Chris Haughton is a wonderful Irish children’s illustrator and author and his website has a fantastic offering of free activities to download. There are activities for children aged 9 months and up on offer – Colouring sheets, posters, activity sheets, collages, recipe for a George cake ( of ‘Oh No George‘ fame!). There’s even an Irish language poster free to download. What a very generous site it is – have fun exploring and playing with some of your favorite characters! View everything here... read more
This spell of wet and windy weather calls for some indoor activities with the kids. Fortunately the West Cork Literary Festival has some great things on and tomorrow sounds like a great (indoor) fun afternoon. Book tickets for the Viking Doodle with Mark Wickham. Mark Wickham is an illustrator from in Bantry who has had great success with his first book Brian & The Vikings. He will be playing host on Tuesday to a group drawing effort as part of the Literary festival in Bantry. Book your tickets to avoid... read more
Loughbeg Farm is an open farm located just outside of Schull. It’s a very relaxed affair and is perfect for kids of all ages. It’s fun and educational for children, and interesting for everyone else, especially those ‘growing their own’. 80 raised beds producing potatoes, french beans, onions, kale, leeks, swede turnips, beetroot, squash, broad beans, peas, and tomatoes and cucumbers in the greenhouse. They have pigs, horses, ponies, donkeys, goats, hens, and a pedigree flock of Hampshire Down sheep. Lovely walks around the hill with views of Cape Clear Island, Dunmanus Bay, Sheeps Head Peninsula, Mount Gabriel, Rathtooragh, Lissacaha, Lake. Small farm shop. The farm is open to visitors July and August every day 10am to 6pm. €10 per car. More information on the Loughbeg Farm Facebook page... read more
It’s great to nurture a love of reading and stories in young children and reading is such a great way to spend time with each other. This years Literary Festival in Bantry has a lot to offer both young and old, but we’ll have a look at some of the workshops on offer to the younger folk here! There’s so much to choose from and more details and booking information can be found on The West Cork Literary Festivals’ website HERE MONDAY 13 & TUESDAY 14 / 10.00 / BANTRY LIBRARY / CHILDREN’S WORKSHOP / FREE AGES: 3-7 / 15 CHILDREN MAX / BOOKING IS REQUIRED – THESE ARE TWO SEPARATE WORKSHOPS FOR TWO DIFFERENT GROUPS A ONE-DAY CRAFTING WORKSHOP WITH YASMEEN ISMAIL: ILLUSTRATOR AND STORYTELLER Yasmeen Ismail will read from her illustrated stories Specs for Rex and Time for Bed Fred! and will also help you to make some arts and crafts. TUESDAY 14 / 10.00 – 13.00 / ST BRENDAN’S SCHOOL HALL / FREE THE BOOK CLINIC COMES TO BANTRY Welcome to the Book Clinic Have you finished a series and are you not sure what to read next? Just can’t find a book that interests you? Then the Children’s Books Ireland Book Clinic is the place to go! Young readers of all ages are invited to drop in and meet the Book Doctor – no appointment needed, and no nasty jabs or tablets, we promise. After a chat about your favourite books, comics or things to do, the doctor will make a diagnosis and write a prescription for your next reads. The Book Doctor has lots of ideas and there’s... read more
We are coming to the end of the 2104 – 2015 session…and it’s been a great year at the Kindergarten.The children had a wonderful time, creatively participating in so many activities and learning so much. They really enjoyed themselves and each other’s company immensely at this very special pre-school – as have we! We’ve also had some great fundraising efforts from all the families, which were both successful and great fun for all involved. Because of the great success of this last year, the 2015 – 2016 session is going to bring a few positive changes with it. The first (and very important change for a lot of parents) is an extended service with longer opening hours and the second change will be a change in the staff. Extended Opening Hours The Kindergarten will be open from Monday – Friday from 9am until 2pm. The ECCE session will run from 9am until 12pm with options for parents to pick up at 12, 1pm or 2pm. Pricing The hourly cost of the service will remain the same at €5 per hour Staff Lucy will be taking a bit of a sabbatical for the year and the wonderful Colette will be assuming the role of lead teacher at the Kindergarten. Lucy will continue to work in the Playschool on a part- time basis and will continue to play an important role in the running of the Kindergarten. There are a small number of places left for both ECCE & non-ECCE children, so if you are interested in enrolling your child for the 2015-2016 session at the pre-school, please contact us as soon... read more
