I am delighted to welcome the recent publication of the resources compiled as a result of my recent research project with dlrLibraries and Creative Ireland, Aistear and Your Local Library.
dlrLibraries have launched a new series of resources specifically designed for Early Childhood Educators. A new Story Sack collection and series of online videos aim to explore and create increased opportunities for early childhood educators to engage with their local library in support of their application of Aistear: The Curriculum Framework for Early Childhood Education (2009).
Story Sacks
The collection of 14 story sacks includes titles suitable for babies and older preschoolers as well as a number of titles in Irish. Each contains a contemporary picture book as well as various extension resources to support the theme of the story sack with learning opportunities mapped to the Aims and Learning Goals of the Aistear Curriculum Framework. The Story Sacks are available for loan to Early Years Educators in the Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown area in possession of a Teacher’s card. Explore the titles here!
Early Literacy Videos
As part of the study, I designed three informative videos for the dlrLibraries website, to support Early Childhood Educators in their engagement with local libraries and book use in their everyday practice. These videos are available to all and are of use and relevance to primary infant techers too.
Video 1: Reading Aloud
Video 2: Choosing & Using Texts to Support Early Literacy Skill Development
Video 3: The Reading Rope & Early Literacy
This project and bespoke resources were funded by Creative Ireland. Ethical approval for the project was provided by MERC, Marino Institute of Education.
For further details on this project, please email clara.fiorentini@mie.ie
Conference presentations:
Fiorentini, C.M. (2023, November 10-11). Aistear & Your Local Library. [Paper presentation]. Literacy Association of Ireland’s 48th International Conference. Marino Institute of Education, Dublin.