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. 

​

The last two Wednesday mornings have been a hive of activity on Zoom with our classes for parents.

Last week, Maureen led our winter card making classes. The cards turned out beautiful and Maureen gave us lots of crafting tips and where to buy the best crafting material. Thanks a million!

This week we made my special pizza sauce! It was so lovely to be cooking together even if it was virtually!

Today was our last class for 2020, but we already have lots of classes planned for when we return to school in January.

Keep an eye on your Aladdin app if you would like to get involved.

Linda

​

This year, with all the covid restrictions in place, I have had to become slightly more creative in how I connect with all the fantastic parents in Esker. 
So we will be having crafting sessions/ guest speakers/ coffee mornings etc over zoom, but it won't be a meeting room, it's our Crafty Club House.

We had our first session yesterday and we had a great crowd, lots of nice chats and some easy crafting!
Next Wednesday Maureen will be taking over the Club House and we'll be making some cards with the theme 'Winter Well Wishes' in mind.
If you would like to join please email me linda@eskeretns
All materials (plus a little goody bag) will be provided for you but you'll need your own scissors!

Please watch this excellent video from the HSE at home with your children. It highlights the importance of staying in your bubble to ensure the safety of everyone at this time.

Maths Week looks very different in Esker this year. We normally have lots of parents in and out of school helping with Maths Trails, Maths Stations, Maths Table Quizzes etc. Hopefully next year we will be back to that amazing level of engagement from parents.

Thank you so much to everyone who has sent in photos so far, looks like the children are having great fun at home with Maths.

To find out more about Maths Week click here.

​Fun things to do this week June 24th 2020
-Balloon tennis/ volleyball.
 
-Don’t let the balloon touch the floor- the floor is lava.
 
-Build a Lego theme park – send me pictures!!
 
-Sock basketball, all you need is a balled up pair of socks and a small bin or container. 2 points for each shot that goes in, who can get to 20 points first??
 
-Play musical chairs/ statues to your favourite song.
 
-Play Hide & Seek……in the dark!!!!
 
-Have a look at this awesome scale of the universe http://www.onemorelevel.com/game/scale_of_the_universe_2012
 
-Play some games with some of your favourite characters from books https://pbskids.org/
 
-For all you Harry Potter fans https://www.wizardingworld.com/
 
-Explore all things to do with the natural world https://www.amnh.org/explore/ology
 
-For anyone who loves Dr. Seuss https://www.seussville.com/
 
-Try out some of these great Disney games or print off some Disney colouring sheets https://lol.disney.com/games
 
-Can you create some body percussion to your favourite song?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjbpwlqp5Qw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_Vm9127SiY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tT2Fp-AXzGM
 
Be a summer star- https://www.sdcc.ie/en/services/sport-and-recreation/libraries/library-projects/

Here are some things you can do outside in your garden, on your balcony or in your local park.

Fun things to do this week Monday June 15th
Things to do outside

1. Have a Kids' Car Wash.
2. Make a Bird Feeder.
3. DIY Your Own Bubbles.
4. Whip Up Homemade Icepops.
5. Bring Twister Outside.
6. Make a Giant Version of Kerplunk.
7. DIY a Giant Ring Toss.
8. Build a Fort.
9. Have a Paper Airplane Race.
10. Have a Water Fight.

 
Some excellent suggestions on here like staging a historical re-enactment or doing a physics experiment with eggs:
https://www.scotsman.com/education/10-fun-and-educational-indoor-activities-kids-do-home-2520784
 
Learn how to juggle:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Acuaa8wFDsg
 
Practice An Dreoilín for next years Seachtain na Gaeilge:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dJ5zcNUROk
 
Learn some songs as Gaeilge:
Lorde https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unnqtwfy10U
Taylor Swift https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlI96bUKWws
Ed Sheeran https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJZ9lz_2Dmg
 
Head to beautiful Airfield Estate:
https://www.airfield.ie/
 
Try some yoga outside:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NWzS2xziI4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TY8xx7c6_z0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YR1OxBk8BF4
 
Learn how to draw:
A koala https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAstcVv9lfI
Marshmello (Fortnite) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRvSqX5WB7w
​

Fun things to do June 9th 2020
 
Things to do in the garden/ or on the balcony:

• Make a fairy garden or dinosaur lair.
• Paint some stones and arrange them in a pattern.
• Take your soft toys outside for a teddy bears picnic.
• Make a time capsule and bury it in the garden.
• Sketch some of the nature you see around you.
• Set up a chalk gallery.
• Make petal perfume.
• Paint an old bed sheet lots of different colours.
• Create a giant ice cube with small toys and then get a spoon and rescue them!!

 
Get creative:
http://scrapcoloring.com/texts/coloring-pages
http://aminahsworld.org/
http://toytheater.com/category/art/
 
Take a virtual trip to the aquarium:
https://www.montereybayaquarium.org/animals/live-cams
http://www.aquariumofpacific.org/news/aquariumacademy/
To the zoo:
https://zoo.sandiegozoo.org/live-cams
 
Listen to a book about space, being read by an astronaut IN SPACE!!
https://storytimefromspace.com/library/
 
Write a secret letter to someone in hieroglyphics:
https://discoveringegypt.com/egyptian-hieroglyphic-writing/hieroglyphic-typewriter/
 
Create some music, my favourite is the voice spinner:
https://musiclab.chromeexperiments.com/
 
Coding for ages 5-7 with https://www.scratchjr.org/
 
Watch some amazing animal videos on:
https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/#/546102851522
​