Madshaw Adventures Family Daycare

We are looking for new friends to join our friendly, playful group! We have had two spaces become available on Wednesdays and Fridays.

How do we spend our days? That answer depends on the children each day! We have large indoor and outdoor spaces for all kinds of play, including our daycare room, Nook play couch room, fenced backyard with FunkyMonkey bars and a few acres for nature play including a small creek depending on weather. Arts and crafts are always available and our library bookshelf is full of books to cater to everyone's current interests.

Madshaw Adventures Family Daycare is a drop off solution for homeschooling families that caters to each individual child's interests and supports each family's values.

Please get in touch if you would like to have a tour. Laura Madshaw 0499 990 487

Madshaw Adventures Family Daycare provides 3 meals a day. Today's lunch: make your own pizza! Children get to choose the size, the sauce, the toppings, how much they eat. They like to take turns helping make the pizza dough and pizza sauce in the Thermomix. We make these once a month and the children have gotten so good at it! Eating family style with peers creates a sense of belonging, increases communication skills and encourages children to try new foods. We can make song requests while we're eating and at the end of a meal it is everyone's responsibility to clear the table.

Other favourite items on our menu: burgers, spaghetti bolognese and tacos. Food allergies and intolerances are catered for with simple swaps.

Child-driven play in a large natural environment. Slow down and observe or speed up and move your whole body. Children are free to play how their bodies want to in the moment. Lately we've been finding lots of wild passion fruit and have been having discussions about the wildlife who might be eating them. We then have the opportunity to taste fruit we may not have tried before.

Tomorrow is Waitangi Day, we have Hipi the Sheep and P*e Wee the Kiwi ready to help us explore some aspects of New Zealand culture... We may even make lolly cake! 🤤

2026 is our fourth year of providing care for homeschooling families! 🌏🤩

This year we are collecting repurposed junk for imaginative play in nature that doesn't add to landfill.
Marketplace is a loved resource here for minimising our environmental impact and maximising our fun adventures with our family daycare friends.

Happy book week!!
Just a butterfly from the fairy kingdom sitting on her magic wishing chair 🦋🪑🪽

Today I was fortunate enough to attend the Dream, Lead, Play Conference hosted by Big Hearted Education. The expert speakers were brilliant, very engaging and informative. It was nice spending the day with peers elevating our skills and personal businesses. Family Day Care is so special in the community with the ability to provide safe and supportive play spaces tailored to individual children's developmental stages and interest areas.

Every year Family Day Care Australia hosts Excellence in Family Day Care Awards. I have been nominated twice this year and feel so grateful for the lovely families and colleagues I get to work (play) with! Thank you 🥰

Favourite resources for mixed age groups part 2

Magnet tiles!

These are hands down the most used resource at MAFDC. At least one child plays with them everyday and often they keep the entire group engaged for hours.

The educational benefits of magnet tiles include: fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, spatial reasoning, creativity, problem solving, easily adaptable designs, cause and effect relationships, collaboration, communication, shape, colour, patterns, attention span, perseverance...

Magnet tiles support children to explore multiple play schemas such as; connecting, positioning, enveloping and trajectory.

Children can use pictures as inspiration, learn and build off their peers ideas and use their imaginations. Other small parts and toys are often added to enhance children's play such as; cars, planes and figurines.