Painting and playdough, it's all in a day's work
Tuesday June 29 2004
From 8 o'clock in the morning the sound of little people rings through the rooms of Happy Days creche in Walkinstown, Dublin. The relatively quiet half-hour of preparation - from 7.30 to 8am - will not last long, and this creche cranks up a gear when the first child is dropped off by busy parents on their way to work.
The creche, on the corner of Lugnaquilla Avenue facing Tymon Park, is a hive of activity from 8am to 6pm every day.
Owned and run by Sylvia Kelly and Kay Ingham, both in their mid-50s, and with years of creche and playgroup experience between them, Happy Days is run like a well-oiled machine. And so it has to be, with little clients from four months old up to worldly-wise schoolgoers who come to the creche for a few hours after school.
Sylvia and Kay met when Sylvia's daughter Niamh, who is now 22, was in Kay's playgroup. A firm friendship was forged, and five years ago the two women bought the premises that was to become Happy Days.
It's a happy place, says Sylvia, but life for little people does have its traumas. "Just yesterday one little boy had a sticky sweet, which stuck his runner to the floor. He got into a terrible panic, thinking he was stuck," she says.
"They do have disagreements. but we would usually direct them to something else. It's all part of learning to share, and it's part of socialising. We've been very lucky - the parents are really nice."
The parents and the creche staff are all working together, says Sylvia. "I don't think parents could leave their children here if they weren't confident," she says. Sylvia doesn't notice the noise level. "When people come in they ask us 'how can you stand the noise?' but I don't notice it."
The work is fulfilling. "You build up a bond with the children. It's not an area you'd be in if you didn't enjoy the company of children," she says. With 14 staff - 10 of them full-time - every day is action-packed day for the 46 children.
Each of them goes to a designated group correspsonding to their ages and abilities. Play is a fundamental part of the day, and Sylvia explains that there is no shortage of things to do to keep minds and hands occupied.
If there is a disagreement between youngsters, it is quickly dispersed by distraction and new activities are introduced. At 11.30 there is half an hour of songs and stories. All the while lunch is being prepared, and at 12.45 it's time to eat. The menu changes daily. Favourites are chicken stew, spaghetti bolognese and fish fingers. All the groups gather in a dining room for the nosh-up, which again can get noisy.
After lunch the groups disperse again, and if it's a fine day the park beckons. Here an impromptu game of football can be organised. If the weather is changeable the youngsters will take some air in the activity-filled garden. This part of the day depends on the weather, but Sylvia says they are blessed with their proximity to the park.
At 2pm the older children from the local schools begin to arrive and have some lunch. There are eight in this more sophisticated group, and they take the places of the eight who have gone home from the playgroup earlier.
Jigsaws, dressing up and even drama are the order of the day for this bunch, or they might fancy a spot of arts and crafts. Sylvia explains that the activities are led by the children, and they basically choose what they want to do themselves.
While they may opt to watch a video on a Friday, there's not much time for things like TV-watching, and the creche is more action-focused.
After 6pm, when the last child has departed the doors of Happy Days can close until early next morning, when the action-packed schedule starts all over again.
