Friday, December 12, 2014

Mother Hubbards Flowerhill December news letter

Mother Hubbards Newsletter
November/December 2014

Happy Birthday

This month we would like to wish a big happy birthday to all the children who celebrate their birthday with us!
Children are more than welcome to celebrate their birthday with us in the centre and the parents may send in a cake and some treats if they wish.
All baked goods must be shop bought and unopened in the original packaging due to haacp guidelines. Also, please do not send in hard sweets or nuts that children could easily choke on. Thank you for your cooperation on this topic.



Facebook Competion
Please keep an eye out on our facebook page for a competion we will be running for the month of December. Please follow the link to be in with a chance.
Winner will be announced on the 17th of December Get liking and sharing everyone. Good luck!

Reminders
Just a reminder that the crèche will close on the 19th of December at 6.00pm sharp and re-open on Monday the 5th of January at 8.30am.
  • The last day of term for ECCE and Montessori is Friday the 19th of December at 12.00am.We will return 5th January 2015.
  • Please remember to close the front door when you are leaving to ensure the safety of all children.
  • If you have not already brought in a spare set of clothes for your child please do so as soon as possible. It is very important that we have them in case of accidents. Please remember to label all your child’s belongings and school bags to prevent mix up.
  • Just a reminder that the ECCE Montessori session runs from 9am until 12pm. Please ensure children are not dropped off before 9am and are collected at 12pm. All children must be accompanied to the room by an adult and may only be collected by a parent or an adult who has been named on the booking form. If someone is collecting your child who is not named on the booking form, please let us know in advance.
  • Outdoor Play forms a large part of our curriculum and has significant importance in a child’s holistic development.  We try to incorporate outdoor play as often as possible and children should be well enough to go outside if they are attending crèche.  We cannot allow children to stay inside unaccompanied whilst others are outside playing and there would be no space for them in other groups due to staff/child ratios.  Please send coats/scarves/hats etc with your children and we will ensure they wear them when going outside.
  • Children are encouraged to bring healthy lunches. Chocolate, crisps and fizzy drinks are discouraged and we would appreciate your co-operation on this.



We will be having a Christmas party for our Montessori group on the 17th of December, lots of yummy treats and Christmas music.



Weather

As the weather is getting colder could all parents please send in a suitable coat and a hat, scarf and gloves for their child for outdoor play.  Wellies and raincoats should be provided for wet days.  You can label these items and leave them in the centre if you wish to do so.

Can the afterschool parents please ensure your child is dressed for the cold weather. As we walk the children to school it is important that they have a hat, scarf and gloves.

Christmas Charity Appeal

This year Mother Hubbards Navan has decided to organise a Christmas present appeal for the women’s refuge association in Navan and St. Vincent de Paul. Your child’s teacher will give you a letter with further information on how to be a part of this worthy cause. These letters will also be up on our doors for all to see. Parents are under no obligation to participate in this appeal. If however you are in a position to participate, we greatly appreciate your generosity in brightening up another family’s Christmas.



Christmas iced cookies
Ingredients
·         3-3/4 cups all purpose flour
·         1 tsp baking powder
·         1/2 tsp salt
·         1 cup butter or margarine, softened (not melted!)
·         1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
·         2 eggs
·         2 tsp vanilla extract
Cooking Instructions
  1. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium sized bowl. Set aside.
  2. Beat butter or margarine, sugar, eggs, and vanilla in a large bowl with electric mixer until fluffy. Gradually add flour mixture and stir with wooden spoon until thoroughly mixed. Cover dough with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for two hours.
  3. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/4 inch thick. Cut out circles with a cookie cutter or other round object, such as a glass or round plastic container. Place circles 2” apart on ungreased cookie sheet.
  4. Bake for 6-8 minutes, checking after 6 minutes. Cookies will be done when edges are lightly browned. Do not allow cookies to get too brown. Remove from oven and allow cookies to cool on cookie sheets for 5 minutes. Remove from cookies sheets to aluminum foil on a flat surface and allow to cool completely.
  5. Using a butter knife, spread white frosting on top of each cookie.
  6. Let children decorate the cookies with sprinkles, sugar, and candies.
  7. To make holly berry cookies, place two red candies or jelly beans toward the top of the cookie and draw on leaves with green decorator gel.
  8. For sugar stars, trees and other shapes, gently place a miniature cookie cutter on top of the cookie after it’s frosted. Carefully sprinkle a small amount of sugar into the cookie cutter with your fingers, being careful not to let the sugar fall outside. Gently remove cookie cutter.
  9. You can completely cover a cookie with decorative sugar by holding the frosted cookie upside down and dipping the frosted end into the sugar to coat.
  10. Use red decorator gel to write “Ho Ho Ho!” on your cookies.
  11. A snowman can be made from candies and fruit roll ups. Cut a strip of fruit roll up, about ½ thick, and twist it into a rope. Place the fruit roll up around the top of the cookie as ear muffs and add jelly beans for the muffs themselves. Decorate face with colored candies.

