Gemma Mchugh’s childminding

☀️🌸🍃Nature walks 🍃🌸☀️
Today we enjoyed a lovely nature walk where the children collected a variety of leaves and flowers to create beautiful sun catchers. Using cardboard frames and sticky-backed tape, the children carefully arranged their natural treasures to make colourful creations.

We also explored colours using our colour book and Magnatiles, collecting flowers inside the different coloured tiles to see how they looked when viewed through each colour. The children were fascinated by the changes and loved searching for flowers to match.

Along the way, we spotted pony’s in the field, fish in the pond, ducks, a couple of swans with their cygnets, and even discovered a caterpillar, which sparked lots of excitement and conversation about nature and wildlife.

The children thoroughly enjoyed collecting, exploring, creating, and observing the world around them. A wonderful day of outdoor learning, creativity, and discovery! 🌿🌸🦆🐛☀️

Today we had a lovely visit to Beamish Museum! 😊

The children loved waving at the trams and watching them go by. We spent time reading the letters and numbers we spotted around the museum and enjoyed looking around the old school and classrooms, learning what school life used to be like. Choosing a treat from the bakery each and paying the lady.

We also visited the allotments, watched the steam trains, and finished our day with lots of fun playing in the park! 🚂🌱📚

The children were beautifully behaved and had a wonderful day exploring, learning, and having fun together. 😊

Childminder appreciation week ❤️

We love our weekly visits to the local Family Hub for childminder playgroup! 🌟 Each week the children have so much fun exploring the different toys, joining in with activities, and enjoying time with their friends.

These sessions are a wonderful way to support learning through play, build confidence, and develop social skills in a warm and welcoming environment. We’re so lucky to have such a fantastic local resource for families and childcare settings. 💛

🌿🐦 Muddy Wellies Playgroup Adventure! 🐦🌿

Today our little explorers had a wonderful visit to Muddy Wellies Playgroup, where we enjoyed a nature-filled morning of bird watching, making bird feeders, and feeding the birds 🥰

The children showed great curiosity as they spotted different birds, listened carefully to their sounds, and talked about what they could see. We then got creative making our own bird feeders, developing fine motor skills and independence, before hanging them up and watching as birds came to visit!

Sunderland museum and winter gardens 🦖🦕🥚

🌊☀️ Beach Day Adventures! ☀️🌊

What a wonderful day we had at the beach! The children fully embraced the outdoors, exploring, creating, and learning through play in such a beautiful natural environment.

They enjoyed making transient art using shells, stones, and sand—letting their creativity flow and watching their designs change with the tide. There was lots of digging and building in the sand, helping to develop their teamwork and problem-solving skills.

The children also had great fun carrying rocks, strengthening their coordination and confidence, and of course, splashing in the rock pools—discovering tiny sea creatures and enjoying the sensory experience of the water.

Days like these are so special, giving the children opportunities to connect with nature, be active, and explore freely. 🌿

We’re so proud of their curiosity, creativity, and enthusiasm today!

🌿🦔 Muddy Wellies Playgroup – National Hedgehog Day 🦔🌿

Today at Muddy Wellies Playgroup we enjoyed a wonderful session celebrating National Hedgehog Day, supporting children’s learning through outdoor play and exploration.

The children took part in a nature trail, following clues and finding hedgehog tags hidden on the trees. This helped develop listening and attention, language skills, and early understanding of the world as they learnt simple facts about hedgehogs and their habitats 🌳👂

Through imaginative play, the children pretended to be hedgehogs searching for worms and slugs and hiding from the fox. This supported communication and language, personal, social and emotional development, and imaginative thinking, while also encouraging turn-taking and cooperation 🪱🦊

The session ended with a creative activity where the children made their own clay hedgehogs using sticks they had collected. This promoted fine motor skills, hand–eye coordination, creativity, and independent thinking 🎨🍂

A lovely outdoor session supporting curiosity, confidence, and learning through play — with lots of muddy wellies along the way! 💚👢

🥪 Packed Lunch Guidance for Parents 🧒

To help us promote healthy eating habits and keep mealtimes safe and enjoyable, we ask parents to follow this guidance when providing packed lunches for their child. Thank you for your support 💚

✅ Please include:
• A small portion of protein (chicken, fish, eggs, beans, lentils, hummus, yogurt)
• Fruit and/or vegetables (washed, chopped, and easy to eat)
• A carbohydrate source (bread, wrap, pasta, rice, crackers, potatoes)
• Water or milk (no fizzy drinks or juices)

📏 Portion sizes:
Toddlers have small appetites. Small portions are perfect, and children can always ask for more. We encourage listening to hunger cues rather than finishing everything.

🚫 Please avoid:
• Nuts or nut-containing products (due to allergies)
• Sweets, chocolate, crisps, cakes, or sugary snacks
• Fizzy drinks, juices, or flavoured waters

🔪 Safety reminders:
• Grapes, cherry tomatoes, and similar foods must be cut lengthways
• Food should be ready to eat and age-appropriate

💚 We aim to make lunchtime a relaxed, positive experience and will encourage children to try foods without pressure. Any uneaten food will be sent home so you can see what your child has eaten.