We Met You By Phoebe Koehler
(22) I Don't Have Your Eyes By Carrie A Kitze , Illustrated by Rob Williams
(23) Over the Moon: An Adoption Tale By Karen Katz
(24) Robert Lives with His Grandparents By Martha Whitmore Hickman , Illustrated by Tim Hinton
(25) Sometimes It's Grandmas and Grandpas : Not Mommies and Daddies By Gayle Byrne , Illustrated by Mary Haverfield
(26) Home : A Collaboration of Thirty Distinguished Authors and Illustrators of Children's Books to Aid the Homeless By Michael J. Rosen & Franz Brandenberg , Illustrated by Aliki
(27) Sitti's Secrets By Naomi Shihab Nye , Illustrated by Nancy Carpenter
(28) My name is not Refugee by Kate Milner
(29) Colour of Home by Mary Hoffman
(30) The Journey by Francesca Sanna
Books 1-27 available from The Book Depositary:
Books 28-30 have individual links under them.
Managing Chronic Health Conditions at School
A resource pack for teachers and parents developed in 2014. Very helpful resource including sections on how to manage:
- Asthma
- Diabetes
- Epilepsy
- Anaphylaxis
It is recommended to always check a child's medical records and their G.P's advice to make sure recommendations and practices are up to date.
Resource pack available on Epilepsy Ireland's website. Click here to access it.
60 Books to add Diversity to your Pre-School Library
Rapunzel Retold by Rachel Isadora
If you were to conduct an anti-bias audit of your preschool library how would you fare? First, take out all books that don't feature humans. How many books are left?
Now take out the books that only feature white or English-speaking characters. How many books are left?
Finally, take out the books that highlight only religious or cultural difference. How many books are left?
Do you have any books in languages other than English or Gaeilge? Do you have any books that feature alphabets other than the Roman / Latin alphabet?
What's left?
Often, we think of our books or libraries as sources of diversity and inclusion in our classrooms but they can often (unknowingly) be tokenistic and serve to "other" minorities within the class group or whole sections of society outside of the Western World. We can tend to do this if we see our libraries and books as a source for children to "see themselves" represented in the class whereas the purpose should be turned on its head so that all children receive messages of diversity.
Children could be encouraged to bring a book a week home to share with their parents that feature a different culture, race, ethnicity, or language that isn't representative of their own lives to provoke conversations at home as well as in school.
Here is a list of 60 books that both explicitly and implicitly help us to offer diversity in the reading material we offer young children:
(1) Little People, Big Dreams series - Female stories (Marie Curie, Rosa Parks etc)
(2) This is Hong Kong from the This is... series by Miroslav Sasek
(3) Who's In My Family? : All About Our Families By Robie H. Harris , Illustrated by Nadine Bernard Westcott
(4) We All Sing With the Same Voice By J. Philip Miller & Sheppard M. Greene , Illustrated by Paul Meisel
(5) Now I am Big! By Stephen Krensky , Illustrated by Sara Gillingham
(6) Wangari's Trees of Peace: A True Story from Africa By Jeanette Winter
(7) I Know a Lot! By Stephen Krensky , Illustrated by Sara Gillingham
(8) Walk This World By Jenny Broom , Illustrated by Lotta Nieminen
(9) Lighting a Lamp : A Divali Story By Jonny Zucker , Illustrated by Jan Barger Cohen
(10) Moira's Birthday By Robert Munsch , Illustrated by Michael Martchenko
(11) Everyone Matters : A First Look at Respect for Others By Pat Thomas CMI , Illustrated by Lesley Harker
(12) Throw Your Tooth on the Roof By Selby Beeler
(13) My First Ramadan By Karen Katz
(14) Hush! a Thai Lullaby By Minfong Ho
(15) Global Baby Girls By The Global Fund for Children
(16) Wait and See By Robert Munsch , Illustrated by Michael Martchenko
