A post from Early Childhood Ireland!

Celebrating Children’s Stories with Wendy Lee

September 12, 2017

On Saturday, Early Childhood Ireland, in partnership with DCU, Institute of Education, presented Celebrating Children’s Stories, A Masterclass in Documentation with Wendy Lee. An inspirational day of questioning and reflection as Wendy straight away set the tone by reminding us that huge responsibility comes with teaching in ECCE: ‘How many jobs can you go to each day and have the chance to make a difference in a child’s life? Who we are and how we are around children is at the heart of teaching. Relationships are critical, children need to feel deeply respected and deeply loved’.

The use of story, connects children and families, it tunes teachers into the moment and it allows all children to share their experiences and their understanding of the world around them. Learning stories catch the complexity of children’s learning, it also makes every voice credible. It is about children recognising and valuing who they are by teachers that know them and care deeply for them.

We would like to thank the following guest speakers who generously gave their time to share their own learning stories and experiences. Each speaker brought us on a different journey, showing how they weave stories into the fabric of their settings. 
Nickola Cullen from Beverton Preschool and Roots and Wings Centre Donabate
Maxine Ryan and Aine Harrington from Clare Family Resource Centre Ennis
Anne Macken and her team from Happy Days Ballyporeen
Alicia Cormican from Darndale Integrated Childcare Service

You too can submit stories that show significant learning moments or events that happen through play in your service. Go to Learning Stories section on our website.

In the afternoon, Dr. Play, Carmel Brennan delivered an emotionally charged and passionate presentation, her last one as part of Early Childhood Ireland before her retirement next month. A call to ‘re-wild’ the child and remove the structure. Encouraging deep reflection, she referred to Jim Greenman’s quote “childhood is when human beings should fall in love with the world.” “Are we giving the children in our care the opportunity to fall in love with the world?” she asked.