Dear parents/ guardians,

Here are the links I was talking about at assembly today. No need to sign up or pay for any of these books.

https://www.storylineonline.net/
/http://www.magickeys.com/books/
https://www.funbrain.com/books
https://monkeypen.com/pages/free-childrens-books

Books as Gaeilge:
​www.seideansi.ie/

If you are using any other sites and are finding them very useful, please let me know and I will share them with the school community.

Thanks,

​Linda

Here are some things to keep your children occupied once the online learning is done.

Take a tour of the National Gallery of Ireland https://www.nationalgallery.ie/virtual-tour/virtual-tour-rooms-48-45

Learn some simple magic tricks https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2tDK9wfCYs

How to draw a cute donut https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_f3lUWih9o
How to draw Minecraft Steve https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqNl1eYqX04
How to draw some trick art https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAq2X-0FbGM

Create your own storybook and illustrations online https://www.mystorybook.com/

Explore space https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/kids/do-it-yourself/?page=0&per_page=40&order=created_at+desc&search=&category=139
https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/space

Watch some amazing body percussion- no instruments were used AT ALL!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NB3NPNM4xgo
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Any questions, please get in touch linda@eskeretns.ie 0870261061
Linda

Today is Safer Internet Day 2021, if you are on Twitter you can follow the hashtags #SID2021 #bekindonline #bewebwise
It is vitally important to be aware of what your children are accessing on the internet, who they are talking to, what apps they've downloaded  etc.

Below are some excellent links from the webwise.ie site that I urge you to watch and show your children where appropriate. *What's in the brackets is who the videos are suitable for.*

https://www.childnet.com/resources/digiduck-stories (younger children)
https://beinternetlegends.withgoogle.com/en_uk (older children)
https://www.webwise.ie/category/parents/advice/ (advice for parents)
https://www.webwise.ie/category/videos/videos-for-parents/ (videos for parents)
https://www.webwise.ie/classroom-videos/ (some excellent videos for younger and older children, and if you have children in secondary school you will find some material here for them as well)
https://www.webwise.ie/category/parents/explainers/ (apps explained- be aware of exactly what your child’s apps allow them to do/download/connect with)
https://www.webwise.ie/parents/online-gaming-talking-points-parents/ (what you should know about your child’s gaming)
https://www.webwise.ie/category/parents/how-to/ (reporting inappropriate content, setting up parental controls and safe searches- very important)

The NPC are running Internet Safety classes all week, to sign up, fill in the survey below. This programme will give you practical information and supports to help you as a parent in this vital role. It will help you better understand that your parenting skills are key to keeping your child safe and it will also look at some of the evidence about what children in Ireland are spending their time doing on line and will also examine some of the risks and benefits for children online.
The sessions are taking place online via Zoom at 10am on Monday to Friday, and 8pm on Monday to Thursday next week, starting Monday the 8th. Just click on the link below to register.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/InternetSafetyOnline2021

If you have any concerns about your child's online activity, please get in touch.
​
Linda

A huge thank you to Michael (www.peaceofmind.ie) for his excellent webinar today. Really insightful and some great tips on how to support children with anxiety. Some great ways for parents to destress as well!!
Thank you to everyone who came, if you missed the webinar it is available for playback below.

Learn a new dance with kidzbop!

Learn how to draw:
-A cat
-A T-Rex
-Among Us
​-A panda

Become a scientist with these eggcellent experiments!

Go on a musical adventure with Peter and his furry friends.
Learn the different parts of the orchestra.
Narrated by David Bowie.
​Suitable for all ages (spoiler alert, the duck survives!!).

Discover all the different musical instruments that are in an orchestra, have a listen to what they sound like, play some musical games and see can you find the instruments from Peter and The Wolf.
​

Make some edible rainbow toast (or whatever picture you want)
All you need is:
Bread
Milk
Food colouring
Paint brush

Add some food colouring to a small amount of milk.
Paint your design carefully onto your bread.
Put it in the toaster.
Eat!
​

Try some really nice well being activities in the booklet below.

When all the online learning is done, here are three easy and fun activities to keep your children entertained.

Make play-doh. 
Ingredients:
Flour
Salt
Water
(Food colouring/ paint)

​Create some really nice 'magic' pictures, all you'll need is some kitchen/ paper towel, markers and water.

​Make your very own bird feeder from an old milk carton to hang in the garden or on your balcony.

We have planned a series of parenting talks from guest speakers over the coming weeks, starting next Wednesday. All talks will be open to every parent/ guardian in the school. So please do not hesitate to join.

The first talk will be from AsIAm.
Here is a bit about the organisation from their website asiam.ie
'AsIAm Is Ireland’s National Autism Charity. We are working to create a society in which every autistic person is empowered to reach their own personal potential and fully participate in society. We believe that by developing the capacity of the autism community and addressing the societal barriers to inclusion we can make Ireland the world’s most autism-friendly country.'

​The talk will take place next Wednesday January 20th at 10am via zoom. I will send a link that morning.
(The RTE school hub is back on from 10am, this could be a good option to keep your children entertained while you are dialed in to the webinar!)
If you have any queries or suggestions for speakers, please let me know.
Linda
linda@eskeretns.ie
0860261061

Good morning everyone,

I hope you are all staying safe and well. It's very unfortunate that we find ourselves in lockdown again, but if we all work together and stay home hopefully this one will not be as long as the lockdown earlier in the year.

I will be updating my page with some fun things to do at home with your children/ keep them occupied once their school work is done.

Below are some videos that we show at each assembly to remind the children how to stay safe. 

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