(17) Thanksgiving is for Giving Thanks By Margaret Sutherland , Illustrated by Sonja Lamut
(18) The Land I Lost : Adventures of a Boy in Vietnam By Huynh Quang Nhuong
(19) Ride on Mother's Back By Emery Bernhard
(20) All Families are Special By Norma Simon , Illustrated by Teresa Flavin
(21) Hear Your Heart By Paul Showers & Holly Keller
(22) Green Start: Little Helpers By Ikids
(23) What We Wear By Maya Ajmera & Elise Hofer Derstine
(24) Hassan and Aneesa Go to Masjid By Yasmeen Rahim , Illustrated by Omar Burgess
(25) Passage To Freedom: The Sugihara Story By Ken Mochizuki
(26) Manners with a Library Book By Amanda Doering Tourville , Illustrated by Chris Lensch
(27) A River Ran Wild: An Environmental History By Lynne Cherry
(28) I Can Say Bismillah Anywhere! By Yasmin Ibrahim
(29) My Five Senses By Aliki
(30) My First Book of Hindi Words : An ABC Rhyming Book of Hindi Language and Indian Culture By Rina Singh , Illustrated by Farida Zaman
(31) Stand Tall By Cheri Meiners & Elizabeth Allen
(32) Happy in Our Skin By Fran Manushkin , Illustrated by Lauren Tobia
(33) What's in There? : All about Before You Were Born By Robie H Harris , Illustrated by Nadine Bernard Westcott
(34) My First Bilingual Book - A Day - Korean-english By Milet Publishing
(35) Our Grandparents By The Global Fund for Children
(36) Room for Ripley By Stuart J. Murphy , Illustrated by Sylvie Wickstrom
(37) Separate is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez and Her Family's Fight for Desegregation By Duncan Tonatiuh
(38) Learning Body Parts in Maori and English By ahurewa kahukura
(39) My First Chanukah Illustrated by Tomie DePaola
(40) How a Seed Grows By Helene J. Jordan , Illustrated by Loretta Krupinski
(41) My First Bilingual Book - Feelings - Bengali-english By Milet Publishing
(42) All Kinds of Children By Norma Simon , Illustrated by Diane Paterson
(43) Harlem's Little Blackbird By Renee Watson
(44) Drum City By Thea Guidone
(45) Who We Are!: All About Being the Same and Being Different By Harris Robie H & Bernard Westcott Nadin
(46) How Does Sound Change? By Robin Johnson
(47) Shanyi Goes to China By Sungwan So
(48) While You Are Sleeping By Durga Bernhard
(48) We Like Fruit By Gill Budgell , Series edited by Cliff Moon , Prepared for publication by Collins Big Cat
(49) Colors in Polish : Kolory By Daniel Nunn
(50) Honey Baby Sugar Child by Alice Faye Duncan
(51) Keep Climbing, Girls by Beah E Richards
(52) Rapunzel by Rachel Isadora
(53) The Princess and the Pea by Rachel Isadora
(54) Sahir Goes to the Dentist By Chris Petty illustrated by Chris Petty
Popular books in other languages and English:
(55) We're Going on a Bear Hunt in Farsi and English By Michael Rosen , Illustrated by Helen Oxenbury:
(56) Eric Carle - French: La chenille qui fait des trous By Jude Watson:
(57) GRUFFALO, THE CHINESE EDITION by JULIA DONALDSON:
(58) Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? (Bilingual) by Eric Carle (Available in many languages):
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you see?
(59) Farmer Duck (Bilingual) by Martin Waddell illustrated by Helen Oxendale (Available in many languages):
(60) Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell (Available in many languages):
Take a look at languagelizard.com for more resources and ideas:
10 Welcome Transition Songs
Welcome Songs:
Historical & Cultural Evolution of the Montessori Method - Some considerations for Irish Early Years Practice
Matson, S. (2015)
Published in Childrens Research Digest Volume 2, Issue 2: Researching Early Childhood
This paper gives a brief overview of the original literature surrounding the Montessori Method, how Montessori used a process of action research to evolve her method, the cultural interpretations or variations of the Method and what implications or opportunities this has for practitioners currently mapping children's learning in Montessori environments with Aistear the Early Childhood Curriculum Framework (NCCA, 2009).
