CARRAIG BRISTE & KILLEGNEY EARLY YEARS
NOMINATION: WEXFORD START-UP BUSINESS OF THE YEAR AWARD
IN CARRAIG Briste & Killegney we are so often asked ‘ how do we get Children ready for school?’ and parents show concern for how they will adjust to a classroom environment after all this freedom? Will they recognise all of their colours? Can they write their name? Are they ready for school?
The reality is – we don’t get children ‘ready’ for school. We certainly don’t pull them away from their play to learn how to trace over letters or play matching games to teach them numbers. We don’t plan activities around topics or themes for weeks ahead and we won’t expect children to sit listening to us for long periods of time or tell them off when they begin to fidget. 2 year olds are not built to sit still (either are 3, 4, or 5 year olds for that matter!). Children are innately curious and eager to learn. We provide an environment that is age appropriate. Given the right environment and the right educators, children will learn and make progress. Do our team just sit and watch the children play? Absolutely not! Our team are highly trained and will spot 100 teachable moments every day. Supporting and encouraging each child every step of the way. Sometimes it might be a gentle ‘you can do it’ or ‘you’re ok’. Sometimes it’s a cuddle and a story. Other times it might be discussing the details of a flower, or working out which cable reel rolls down the hill faster!
At Carraig Briste and Killegney Early Years, Children are given freedom. Freedom to follow their own lines of enquiry and their own interests and what looks like ‘just playing’ to some, is in fact serious business to us. By allowing the children to follow their own interests and giving them time, they begin to make progress you could only dream of from a ‘planned activity’. Does it work? Absolutely! With a team on hand to gently encourage, prompt, suggest, model, praise and support-children begin to show an interest in all of the things ‘school’ requires of them. Taking writing as an example if we pull a child away from their play to come and do writing, it is highly likely they will not be interested. When we go and join their play, following the interests of the child we might just find that perfect opportunity for emergent writing and numeracy skills in development.
As the leader in Carraig Briste it is my desire to empower, ignite passion and excitement in Early Childhood Education, giving tools and knowledge to enable a culture of curiosity. Awe and wonder is embedded at the heart of our settings by providing experiences in the very ordinary making them extraordinary! Orlagh & all the team
Templescoby, Enniscorthy. Tel: 053 9238119 Killegney: 053 9244432