We opened our doors in May 2008, and have since become an integral part of the Kells community. It is a purpose-built centre catering for children aged 6 months to up to end of 4th Class, with bright, spacious, and homely rooms, which invite you into a child-centred world.

• Proprietor : Kim Doyle
• Opening Hours : 7.30am - 6.30pm
• Telephone : 046 925 2874 | Email : kim@kidsklubs.ie
• Address : Archdeaconry View, Kells, Co. Meath.

Each room has direct access to a large garden, which has a canopied area, allowing for all-weather outdoor activities. We treat the garden as an extension of the classroom with on-going learning and play. Outdoor play is actively built into the daily routine as we appreciate the importance of children learning from their natural environment, www.earlychildhoodireland.ie

The Littlies Room (6 months – 2 years)

At Kids Klubs we recognise the first three years of life are a special and unique time for developing life-long skills. These are known as the ‘lightbulb' years, and include a critical time for the healthy development of the brain. During this period, the child’s everyday experiences play a fundamental role in their development, and lay the foundation for their future learning journey.

To successfully achieve this, we incorporate the Aistear curriculum, www.ncca.ie, which is designed around four main themes: Identity and Belonging, Communication, Exploring and Thinking, and Well-Being. Through Aistear guidelines, we encourage an emergent curriculum involving hands-on activities which are age and stage specific, and provide meaningful experiences for the child. This includes lots of messy play where your child explores their environment through their senses.

In addition to the Sleep Room, where each child has their own cot and bedding, the Littlies Room hosts a large, comfortable chair for your young child to enjoy one-to-one time with their keyworker. Kids Klubs combine the Aistear framework with nurturing, loving, and confident carers, where positive interactions are key. The key worker records your child’s daily care routine in a personal book, which we send home daily. Aistear Learning Records and photographs are also carried out a minimum of two per term to monitor your child’s progress and personality, as well as bundles of creativity as your child engages in endless sensory play.

Pre-School 1 (2 – 3 years)

At this age, we believe in small achievable goals. We are expanding on the experience-led opportunities from the Littlies Room, by introducing more open-ended language and materials. We encourage confidence, risk-taking, and building resilience, through varied and challenging activities. We support your child to gain independence through positive interactions and relationships, and freedom of choice and expression.

This is also the time when toileting typically takes place, therefore, care of self is an important element of the daily routine. It is important to us that your child learns it is okay to make mistakes, and to gain coping strategies for when things go wrong. This age group is also becoming more aware of the feelings of others, but it is worth remembering – we don’t always have to share!!

The early educators observe and record your child’s progress using Aistear Learning Records, and use photographs to capture these moments. A minimum of two observations per term will be sent home, in addition to a personal scrapbook where the carers collect and comment on different aspects of your child’s interests throughout the year.

Pre-school 2 (3 – 5 years)

As your child has been afforded the freedom to wallow in play, they are now readily making connections and understanding boundaries. Children tend to engage in longer periods of concentration, express individual preferences, and show empathy. We respond to this growth with a more structured routine involving positive language and actions. Activities and materials are age and stage appropriate with direct aims and indirect objectives.

This challenging environment will stimulate your child, and the early educators will continually observe and monitor their progress to further extend personal interests. This progress is documented through a minimum of two Aistear Learning Records per term, a scrap book where the teacher collects and comments on your child’s development throughout the year, and an individual activity book and folder, which your child will take home each Friday.

The Aistear Framework is complimented with a fully qualified Montessori teacher, where contextual learning is a priority. We shy away from repetitive worksheets to provide learning opportunities through play. Playing shop creates many opportunities to use mathematical language and understanding, and we learn about letters by going out into the community with a camera and mark-making materials, to find the letters on road signs, car registrations, or drain covers!

After-School Club

Kells opens at 7.30am for the breakfast club, where children can enjoy a nutritious and varied start to their day at our buffet style dining, before heading off to primary school.

When your child returns from school, teachers will offer a calm and relaxed atmosphere, and support to your child to complete homework. We want your child to unwind from the structure of primary school and view Kids Klubs as a home-from-home environment. Activities include arts and crafts, sensory and imagination play, music and movement, and baking.

Responsibility is a large part of the after-school club so the children are involved in as much as the planning and preparation of their daily routine as possible. The after-school group also spend the majority of the afternoon in the garden area: we are conscience they have been on a school bus or in a car, and been sitting in a classroom environment so we strive to lose the chairs and move!!!