Click here to read the article.
Exploring Parental Attitudes towards Male Early Childhood Educators in the Republic of Ireland Today
King, D. (2015)
Published in Childrens Research Digest Volume 2, Issue 2: Researching Early Childhood
The topic of men working alongside young children in early childhood care and education is impassioned, highly contemporary and topical (Cameron, 2006). It can be emotive because the idea of men caring for our youngest and most vulnerable children has, unfortunately, every so often been linked with accusations of child abuse (Waterhouse, 2000). This short article summarises the results of an exploratory study into attitudes of parents towards men working with young children in a professional capacity.
Click here to read the article.
Aistear Síolta Practice Guide
Here is a link to the Aistear Síolta Practice Guide (NCCA, 2015) which was designed to enable the early childhood educator to bring together Aistear: the Early Childhood Curriculum Framework (NCCA, 2009) and Síolta, The National Quality Framework for Early Childhood Education (CECDE, 2006) to improve the quality of their professional practice. The practice guide is best used as a critically reflective tool within an early childhood education and care service.
Aistear: The Early Childhood Curriculum Framework
Developed in 2009 by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment
Síolta The National Quality Framework for Early Childhood Education
Useful Legislation & Regulation links for ECE
As employees, business owners and managers in Ireland it is important to know all the different pieces of legislation and regulations you need to comply with outside of the Child Care Act 1991 (Early Years Services) Regulations 2016 (which is listed below on the Resources page). Here is an example of some of the legislation, Acts and bodies you should be complying with and may have dealings with; it is by no means exhaustive and it is up to each individual to make sure they keep up to date with the relevant legislation or bodies:
(1) Workplace Relations / Human Resource / Employment Legislation:
http://www.citizensinformationboard.ie/downloads/relate/relate_2015_06.pdf
https://www.workplacerelations.ie/en/Publications_Forms/Guide_to_Employment_Rights_NERA_.pdf
**NERA has been replaced with the Workplace Relations Commission Inspectors since Oct 2015**
https://www.workplacerelations.ie/en/publications_forms/employment_law_explained.pdf
(2) Health & Safety / Fire Safety:
http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/employment/employment_rights_and_conditions/health_and_safety/health_safety_work.html
http://www.firesure.ie/fire_safety_guidance/fire_extinguisher_legislation.html
http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2005/act/10/enacted/en/html
http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2007/si/299/made/en/print
(3) Maternity:
https://www.workplacerelations.ie/en/Publications_Forms/Guide_to_Maternity_Protection_Acts.pdf
http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/1994/act/34/enacted/en/html
http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2004/act/28/enacted/en/html
(4) Data Protection:
https://www.dataprotection.ie/docs/information-for-organisation/957.htm
https://www.dataprotection.ie/documents/legal/CompendiumAct.pdf
(5) Charity Status:
http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2009/act/6/enacted/en/html
(6) Planning Permission
http://www.environ.ie/sites/default/files/migrated-files/en/Publications/DevelopmentandHousing/Planning/FileDownLoad,1601,en.pdf
(7) Food Safety
https://www.fsai.ie//legislation.html
(8) Equality
https://www.pobal.ie/Publications/Documents/Equality%20Status%20Act%202000-2008.pdf
http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2004/act/24/enacted/en/html
http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2000/act/8/section/3/enacted/en/html
Guide to opening a childcare business:
http://www.galwaychildcare.com/uploadedfiles/GCCCC_Guidebook_to_Setting_Up_a_Quality_Childcare_Service.doc
Latest comments
Many good wishes whatever you decide to do Sinead
Lovely and so nice to hear our valued mary
What a great article...I had the privilege of being in a class that Mary Thought in Mary I College.... and she influenced my opinion and ideas around childcare and the way I seen it going forward...
There is an absolute privilege in working with a baby and supporting their development. This very important job needs to be recognised and the teachers involved need to stand tall and proud .