Helen Shotton Childminding

18/06/2026

Well what a day we have had today. A visit to Anvil Alpacas of Durham where we have held chicks, hand fed and walked with the alpacas and explored the sensory room. We had a fab time.

10/06/2026

We’ve had a quiet couple of weeks my car is broken and my mum has been under the weather however today we did manage to go to soft play where the boys really enjoyed burning off their energy and having lots of fun at the same time. (Not to mention developing their physical skills)

28/05/2026

Saw this today and thought it captured the essence of a childminder so well I just wanted to share! (I did also ask permission to steal it first!)

22/05/2026

Today we finished icing our busy bee cakes, headed to our weekly Little Movers session where one little one was awarded superstar of the session, played outside took Mabel to the groomers and picked her up and went for a walk! Phew I’m shattered just writing it all.

21/05/2026

Today we’ve been continuing our ‘busy bee’ week by learning some bee songs and watching the bee dance and trying it out for ourselves! We got very good at waggling our bottoms! We then made some cupcakes which will be iced to look like bees tomorrow (well that’s the aim) and all the little ones enjoyed adding and mixing the ingredients. Everyone had a good sleep after trying a new recipe of salmon, sweetcorn and potato fish cakes for lunch. I’d say that’s been a good day. I’ll also include a couple of free play pictures especially proud of the boys for working and playing together with the building blocks today.

20/05/2026

This week in recognition of world bee day we have been talking and learning about bees. We started with a short clip which we watched and today have read some bee stories which have prompted further talk. We then played with a new sensory set up which was lovely. The boys spent a good deal of time exploring, pouring and observing and we made lots of bzzzzz noises as we played. This afternoon we attended the Hartbeeps childminder session and the pictures show how much the boys enjoyed their time. Today we travelled to Buckingham Palace to have afternoon tea with the King!

19/05/2026

Today we headed to soft play at Teesdale Sports Centre where we had the place to ourselves. The children all had a great time whilst developing those important gross motor skills! Afterwards we headed to Toby Carvery to refuel!

16/05/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/18r2grj5jQ/?mibextid=wwXIfr

A letter from your childminder 🥰
A perfect share in
I found this poem a while back and thought it was just lovely 😍
Please, if you know the original author let me know/tag them so I can credit them ❤️
As beautiful as it is, it is not my work -

“I cried after you left, the first day you dropped your baby with me.
Not because it was hard,
Because I understood what you were trusting me with.

I know your child’s favourite song.
I know which stuffed animal they need at nap time.
I know the face they make right before they cry -
And I’m already moving toward them before it happens.

This home is also my home.
My family loves here. My children grow up here.
And every single day, I open the door and say
“Come in - you’re safe here too”.

I don’t clock out at 5.
I think about your kids at the supermarket.
I notice when something feels off.
I celebrate their firsts like they’re my own -
Because in this little world we’ve built, they kind of are.

So when you wonder if a childminder is worth it -
Know that the person you’ve chosen to watch your child
Actually loves them. Full stop ❤️

15/05/2026

Today we’ve been to our regular Little Movers Dance session and had fun as always even if Helen did have to keep chasing after little people to bring them back to the circle! They certainly help me get my daily steps in! Hope everyone has a great weekend.

14/05/2026

Today we’ve continued working on our life cycle of a butterfly creative hangings. Today was adding paint to one half of the butterfly folding and pressing and opening to see what had happened. The magic never fails! We also spent some time outside digging and moving gravel. It’s sometimes the simple things that are the most effective.