March 15th 2016 has been designated ‘Proclamation Day’ for preschools and schools in Ireland. Within both Preschool and Afterschool the activities you incorporate for Proclamation Day will reflect children’s learning through your own pedagogical ethos underpinned by Aistear, The Early Childhood Curriculum Framework. Aistear is based on 12 principles of early learning, 3 of which are particularly relevant to Proclamation day – Child’s Uniqueness, Equality and Diversity and Children as Citizens. Prior to Proclamation Day you could introduce the history and origins of our national flag. Giving children background information and the vocabulary needed for a new topic will help to maximise their learning. Reading books on the topic also ensures that children have lots of ideals for their play.
An ideal start to the events in your Preschool/Afterschool on Proclamation Day would be a flag raising ceremony or playing/singing the National Anthem. Some of the events on Proclamation Day could include music, poetry or an art display. As Proclamation Day falls within Seachtain na Gaeilge you could consider focusing on our Irish culture through the Irish language, Irish songs or Irish dancing. Look at http://www.gaelscoileanna.ie/acmhainni-naionrai/ for resources ‘as gaeilge’.
A major focus on Proclamation Day should be the unveiling and reading of your own ‘Proclamation for a New Generation’. This might be an ideal activity to do with your afterschool children. Using the 1916 Proclamation as a foundation you can write a new Proclamation for 2016. The aim is that our young people will come up with new Proclamations which reflects their vision for a modern Ireland, which embraces people from many nations and cultures and celebrates diversity.
Another activity which may be of interest is the opportunity to showcase children’s creative talents by designing a special Doodle 4 Google to make the centenary of 1916, on the theme of ‘Ireland is….’ https://www.google.ie/doodle4google/
Working in Partnership with Parents to benefit children within your service is an essential component of a quality early childhood service. By providing a display on Proclamation Day activities all parents can be involved but there is also an opportunity to work with the parents in your service who have an interest in Proclamation Day and related events. This provides for an environment that children feel they belong and can develop to their fullest potential.
By the time Proclamation Day arrives children will have some sense of where we have come from in our country’s journey, where we are as a nation in 2016 and you will have an insight into their own vision for the Ireland of the future.