Merry Christmas
We would like to take this opportunity to wish all our parents and children a very Merry Christmas and a happy and healthy 2015. Thank you all for you continuous support and care throughout the year. We are very lucky to have such a wonderful family here at mother Hubbards childcare, and we Thank you kindly for all you do.
Mother Hubbard’s,
151 Blackcastle lodge,
flowerhill,
Navan
Co. Meath
046-9070558


Mother Hubbards slane road December Newsletter

Mother Hubbards Newsletter
November/December 2014

Happy Birthday

This month we would like to wish a big happy birthday to all the children who celebrate their birthday with us!
Children are more than welcome to celebrate their birthday with us in the centre and the parents may send in a cake and some treats if they wish.
All baked goods must be shop bought and unopened in the original packaging due to haacp guidelines. Also, please do not send in hard sweets or nuts that children could easily choke on. Thank you for your cooperation on this topic.



Facebook Competion
Please keep an eye out on our facebook page for a completion we will be running for the month of December. Please follow the link to be in with a chance.
winner will be announced on the 17th of December Get liking and sharing everyone. Good luck
!


Reminders
Just a reminder that the crèche will close on the 23rd of December at 6.00pm sharp and re-open on Friday 2nd January at 7.15am.
  • The last day of term for ECCE and Montessori is Thursday the 18th of December at 11.30am.We will return 5th January 2015.
  • Parents of children in afterschool should please clearly label their children’s school uniforms and bags as these items are constantly mixed up.
  • When paying fees through direct debit please ensure that your child’s first and second name on the reference.







Weather

As the weather is getting colder could all parents please send in a suitable coat and a hat, scarf and gloves for their child for outdoor play.  Wellies and raincoats should be provided for wet days.  You can label these items and leave them in the centre if you wish to do so.

Can the afterschool parents please ensure your child is dressed for the cold weather. As we walk the children to school it is important that they have a hat, scarf and gloves.


Christmas Charity Appeal
This year Mother Hubbards Navan has decided to organise a Christmas present appeal for the women’s refuge association in Navan and st. Vincent de paul. Your child’s teacher will give you a letter with further information on how to be a part of this worthy cause. These letters will also be up on our doors for all to see. Parents are under no obligation to participate in this appeal If however you are in a position to participate, we greatly appreciate your generosity in brightening up another family’s Christmas.

Merry Christmas
We would like to take this opportunity to wish all our parents and children a very Merry Christmas and a happy and healthy 2015. Thank you all for you continuous support and care throughout the year. We are very lucky to have such a wonderful family here at mother Hubbards childcare, and we Thank you kindly for all you do.
Mother Hubbard’s,
56 Blackcastle Demense,
Slane Road,
Navan
Co. Meath
046-9059967



Mother Hubbards Ongar December news letter

Mother Hubbards Newsletter
November/December 2014

Happy Birthday

This month we would like to wish a big happy birthday to all the children who celebrate their birthday with us!
Children are more than welcome to celebrate their birthday with us in the centre and the parents may send in a cake and some treats if they wish.
All baked goods must be shop bought and unopened in the original packaging due to haacp guidelines. Also, please do not send in hard sweets or nuts that children could easily choke on. Thank you for your cooperation on this topic.