The Ewe Sculpture Gardens in Glengarriff is an absolute West Cork gem. It is a unique experience and, according to the website, it’s ‘Ireland’s only interactive and interpretative sculpture garden in a spectacular waterfall oasis’. It is in a beautiful setting just outside of Glengarriff on the road to Kenmare, and along with the humorous sculptures there is an underlying message of sustainability. The Ewe is a unique combination of nature and art – and Ireland’s only interactive sculpture garden. Such creative havens can be found in only a few places in Europe. For ten years Sheena Wood and her writer husband, Kurt, ran the successful Ewe Art Centre on the Mizen peninsula. After two years of building work the Glengarriff sculpture garden reopened in 2006 as a continuation of that work. The indoor and outdoor art works are by Sheena, a prolific artist with an impressive range of work from paintings to textiles, mixed media, mosaics, ceramics and sculpture. The sound of trickling water accompanies you, as you cross the bridge into the garden. The waterfall cascades down beside Falling Water Lodge, a timber clad house, designed and built by the artist. Don’t miss an opportunity to visit the gardens – it’s definitely something that all the family will remember!! The Ewe Sculpture Gardens... read more
Schools are already on their Summer break and the 2 Rivers Kindergarten will be closing it’s doors for the Summer break soon as well. We are going to try and post some of the more interesting family events and fun happenings around West Cork that you can partake in with your children over the summer break. The Mad Pride family day is happening again in Skibbereen as part of the Skibbereen arts festival. This year Mad Pride Ireland’s Free Family Fun Day takes place in the Skibbereen Town Park on Sunday 26th July from 1pm to 5pm. there will be a host of musicians, circus performers, puppeteers, arts and crafts facilitators, balloon modellers, face painters and our artisan food producers. So if you want a fun day out why not come down to the park and get involved in all the fun and activity. See the Mad Pride Ireland website for more details... read more
Now that Summer is (kind of) here, check out some of these nice healthy recipes for popsicles….yummy. they are from Susan Jane White an Irish self-confessed healthy geek, so there are lots of good things in there as well as being very tasty for the little people!... read more
This is a beautiful story / poem for both children and adults Once there was a tree…. and she loved a little boy. And everyday the boy would come and he would gather her leaves and make them into crowns and play king of the forest. He would climb up her trunk and swing from her branches and eat apples. And they would play hide-and-go-seek. And when he was tired, he would sleep in her shade. And the boy loved the tree…. very much. And the tree was happy. But time went by. And the boy grew older. And the tree was often alone. Then one day the boy came to the tree and the tree said, “Come, Boy, come and climb up my trunk and swing from my branches and eat apples and play in my shade and be happy.” “I am too big to climb and play” said the boy. “I want to buy things and have fun. I want some money?” “I’m sorry,” said the tree, “but I have no money. I have only leaves and apples. Take my apples, Boy, and sell them in the city. Then you will have money and you will be happy.” And so the boy climbed up the tree and gathered her apples and carried them away. And the tree was happy. But the boy stayed away for a long time…. and the tree was sad. And then one day the boy came back and the tree shook with joy and she said, “Come, Boy, climb up my trunk and swing from my branches and be happy.” “I am... read more
Some lovely photos of last weeks May Pole celebration at the Kindergarten taken by the very talented Mr. Budd. Thanks Jamie and Happy Summer... read more
Job Description Two Rivers Kindergarten is a Steiner based preschool in West Cork. We are a small but vibrant school in magical setting. The classroom is a lovingly built wooden cabin set within a 30 acre Nature reserve beside village of Ballydehob. Our student numbers are between 10 and 14 and we employ a teacher and a teaching assistant. We are an approved provider under the Irish Department of Children and Youth Affairs’ Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Scheme. The school is looking to recruit a Teacher for the Kindergarten for the year commencing September 2015. The position is for a year, to fill in while the existing teacher is on sabbatical. The role will involve all aspects of teaching and running a warm, nurturing and vibrant educational programme for children aged 2 1⁄2 to 6 years of age. Who we are looking for: The ideal candidate will be a responsible, caring person able to work easily as part of a team with parents and staff. They must have at least a FETAC Level 6 Certificate in Childcare or equivalent qualification, along with experience or qualifications in child-centred early years’ education preferably following a Steiner Waldorf pedagogy. How to apply: Please send your application letter and CV for the attention of The Committee,Two Rivers Kindergarten, Ballydehob, Co Cork or email us at tworiverskindergarten@gmail.com Closing date June 12th Download or view the Pdf Job Spec... read more
May the 1st is Bealtaine and we invite you to come for some Maypole dancing and celebrations on Monday the 5th of May. Happy Summer from the Two Rivers Kindergarten read more
