On the 30th of May 2019, Tara came to visit us here at Longfield Academy. Tara is a Dental Nurse in ConfiDental, dental practice in Cahir, Co. Tipperary. 

Tara began by inroducing herself and telling the children all about what she works as, and what her job entails on a daily basis.

Tara discussed with the children what they should expect from a trip to the dentist and reassured them that they don't need to be afraid when they are at the dentist. Tara invited the children to talk about their experiences of the dentist, if they had been before. Tara taught the children about what drinks are good for your teeth and what drinks are bad for your teeth. The children learned that milk is good for your teeth because it contains lots of calcium. They also learned that juice is not so good for your teeth because it is full of sugar. Some of the children were worried about this because they "had juice yesterday", but Tara reassured them that it is okay to have juice now and again, maybe just not everyday!

Tara then introduced Mr Dinosaur and Mr. Lion to the children. Tara showed the children how they should brush their teeth, nice and softly and in circles. The children also learned that it is important to brush their teeth in the morning after their breakfast and before they go to bed at night. 

The children all took turns brushing Mr Dinosaur's and Mr Lion's teeth. The children really enjoyed this.

A big thank you to Tara from ConfiDental. The children are already asking when Tara will be back !

On Friday 10th of May, we took part in Early Childhood Ireland's National Pyjama Day. Early Childhood Ireland’s National Pyjama Day is the largest one-day fundraising event organised by the early childhood care and education sector in Ireland.

Pyjama day is one of the staff's favourite days of the year as they get to come to work in their pyjamas, slippers and dressing gowns. Our day started at 7.30 am when children began arriving to the creche, all cosy in their pyjamas. Some very brave parents also dropped their children to the creche wearing their own pyjamas. 

,A little later on in the day, we opened Longfield Academy's Pamper Parlour. The children came and sat two at a time in the Pamper Parlour waiting room. While waiting in the waiting room they decided on what treatment they would like; Nail painting, hairstyling, head massage or hand massage. Some of the children chose the whole package while others preferred to only have on or two of the options. Once decided, the children came in to the parlour, where they were pampered.

The children received cucumber to put on their eyes to refresh them, however some of the children felt there was a better use for the cucumber and decided to eat it instead !

Nails were painted, hair was styled and heads were massaged all day long here at Longfield Academy. 

All the clients of Longfield Academy's Pamper Parlour were very happy leaving the salon. One child even told us "this is the best day ever, I am beautiful now".

Once the children had all been pampered, they took part in a bed making race. The children raced against each other two at a time to see who could make the bed the quickest. It was great fun and the children all cheered for each other.

Many of the children brought teddies into creche with them, so we had a Teddy Bear's Picnic and story-time with the bears, followed by a DVD to end a very relaxing day!

We managed to raise over €300, on what turned out to be "the best day ever". We are already excited for Pyjama Day Next year