The Claregalway Parent & Toddler Group had a very busy month of March. We invited the toddlers to get in touch with their creative sides by introducing them to painting and playdough. The toddlers had a very fun and messy time and produced some real works of art! We continued with our song time this month and learned an Irish action song called Lámh, Lámh Eile. The toddlers made a great attempt to sing and really enjoyed the accompanying actions.
The mothers were made to feel extra special this month and we seemed to celebrate Mother’s Day a couple of times in the month. We were treated to an evening of hair do’s and beauty by two excellent ladies. Mary Kennedy of Bellisimo gave us some useful tips on how to keep our hair looking good and even gave three delighted mothers hair makeovers. We all agreed they looked great before the makeovers but absolutely fabulous afterwards. Síle Mannion of Calista Beauty here in Claregalway was very generous with her time and very willing to share her knowledge and expertise with us. She gave us some invaluable beauty tips and told us how to keep ourselves in tip-top condition now that the summer months are approaching. Síle also kindly gave a few of us busy mothers lessons on how to apply make-up that looks natural and takes just minutes do to. It was a very informal and enjoyable evening and we would like to take this opportunity to thank Síle and Mary for helping to make it so.
We also had an evening out in honour of Mother’s Day. We went to The Abbey Restaurant in Claregalway where we enjoyed a delicious meal served to us in very relaxing and elegant surroundings by very courteous waiting staff. We all agreed that we would not be waiting for next Mothers Day to have an evening out again.
We have been continuing our series of talks on topics that are of interest to parents. This month Marguerite O’Donnell, a nutritionist with the Western Health Board came out to Claregalway to speak to us. She gave us advice on nutrition not just for toddlers but for the whole family. Marguerite explained the concept of the food pyramid to us and explained the importance of filling up on cereals, breads, fruit and vegetables to prevent a high intake of fatty and sugary foods. She also gave us ideas on how to swap high fat snacks for low fat snacks.
The parenting course for the noughts to sixes, which is being run by the Diocesan Pastoral Society , is continuing on Thursday nights. We are all finding it very interesting and are enjoying hearing other parent’s experiences and trying to find solutions to parenting problems together.
Finally, we would like to welcome new parents to the group. For more information just ring any of the Committee members below:
Teresa (Carnmore) 798783
Ann-Marie (River Oaks) 798709
Joanna (Lissarulla) 799515
Meet every Tuesday from 2pm to 3:30pm in Claregalway Naíonra Centre (adjacent to Claregalway Leisure Centre).
