January. The month when all us Mums and Dads are full of good intentions for the coming year. But what’s a good New Year’s resolution for the kids? Well, at Park Academy Childcare Dublin we’ve had our thinking caps on. January. The month when all us Mums and Dads are full of good intentions for
So, just what makes a great Santa letter? Well, to find out we at Park Academy Childcare phoned Santa from the creche. Yes, we do have his number (but don’t tell anyone). So, just what makes a great Santa letter? Well, to find out we at Park Academy Childcare phoned Santa from the creche. Yes,
It’s that time of year again when the gloves and hats come out and little people are sneezing all over the place, and all over each other. As Autumn unfolds into winter it’s a time where the threat of sniffles and colds is very real. And as a childcare provider we see more than our
Caring about children is something that we do instinctively at Park Academy Childcare, but unfortunately there are too many children in our society that simply don’t get the care that should be their natural right. And with the Children’s Referendum taking place on Saturday, November 10th, it’s an issue that we all need to consider.
Last February the National Consumer Agency conducted a survey of crèche prices in Dublin and other regions in Ireland, as part of its series of pricing and price transparency surveys. The survey focused on private facilities offering day care on both full and part-time bases. The survey’s stated objective was not to highlight or compare
We tend to use the term ‘preschool’ (or ‘pre-school’) to define childcare years before the first year of primary school, but for those of us in the childcare industry is the term ‘preschool’ doing us a disservice? By connoting ‘before school’ the term implies that education – the work of any school – has not
According to an article in The Sunday Independent last January, the department of Public Expenditure and Reform has commissioned a report by the department’s Central Expenditure and Evaluation Unit (CEEU) that recommends abolishing the Early Childhood Care/Education scheme, ostensibly to save €76 million. However, six years earlier, it was vividly demonstrated that any cut to
In today’s financial climate, one of the hardest hit sectors of our economy is childcare. In many households where both parents used to be employed full-time, one or both may now be at home, looking after the children. In other cases, crèche fees or childcare fees are simply too much for a family’s budget, and
With all the aspects to consider when designing a crèche, it may seem odd to put energy into choosing colours in the rooms and furnishings. However, as the Department of Health and Children points out in its excellent guide We Like This Place, Guidelines for Best Practice in the Design of Childcare Facilities, published in
Obesity (defined as having a body mass index of 25 or higher) is more than a problem in the developing world, it’s an epidemic responsible for a vast range of health problems including sleep apnoea, hypertension, osteoarthritis, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, liver and gallbladder disease, stroke and even death. And scientists are increasingly finding
At Park Academy Childcare we believe strongly in the value of Montessori teaching, in the power of the Montessori method to accelerate and enhance learning and development in young children. Indeed, we value a background in Montessori education among our staff, and we incorporate Montessori into our broader philosophy of childcare. However, the term ‘Montessori,’
I recently wrote an article listing ten questions you must ask when visiting a crèche in Dublin. With over 400 Dublin crèches to choose from, it’s helpful to have a specific set of questions to make it easier to find the Dublin childcare facility that is right for you. However, with so many variables (such