Photographs
Our photographer Dermot Ward is coming to the crèche on December 3rd and 4th to take professional photographs of the children. Parents are under no obligation to buy these photos and only do so if they wish, after seeing the photos.  If you wish to bring an outfit for your child to wear in the photograph, please inform your child’s teacher and they will dress them for their picture. Look out for signs in the centre with details of prices etc.



Facebook Competion
Please keep an eye out on our facebook page for a completion we will be running for the month of December. Please follow the link to be in with a chance.
winner will be announced on the 17th of December Get liking and sharing everyone. Good luck
!


Reminders
  • Just a reminder that the crèche will close on the 23rd of December at 6.30pm sharp and re-open on Friday 2nd January at 7.15am.
  • The last day of term for ECCE and Montessori is Thursday the 18th of December at 11.30am.We will return 5th January 2015.
  • Parents of children in afterschool should please clearly label their children’s school uniforms and bags as these items are constantly mixed up.
  • Can parents paying fees through direct debit please ensure that your child’s first and second name on the reference.


Weather

As the weather is getting colder could all parents please send in a suitable coat and a hat, scarf and gloves for their child for outdoor play.  Wellies and raincoats should be provided for wet days.  You can label these items and leave them in the centre if you wish to do so.

Can the afterschool parents please ensure your child is dressed for the cold weather. As we walk the children to school it is important that they have a hat, scarf and gloves.


Christmas Charity Appeal
This year Mother Hubbards Ongar has decided to organise a Christmas present appeal for the Sophia housing association in dublin and st. Vincent de paul. Your child’s teacher will give you a letter with further information on how to be a part of this worthy cause. These letters will also be up on our doors for all to see. Parents are under no obligation to participate in this appeal If however you are in a position to participate, we greatly appreciate your generosity in brightening up another family’s Christmas.

Merry Christmas
We would like to take this opportunity to wish all our parents and children a very Merry Christmas and a happy and healthy 2015. Thank you all for you continuous support and care throughout the year. We are very lucky to have such a wonderful family here at mother Hubbards childcare, and we Thank you kindly for all you do.

Ongar Village                                   Phone: 01 8260055
Ongar                                                
Dublin 15     

E-Mail:  ongar@motherhubbardschildcare.ie

Mother Hubbards nephin road December newsletter

Mother Hubbards Newsletter November/December 2014
Dear Parents,
It’s that time of year again, Christmas FM is on the radio, jingle bells are ringing around every corner, the frosty mornings have started…….. Christmas is on its way!!!!!
We have had a very busy year in Mother Hubbards, as we do every year we say goodbye to some old faces and hello to some new ones. This time last year we were in planning mode trying to map out the year of 2014 and how we would manage during the planned refurbishment, twelve months on and look at where we are! It’s amazing how quickly a year slips by and what changes can occur in such a short period of time. I want to thank all our Parents, Grandparents, Child Minders and especially the children of Mother Hubbards for a wonderful and exciting year. The success of the centre refurbishment could not have been possible without the patience, support and understanding of everyone involved. It was difficult at times but we have a beautiful new centre that we hope will provide a wonderful caring and fun atmosphere for your children.
From all the Staff in Mother Hubbards, we want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and the very best of Health and Happiness for 2015.

REMINDER: We would just like to remind parents to make sure you close both the gate and front door when entering and leaving the premises. We would also like to remind you that our opening hours are 8am-6pm.

Christmas Closure Dates
Mother Hubbards will be open on Monday 22nd and Tuesday 23rd of December as normal.
We will be closed from Wednesday 24th of December until Thursday January 1st 2015 (inclusive)
We will re-open on Friday 2nd January 2015 at 8.00am.
Our ECCE sessional class will finish for Christmas Holidays on Friday 19th December for 2 weeks, they will return on Monday 5th January 2015.
Christmas Speech and Drama Play
The Christmas Speech and Drama Play will be on Friday the 19th of December at 12pm. Only two people can accompany their child to the play due to size of the room. Sessional and Montessori will do one hour of practice before the play from 11am-12pm. Please make sure your child is in before 11am as they will need to take part in the rehearsal with their Speech and drama teacher.

