The PlayShed Childminder Great Denham

A whirlwind of a week this week- what is with this weather at the moment - I mean it hasn’t stopped us getting out and embracing the weather. We’ve been touching base on things that move this week.
A trip to the woods to start off our week - the children used diggers, tractors and cars to shift mud from one place to another. Looking how each part moves.
Tuesday we used our bodies to move to the beat at chimps.
Wednesday what terrible rain it was. We jumped in the car and headed out to Stockwood Discovery Centre. There were so many things to look at and so many different things that move.
From chariots that were moved by people lifting them, to old cars, penny farthing to wheelchairs and trains to buses. Everything had a way of moving. A nice little museum.
And today because the children really needed to burn off energy from not being able to be outside as much we headed to playhouse soft play. I have to admit I like the climbing and slides as much as they do. The sound of laughing when you’re rolling about in the soft play and ball pit makes you know this is what the children need. They need that adult interaction for them to copy and feel confident in doing things by themselves. Building bond and friendships too. We were having so much fun that we ended up with another set of children that weren’t even with us because they could see us enjoying ourselves 😂 more the merrier 🧡
Well done little people we rocked it this week 🗻⭐️

A buzzing week for us this week- with Celebrating World Bee day 🐝 we extended our learning from mini beasts. We took a trip to a garden centre looking for flowers that attract Bees. Lucky for us a lot of the plants had pictures on the bee friendly plants on their name tags. The children behaved impeccably and listened well to instructions.
At cha char chimps the children enjoyed listening to a variety of songs to get them moving. Mini beasts to start with. At snack time Lizi read the story the hungry caterpillar. The children were fully engaged in this story too and many remembered it from last year.
Yesterday for world bee day 🐝 we headed somewhere new. Clophil Nature Reserve. What a fantastic experience we had here. We were greeted by the coordinating manager who got stuck right in with children and led us to their underground bee hive. The children were using their magnifying glasses to see if they could see any bees down the holes. We headed round for our walk talking about what fun facts we knew about bees (see photo) the children have remembered that bees like blue purple and yellow flowers the most. On our walk round we spotted lots of mini beast from tiny yellow spiders, dragon flies and butterflies. When we got back round to the beginning the children sat to do some crafting. We read a story about bees and their life cycle and the children began to wrap the wool around their pine cones. They have done a super job with these and we’re all proud of their efforts. The staff here were so friendly offering the children a sticker each before we left and introduced them to their pet (puppet) otter.
Today we had a home day. The children continued with their bee 🐝 doing sponge prints. After the children got stuck in the mud 🤣 filling flower pots and tipping them back out. This was so engaging for all of the children and they spent a long time on this activity. The rest of the day was free flow but they all interacted well and played as a team rather than individually.
And with that we have finished another half term. The weather is looking super hot next week. Remember to wear sun hats and sun cream and most importantly enjoy family time and paddling pools and I’ll see you back from the 1st June ☀️⛱️🧴

World Bee Day 2026 🐝

Last week our mini beast adventures continued…..
Snail Trail …. 🐌 and lots of crafts.
The children used a check list to see what mini beasts they could find in the woods. They lift and rolled logs, flipped over leaves and used magnifying glasses for a closer look 👀

We are taking part in the Big Toddle in June- if you would like to sponsor your child please use the link below and find my name to donate.
Thank you 🤩

Team fundraising for Barnardo's Help Leanne McNally raise money to support Barnardo's

We are increasingly noticing that many children are beginning their childcare journey feeling a little unprepared for such a big transition. Moving from the comfort and security of home — surrounded by familiar faces and routines — straight into a full childcare day can be incredibly overwhelming for a young child, especially if they have not yet experienced short separations from parents or time with other trusted adults. For some children, this may be the first time they have ever been away from their safe space, and suddenly spending long days in a new environment with new people can feel like a huge emotional step. We gently encourage parents to support their child — and their childcare provider — by preparing for this transition in advance where possible. Small steps taken in the months before starting childcare, such as short separations, new routines, and opportunities to build independence, can make a world of difference to how confident and secure a child feels when their big first day arrives. Together, we can help children start their childcare journey feeling safe, supported, and ready to thrive. #startingchildcare #realtalk #parents

Hedgehog Awareness Week 🦔
It’s been a short week for us- we didn’t finish all of our hedgehog topic activities this week so we will continue on to next week to finish these off.
We have been learning all about hedgehogs this week as you may have guessed. We headed to the fairy trail to see if we could find out where a hedgehog may live. We read some books about hedgehogs before creating our very own hedge hogs using our homemade playdough (which we made before we went) and sticks. The children used their time to find other things that may show us that a hedgehog had been there. Foot prints for example.
We took a trip to Harrold and Odell country park where we found carvings of hedgehogs. The local community out on their walk were very surprised how well your children were listening and how beautiful that sat when we had a picnic.
On our walks the children got distracted by dandelion clocks so of course we stopped and had a great time blowing them and watching the seeds take flight.
For our exercise this week we headed off to Cha Char Chimps - Bedford which was lovely for our new walker to be able to get involved and get herself a little wiggle wiggle wiggle wiggle wiggle freeze (IYKYK)
If you have time and want to watch a clip about hedghogs with your child that we have watched here please click the link below

https://youtu.be/UmbgykJLavY?feature=shared

Just a little reminder to my current parents that I’m closed Wednesday (13th May) this week coming.

See you all back from Monday 🧡

A Rawr-some week here at The Playshed 🦖🦕
This week we have been looking at dinosaurs!
The children have been fully engaged and inquisitive about dinosaurs.
We headed into the woods to see if we could find dinosaurs. On Monday we headed into Aspley Heath where the children found dinosaurs eagerly waiting their dinner. The children used the water and mud to make them some food. Some of the children used paint brushes to paint on the logs with their mud piles.
Tuesday we headed to cha char chimps for dancing and dressed up at scary dinosaurs. We stomped our feet as hard as we could.
Wednesday we headed to soft play but found no dinosaurs but the children didn’t let that ruin their fun as they were now role playing and chasing each other pretending they were dinosaurs.
Today we went to irchester woods. The dinosaurs eggs and bones were a hit. We read a story about how to look after a dinosaur followed by using stamps to do dinosaur prints. This was a really good week. I think it’s safe to say we will touch base on this topic again to further their knowledge and learning journey.

Have a super weekend and I’ll see you back Tuesday next week.

Reminder: Closure day Monday for the bank holiday.

Blimey that was a quick week for us!
We have spent 90% of our week outside! The children really love the outdoors and so many more learning opportunities to explore. We’ve been working on gross and fine motor skills this week. Kicking and throwing balls and using fingers to pick small items up eg. Sticking (St George’s Day Flags)
We started the week off at Mowsbury park, then to cha char chimps, a day at priory & a day at Emberton Park.
We had been finding ways to use our bodies to express how we feel. The children had a visit from a horse and his lovely owner who stopped to have a chat with them and told us all about the horses moustache 🥸

See you next week ❤️