Good morning to our An Choill Bheag families!
I hope that this article finds you all safe and well and I hope that you all had a very relaxing and peaceful Christmas.
Can you believe that we are back to home learning once again? It is difficult to believe and I appreciate that it may be a challenging time for some. However, we will all do our very best to work together, to support one another and hopefully it will be safe enough for Irish schools to re-open their doors once again soon!
On a personal note, I would just like to say that I will miss the An Choill Bheag classroom, our pupils and SNAs very much but I am really looking forward to connecting with you all remotely, in a variety of ways, over the coming weeks.
We welcome our new SNA, Amy O’Leary, to An Choill Bheag and to Ballymitty N.S.! I know that Amy was really looking forward to joining us in the classroom this month and was disappointed at the recent announcement regarding school closures but she is looking forward to meeting everyone very soon!
Síona, Edyta, Mel, Geraldine and Ms Kenny would also like to say a big ‘hi’ to everyone. They wish a Happy New Year to you all and look forward to seeing you all again soon.
Here is a nice little social story, if parents would like to use this to help explain school closures to your children.
I understand that some families are still very much in holiday mode and I absolutely get it! 2020 was a rollercoaster of a year and I think that it is wise to tread softly now and to ease ourselves gently back into routine.
Here are a few suggestions. You may recognise some of the activities from last year. Please remember that these are merely suggested activities. Do whatever you can, and whatever suits your home situation.
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Morning Routine
Let’s start every morning with a Good Morning Animal Workout!
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Morning Yoga
Tina Ralph, who teaches yoga in our school, put together some fantastic yoga videos during our last school closure. Here is one that you can do each morning this week -
"Tiger-Tiger, Is It True?", Yoga Video For Younger Kids.
Thanks once again to Tina for all of the time and effort that she put into her wonderful videos!
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Action Song of the Week
After your morning yoga, warm up those muscles with this action song -
Every Little Cell in my Body is Happy.
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Fine Motor Muscle Building
Let’s take this week to focus on scissors skills development.
Click here to access 10 scissors skills Ideas to try out at home.
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Vestibular Input
A healthy vestibular system is central to the integration of the other sensory systems.
Here are some ideas that can help to promote the development of a healthy vestibular system.
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Gross Motor Skills
Try out at least one or two activities every day from this Stretch n Grow Home Movement Challenge.
(Note: If you are having trouble viewing this image, please let me know and I will forward it on to you individually)
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Plenty of Fresh Air
Please try your best to get outside every day (weather permitting of course) for at least half an hour. The more fresh air that we all get into our lungs, the healthier we will all be. 😊
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Lámh Song of the Week
The ‘Knock Knock’ song has been a firm favourite in the An Choill Bheag classroom this school year. Click here every day to practise your Lámh signs –
'Knock Knock' Song
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Cooking/Baking Ideas
Here is a link to a fantastic website which has over 50 recipes for kids to make (and eat!) -
50 Fun Kids Recipes
Yummy, yummy… Enjoy! 😃
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Evening Routine
Aim to finish off every day with some Calm Down Yoga poses.
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On Wednesday I will forward on a Storytime Video from Síona and I will send on another one then on Friday from Geraldine.
I hope that you all enjoy them! Some of you might like to watch them straight away or some might choose to save them until bedtime... the choice is entirely yours!
Parents, I would like you all to have a little think over the next day or two and if there is anything at all that you can think of that I or any of our staff can do to help to support you with home teaching over the coming weeks, please do not hesitate to contact me via email.
My email address is ballymittybcasey@gmail.com and I will be checking it at regular intervals each weekday between the hours of 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. We will do our utmost to support you in any way that we possibly can!
Remember, tread softly and let’s take this week to just ease ourselves gently back into routine.
To Jake, Larry, Harley, Ben, Conn and Tommy – I hope that you all have a really fantastic week!
Kindest regards,
Ms. Casey