News from the Rooms
Toddlers
This month in the Toddler Room, the Toddlers are hard at work getting ready for Christmas. With a little help from Sarah and Elizabeth they have made a beautiful Christmas tree with stockings for presents. We have also started to learn Christmas songs at circle time. Our favourite at the moment is Rudolf the Red Nose Reindeer. The Toddlers are all very excited about a visit from Santa.
Elizabeth & Sarah

Pre-Montessori
The month of November was very interesting month for the Children in Pre-Montessori. Our themes included making a mini farm, learning our fruits and vegetables and also making a fruit bowl for the wall. We also put our photos of our ‘Bring & Share day’ on the wall so please come in and have a look. Christmas time is here again and we are going to be very busy decorating our room for Santa using lots of arts and crafts.
Diana & Anita

Montessori
November was very busy for Montessori, we were talking about what lies beneath the sea and investigating various sea creatures. We talked a lot about dinosaurs this month, the T-Rex being the favourite. The children all loved this theme.
This month we will be talking about winter and we are looking forward to winning the room décor prize again (hahahahaha!!)
It will be Amaia’s birthday at the end of December and we would like to wish her a very Happy Birthday.
Our Giant Santa will be keeping an eye on his good girls and boys….
Have a great Christmas, Emer & Marie-Louise

ECCE
The ECCE Room has been very busy over the past month. We’re starting to get ready for Christmas now. We have been writing our letters to Santa and making beautiful Christmas decorations. 
It will be Zoe’s birthday at the end of December, we would like to wish her a very Happy Birthday!
Enjoy the holidays!
Tanya
Afterschool
The Afterschool children are very busy in school these days and like to relax in the afternoon. They love to colour, paint and get messy with gloop. We’ve also made some nice clay figures and made some delicious cakes, we even tried making yummy chocolate croissants. We’re all really looking forward to Christmas.
Marie-Louise
Students
We have two new students with us on placement in Mother Hubbards from the Liberties College. Agnieska Bala and Victoria Monaghan are in their first year of FETAC Level 5 Childcare Award. Agnieska is based in our Pre-Montessori room with Anita and Diana and Victoria is working between Toddlers and Montessori. We also have Shauna Kane from Marino College of Further Education studying for her FETAC Level 5 award and she is working alongside Tanya in the ECCE room

See full size imageReminders: Christmas Charity Appeal
This year Mother Hubbards Nephin road have decided to organise a Christmas present appeal for the Sophia housing association in Dublin and St. Vincent de paul. Your child’s teacher will give you a letter with further information on how to be a part of this worthy cause. These letters will also be up on our doors for all to see. Parents are under no obligation to participate in this appeal if however you are in a position to participate, we greatly appreciate your generosity in brightening up another family’s Christmas.
As the weather is getting colder could all parents please send in a suitable coat and a hat, scarf and gloves for their child for outdoor play.  Wellies and raincoats should be provided for wet days.  You can label these items and leave them in the centre if you wish to do so.
Also we love celebrating birthdays here in Mother Hubbards, parents may send in a cake and treats if they wish. All baked goods must be store bought and in their original packaging as per HACCP Guidelines.
Thanks…
A huge thanks to every parent who voted in our Halloween Competition, I am very confident there was no cheating!!!!!! Our Winners were the Montessori Room; Congratulations to Marie-Louise and Emer, enjoy the half day girls….



Thursday, October 30, 2014

Mother Hubbards, Nephin road, Oct/Nov newsletter

Mother Hubbards Childcare September/October 2014 Newsletter


Welcome to our September/October Newsletter. We would like to give a big welcome to all the new children who have started with us in Toddlers, Pre-Montessori, Montessori and After school since the start of September. We hope you have lots of fun in Mother Hubbards!

Staff News:
Unfortunately our Baby Room Teacher Denise Brennan will be leaving us on the 8th October. We wish her all the best in her new position. Denise has been with us since March 2012 where she has worked most of her time in the Baby Room with many babies who are now some of our big Montessori Children!! I know Denise will be missed by all the children and parents. We want to say a big ‘Thank you’ to Denise for all her hard work for the past two years and we will miss her very much.

