Title: CHILDREN’S LEARNING PROJECT LAUNCHED BY NICMA
Date: 21st November 2005
News Details:
Childminders, Early Years workers and NICMA staff gathered at the British Council in Belfast on 23 September 2004 to launch the ‘SMILEY FACES’ European Learning bags project. Opening the seminar, Bernie McAllister, Senior Programme Office with Socrates, said: “I am delighted to welcome NICMA here in the British Council to showcase their project. The Smiley Faces project is one of the best in Europe .”
Smiley Faces is an educational project through which childminders use their creative talents to develop a range of ‘Learning bags’ that will encourage children’s social, emotional, physical, intellectual or communication skills in a fun way. Each bag contains games, toys, stories, etc that will be used by the childminder with the children in their care.
At the Launch, the childminders demonstrated their bags and explained how they could be used with children to stimulate and support their development. Meta McClure, childminder from Lisburn says: “The learning bags have developed the children in such a broad way. I believe even the most reticent child gets a great sense of fun and achievement through hands on activities”.
The ‘Learning Bags’, which will also reflect the cultures of the countries involved, will be exchanged with partners and piloted with groups of children across the European partnership. NICMA are taking a delegation of learners to Lithuania in April 05 to share the bags with the 4 partner countries.
The project was developed by NICMA – the Childminding Association who are taking the lead in this pan-European project which they hope will be replicated across Northern Ireland .
For further information contact Bridget Nodder, NICMA Director
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Contact Name: Bridget Nodder
Contact Number: 028 9182 3350
Email: bridget.nodder@nicma.org
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