Aistear Blogs

Aistear (2024) brings a renewed focus on rights, sustainability and inclusion – strengthening meaningful connections with local communities. Babies, toddlers and young children hold a special place in these communities and bring joy and dóchas (hope) into the lives of people around them. Who doesn’t smile when a baby in a buggy waves at you? Or feel uplifted by the sound of a toddler giggling as they splash in a puddle? And isn’t it heartening to see young children picking up rubbish with the Tidy Towns volunteers.

Aistear provides an invitation to nurture babies, toddlers and young children as active, confident participants in their communities. When early years educators and families work together, they can create inclusive environments where everyone feels seen, heard and valued.

Agentic educators understand their local context and can identify meaningful ways to foster community connections. They know the local storytellers, nature lovers, farmers and history enthusiasts who can share their knowledge of the local heritage, flora and fauna. Engaging with these community voices nurtures empathy, stewardship and a lifelong love of learning – rooted in connection to home, culture and community. This cultivates a deep sense of ómós áite (value of place).

For example, educators can deepen connections with the local community by:

• inviting grandparents and extended family members to share stories about their jobs, hobbies or cultural traditions. Regular visits to local retirement homes or community centres offer babies, toddlers and young children opportunities to build relationships with older adults – exchanging stories, songs, games, across generations. 
• welcoming visitors from the local community – such as farmers who might bring along a lamb or hens, or services like Gardaí, medics, firefighters and postal workers. Encourage them to bring real-life props that babies, toddlers and young children can explore through touch and play. Educators can extend the learning experience by creating a “mini community” within the setting, with costumes and props representing familiar roles like shopkeeper, doctor, teacher, bus driver.
• bringing babies, toddlers and young children out to meet people in the community. Take walkabouts to local spots like the pond to see the ducks and learn about what they eat (remember bread is not good for them!) Greet neighbours, dog walkers, shopkeepers and bus drivers. Notice local signs, buildings and sounds – like church bells, traffic lights or playground laughter to spark conversations and build early awareness of community life.
• visiting the local community garden and giving babies, toddlers and young children the chance to observe seasonal changes and take part in hands-on activities - watering plants, digging soil, picking weeds and harvesting fruit and vegetables.
• making photo books or display boards about the community by using images of familiar places (parks, bus stops, school) animals (frogs, birds, rabbits) and people in the community (firefighters, postal workers, shopkeepers). Regularly explore these with babies, toddlers and young children to encourage conversation and curiosity. Including photos of babies, toddlers and young children out and about in the community helps them to see themselves as active participants in local life.
• celebrating the rich tapestry of backgrounds and communities represented in their setting. Provide inclusive resources – such as books, dolls, music, labels and food items - that reflect the cultures and languages of families in the setting. Use Irish words like súgradh (play) and comhrá (conversation) in daily routines, alongside key terms from the children’s home languages. Use one-to-one interactions, pretend play and small group conversations to help babies, toddlers and young children understand that their stories, communities and voices are seen, heard and valued. 

The key is to make community experiences relational, sensory and meaningful - while keeping them short, safe and responsive to the rhythms and interests of babies, toddlers and young children. It is about fostering a sense of meitheal (community spirit of coming together) and moving beyond simply seeing the community to actively participating in it.

Through these experiences babies, toddlers and young children feel valued and begin to develop a strong sense of belonging, responsibility and agency - as global citizens rooted in local love.

Read the next blog in our series here. 

Read the previous blog in our series here.