Caroline Stewart will replace Denise on a temporary basis in the Baby Room from Thursday 9th October until mid-November. Caroline is fully qualified in Childcare and has seven years’ experience working within the Childcare sector.

Marie-Louise has moved from Pre-Montessori to the Montessori Room to work with Emer and Diana is now working alongside Anita in the Pre-Montessori Room.



Parent’s reminder; Can all parents please put their child’s names on spare clothes and coats as your child’s belongings are easily misplaced.

Also with the weather getting cold and wet, we ask all parents if possible to bring in wellies and raincoats to keep in the centre for when the children go outside!

Please ensure to close the garden gate behind you if you are coming to collect your child from the crèche.

Mid-Term Break:
Our ECCE class will have their mid-term break from Monday 27th to Friday 31st October.

News from Our Classrooms:

Babies:
The babies have been busy getting their hands and feet painted. They are also spending lots of time climbing and tumbling over the new climbing blocks in the baby room. The babies had a great time taking part in water play too..

Toddlers:
We are learning all about autumn, we painted lovely little ducklings, and made hand print leaves for the autumn tree. In circle time the Toddlers have learned twinkle twinkle, Row Row Row your boat, Old Mc Donald and the ABC song.

Pre- Montessori:
This month the theme in Pre-Montessori is autumn. We have been teaching the children about hibernating animals. We have made some caves for our sleepy brown bears. We also made our autumn tree which we decorated with some leaves, apples and hedgehogs. We also learned a poem about autumn leaves, and we read lots of stories showing pictures of animals hibernating.
We also went on walks to the big green not far from the crèche which the children loved they had loads of fun running on the grass and hiding behind trees.
Some of the children from our class moved into Montessori this month, Lily, Ella Rose, Cillian, Louis G, Roise and Louis Mc. We wish them the best of luck in their new class. We also got some new friends from the Toddler room, Seamus Billane, Cillian Canavan, Niall White and Alexander Curran. We have had a busy month getting used to our new room.

Montessori:
We want to welcome all the new children to our Montessori Class. We have had loads of fun making new friends and playing with the new toys in Montessori. We are also settling into our new routine. This month we also have been learning about hibernation and autumn. We have pictures up in our room of some animals hibernating.
Speech and Drama has also started back, we are already looking forward to the performances yet to come.

ECCE/Sessional:
The ECCE class are now into their second month, and after a few tears we can reassure parents that your little ones have settled in great and our new class is so happy. So far we have covered the days of the week, the month and season. We too are covering hibernation. For October we will be getting excited for Halloween, we will be learning the ‘pumpkin man song’!!! Hopefully all the children will dress up and maybe the staff too……

Afterschool:
It’s been a busy month in the afterschool room. We have been exploring different styles of art such as water colours, printing, cutting, pasting and blow-painting. We have been doing loads of baking such as cookies and chocolate ladybirds and we also made our own dinner last week of chips and burgers… We are really looking forward to Halloween and decorating our room.

Information update:
We are currently updating our children’s files, if anyone has changed address or contact details recently please inform us here at the centre so we can make the appropriate changes to your child’s file. Also if anyone was given a vaccination form to update please can they be returned as soon as possible so they can be filed accordingly.

Thank you!!
On behalf of the Management and Staff of Mother Hubbards I would like to extend our sincere gratitude to all parents, grandparents and friends who supported us during the refurbishment of the children’s centre. It was a very big project that could only have been accomplished with the patience and understanding of everyone involved. We love our new children’s centre and we hope that you love it too. Again thanks very much to everyone who supported us; it really means so much that we are able to add to your children’s childcare experience in a positive way.

Thanks Again,

Mother Hubbards Staff.








Mother Hubbards Ongar, oct/nov newslettter

Mother Hubbards Newsletter
 October and November 2014
Welcome to our first newsletter of the new school year. This term we would like to welcome all of the new children who started with us at the beginning of September and their parents. We hope you are all very happy here at Mother Hubbards.
                             
Happy Birthday
We have lots of birthdays in October and November. Happy birthday to everyone celebrating their birthday.
Children are more than welcome to celebrate their birthday with us in the centre and parents may send in a cake and some treats if they wish.
Congratulation’s,
To Cian in our playschoo room on the birth of his baby sister Erin, and our area Manager Catherine on the birth of her baby girl Lucy.

