Preschool

The Free Range Kids pre-school was established by Jo Flinn in September 2007. Jo has a Masters Degree in Early Childhood Development at the University of Limerick. As part of this Masters, Jo conducted field research into the benefits of exploratory play on the development of young children. To read Jo’s research click here.

The pre-school follows the principle that exposure to the natural environment, the outdoors, natural materials (sand, water, wood, clay, vegetables, grass etc), and exploratory play are hugely beneficial for the early development of young children. It also reflects the ethos of the Explorer Preschool in California, where Jo’s own children went in the 1980’s. The Explorer Preschool is a parent participatory preschool.

The Free Range Kids pre-school runs during primary school terms, Monday to Friday, from 9/9.30am to 12/12.30pm or 1pm-4pm, early start and after pre-school childminding also available. Children between 2 and a half and 5 years old are catered for. We follow the Aistear curriculum and every day is full of activities which are aimed at developing social, emotional, cognitive, physical and interaction skills. The kids learn these skills through a wide range of play-based activities and experiences both indoors and outdoors. The list is endless and includes table-top activities, building and construction, play dough, art, messy play, science experiments, dramatic play, show & tell, story-telling, puppets and music. Gross motor play is very popular on the play equipment in the garden, exploring the woods, enjoying the sensory trail, music and movement in the barn and discovering more of the magic of nature in the fields.

*Take a look at the PDF icons for this year's calendar and fee's list.

To enquire about a place, contact Jo on 0863099376 or by email at freerangekids2012@gmail.com

Places are limited due to HSE regulations.

For more information on the Free Preschool years funded by the state click here