The children were busy preparing for Easter by making beautiful Easter Bunnies.
Category Archives: Arts & Crafts
St. Patrick’s Day Parade
The theme for this year’s Saint Patrick’s Day parade in Dunmanway was Irish Folklore. Our inspiration for this year’s parade was an Táin Bó Cúailnge also known as The Táin or The Cattle Raid of Cooley. The Táin is an epic from Irish mythology which tells of a war against Ulster by Queen Medb of Connacht and her husband King Ailill who want to steal The Brown Bull of Cooley from Ulster. We imagined the warriors of Ulster and their Druid gathering to defend The Brown Bull from the army of Connacht. The children were soon busy with the cardboard, paper mache and paint needed to create our props. Many thanks to the parents who sent in pictures and footage of the parade.
Alan Nolan – Author and Illustrator
Author and illustrator Alan Nolan visited the children in Togher N.S. by webinar as part of our World Book Day celebrations. Did you know that Dracula is actually from Dublin? Author and illustrator Alan Nolan told the children all about the Dublin author of Dracula – Bram Stoker. Alan’s latest book, The Sackville Street Caper, imagines a young Bram Stoker and Molly Malone trying to thwart the evil Count Vladimar who plans to steal the Irish Crown Jewels from Dublin Castle. Alan Nolan has written and illustrated many books and comics for children and grown-ups, including Fintan’s Fifteen, Conor’s Caveman and the Murder Can Be Fatal series. During his live online visit Alan showed the children how to draw some of their favourite book characters.
St. Brigid’s Day
Imbolc or Imbolg also known as Saint Brigid’s Day is a Gaelic traditional festival. It marks the beginning of spring, and is the feast day of Saint Brigid, Ireland’s patroness saint. It is held on 1 February, which is about halfway between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. Imbolc is one of the four Gaelic seasonal festivals, along with: Bealtaine, Lughnasadh and Samhain. The customs of St Brigid’s Day include weaving St. Brigid’s crosses. We were delighted to keep this custom alive and the children enjoyed creating these beautiful St. Brigid’s Day crosses today.
Spring Flowers
Today, February 1st, is historically known as the first day of spring in Ireland. The days are starting to get a bit longer and nature is awakening from it’s winter sleep. The children created these beautiful spring artworks to celebrate the return of the colourful flowers and the promise of longer, warmer days ahead.
Christmas Wreaths
Stephanie from the Heritage in Schools showed the children how to make simple Christmas Wreaths using willow from the school garden and greenery sourced by the children – a huge thank you to the parents for their help. The children made beautiful, locally sourced and sustainable Christmas decorations.