Reminders
·         When entering the baby room and wobbler rooms, can all parents /Guardians wear shoe covers that are provided outside these rooms.
·         The cold weather is starting to come upon us so can all parents please ensure their child has a suitable coat to wear while playing outside.
·         Can parents please make sure your child has spare clothes in the crèche and also make sure they are labelled?
·         After school children are encouraged to bring in a change of clothes so they can change out of their uniforms. Please remember to label all of your child’s belongings!
·         We would like to stress that we close at 6.30pm sharp and that parents must be here to collect their children no later than this. Late collection has a knock on affect to staff members who have commitments outside the working hours.


Fundraisers
A big thank you to everybody who took part in our Cheerio’s Child line Breakfast morning. Cheerios Childline Breakfast together was held on 10th October. We all had lots of fun eating our yummy Cheerios with our friends.
On Friday 3rd October staff and children wore pink and took park in pink themed games and activities to raise awareness of the Irish Cancer Society’s Paint it Pink Day. Thank you for all your donations
.
Halloween games and recipes
Brain digging
You will need:
§  a big bowl of cooked spaghetti
§  some Ping-Pong balls or similar
§  some small bags of sweets
Get the kids to dig in amongst some bits of 'brain' to find a trick or treat! Cook up a big pan of spaghetti, leave to cool for a moment and then turn into a big bowl. In amongst the pasta hide some Ping-Pong balls or similar. Three balls have 'treat' written on them, and three have 'trick' written on them. Each child gets a turn to dig inside the 'brains' and pull out a ball. If they choose a trick ball they have to do a forfeit (something silly, like run around the garden twice, or do a silly impression), but if they pick a treat they get a small prize, such as a small bag of sweets. Pretty yucky!!!!!!!!

Make your own toffee/chocolate apples
You will need
Selection of apples, ready pierced with sticks Toffee apples
Bowls filled with melted toffee/chocolate, hundreds and thousands, chocolate strands or other things to stick on the apples
Greaseproof paper to cool the apples on.
This is a nice easy one and the children can take their handiwork home at the end of the party (if they can hold off eating them!) Each child takes an apple and dips it into the toffee and then rolls their apple into their preferred sweeties! Yummmmy
It's easy to make your own toffee mixture or you can melt down shop-bought toffee sweets. Be sure that the mixture is not boiling hot when the children are making their toffee apples.
Each child is given a straw cut in half. (Shorter straws are easier to suck and hold the marshmallow) They then have to race to see who can suck up a marshmallow the fastest. Once a child scores a marshmallow they can eat it, and sit out to let another child have a turn if they cannot all fit around the basin at one time. Keep rotating until all the kids have had one or two marshmallows.
Banana Ghosts.
Ingredients
200g bar white chocolate, broken into chunks.
4 medium-large, ripe bananas
85g desiccated coconut (you won’t use it all)
Handful dark chocolate drops    
Method
In a small bowl, gently melt the chocolate either in the microwave – in short bursts on high or over a pan of simmering water (make sure the bowl isn’t touching the water). Set aside for a moment while you get the bananas ready.
Peel the bananas, cut in half, and push a lolly stick into the middle of each piece. Spread the coconut out in a shallow bowl. Line a large baking tray with baking parchment, and make sure there is room for the tray in the freezer.
Using a pastry brush, coat a banana half in chocolate, letting excess drip away. Sprinkle with plenty of the coconut until coated, then set it on the prepared sheet.Now add two chocolate eyes and a mouth, and if you like, cut a few little eyebrows from the chocolate drops too. Freeze the lollies for at least 4 hrs, and up to a week.
Have a Happy Hallloween!!!!
Reminder to all parents that you can join our Facebook and Twitter pages and receive this monthly newsletter and other information, just go our website www.motherhubbardschildcare.ie and follow the links


No 6 the Avenue
Ongar Village D.15                                     Phone: 01 8260055                          
Dublin 15                       E-Mail:  ongar@motherhubbardschildc