Ms Carragher's Blog
Feel free to email me with photos of the boys or any questions you might have at [email protected]
For more information please visit the school's main website http://www.donacarneyschool.ie/
Welcome back everyone to our new school year!!!
Things are a little different here in school this year but we are all settling in well and enjoying being back in our routine. This year I will post pictures to the Gallery part of the blog so you can see what we are doing here in school. It will be a way of you seeing what we are up to in school so keep an eye out! Remember... Social Distance, Sanitise your hands and remember good cough etiquette in school 😀 Ms Carragher
0 Comments
Outdoors and Free of Charge
1. Walk the coastline of Meath. Start at Maidens Tower and walk on the beach at Bettystown, through Laytown and eventually onto Gormanstown. It is a long walk but if the weather is fine then you’re blessed 2. Hill of Tara- (Between Navan and Dunshaughlin) This is a wide open area of a few Kms. Plenty green fields and grass. Great views of County Meath. You can see the Cooley Mountains and the Cement Factory at Platin on a very fine day. It is a historical site- The High Kings sat there, St. Patrick was brought there and there was a famous battle there in the 1798 rebellion. 3. Dowth- Between Drogheda and Slane. Like Newgrange an ancient passage tomb. It is well worth a visit especially to the climb to the top of the hill for the views around East Meath. On a clear day one can see The Hill of Tara. 4. Oldbridge- Walk around Oldbridge estate. Oldbridge house is closed for now but the grounds are open for people to walk. Can also see the Boyne Canal from here. 5. Fourknocks- Like Newgrange, a passage tomb between Stamullen and The Naul. It is much smaller than the passage tombs in the Boyne Valley but there are wonderful views of the other side of the hill at Bellewstown. Autism and Sensory Friendly 1. Sensory Space Drogheda https://www.facebook.com/SensorySpace.ie/ Due to re-open soon this might be an ideal place to visit over the summer Holidays. 2. Dublin Zoo gives free entry to a carer visiting with a child with special needs https://www.dublinzoo.ie/ You do have to book in advance at the moment but there is plenty of space and fresh air. 3. The Arc cinema will be reopening soon and they run Autism friendly screenings from time to time http://drogheda.arccinema.ie/sensory.php 4. Adam and Friends is one of Ireland’s leading supplier for sensory and soft play areas. You can visit but pre-booking is essential http://adamandfriends.ie/ 5. Aquariums can be a very therapeutic place for some children with autism. Sea Life in Bray will be reopening at the end of the month with limited tickets available each day https://www.visitsealife.com/bray/ They offer discounts for visitors with special needs and their carers. https://www.teachpaws.ie/ This is a really important topic at the minute. Water Safety is paramount in this fabulous weather. PAWS -Primary Aquatics Water Safety! The link above is for a fantastic website that will guide you through the lessons online. There are lessons for each age group and the characters are great. Written and designed for all age groups, with beautiful illustrations, a wealth of tips and advice, and all sorts of interactive games and puzzles to reinforce the lessons learned, PAWS offers simple common sense and every parent is more than qualified to guide their children through the lessons. Please have a look at the website & lessons 😀 The boys will become a "Paws Hero" at the end!!! I know some boys love doing puzzles at home - he is a quick idea of how to make one if you have run out of puzzles at home!!
Simple and fun way to practice sight words, numbers, letter recognition, amounts, quantities or whatever you would like.
Simply get a sheet of paper and write words, letters, numbers, sums, etc and then get some sticky labels and repeat. Cut them up and either leave them all out for children to scan and choose a word or hand them to the child one at a time. Children have to peel off stickers and stick over the matching word. As they get better you could introduce a timer. Great for visual perception, matching, reading skills/number skills and fine motor skills 😃 Hello everyone!! I came across a lovely art idea that you could do with your whole family. As you all know we are literally living through history at the minute. Why not create an art piece that you will have in years to come to remember this time. We have baked clay in school before and made decorations and it works really well. Give it a go .......
PS send on any finished products if you complete this task... I'd LOVE to see them! AsIAm submitted a question to the Minister of Health in relation to Covid-19 restrictions for individuals on the spectrum and those with additional needs. We received a response today.
Here was our question: “Many autistic people and their families are concerned about the legal enforcement of social distancing. Some individuals may not cope if unable to keep to a routine such as visiting a favourite place or driving. Some single parents are cocooning and a drive is the only way to get their autistic loved one out and about. Also some autistic people fear getting arrested or in trouble with the Gardai. Should autistic people and their families be worried and are these journeys deemed essential? “ The response was as follows: “Many thanks for your email. We are aware that the current restrictions are difficult for everybody and often particularly for Adults and Children with disabilities who might need more frequent outdoor breaks and who might not always live in an environment that gives easy access to suitable outdoor space. When these current, additional restrictions came into place, a point was included to say that people can leave their home – for vital family reasons, such as providing care to children, elderly or vulnerable people. This would also provide for those people with disabilities and/or their carers who might have additional needs in relation to access to outdoor breaks and time. The situations that you outline in relation to going for a drive would reasonably be included here as well. If required, local service providers can provide a letter to parents/carers confirming that the person is a service user with special needs and would benefit from additional outdoor breaks for health reasons. We know that Gardai will take a pragmatic approach in these situations. I hope this is of some reassurance . I also want to take the opportunity to extend warmest thanks to organisations like yours who I know provide invaluable support and reassurance to many people in these unusual and challenging circumstances.” https://asiam.ie/minister-for-health-clarifies-2km-limit-for-autistic-community/ As you all know I love to bake. Over the last year I've enjoyed baking in our school kitchen with the boys. We have great fun gathering all our ingredients and heading up to the kitchen. We have fun reading our recipes and getting organised. The boys take turns to weigh the ingredients and put everything in the bowl. It can get messy at times but that's part of the fun.
If you are baking at home I'd love to see your creations... and feel free to share your recipes too 😃 Here are a few simple recipes you might like to try at home! |
AuthorMy name is Ms Carragher. I am currently teaching in Gliondar Mara. Looking forward to showcasing some of their work from home during the next few weeks! Archives
September 2020
|