Bug and Bean Childcare

🎶🕺 We had so much fun today joining in with Danny Go! activities! The children loved moving, dancing, jumping, and following instructions while developing their gross motor skills and coordination.

Through active play, the children were also building key skills from the EYFS, including:
⭐ Physical Development – balance, coordination, and movement
⭐ Communication & Language – listening and following instructions
⭐ Personal, Social & Emotional Development – confidence, participation, and working together
⭐ Expressive Arts & Design – enjoying music, rhythm, and creative movement

At our childminding setting, we love finding fun ways to support learning through play, and Danny Go! is always a big hit! 🎵💛

Today we headed out on an exciting animal hunt, exploring our local environment and searching for different creatures along the way. 📸🐌🦆

The children took turns using the camera to capture photographs of the animals, plants and interesting things they discovered. They loved splashing through puddles, observing nature and talking about what they could see around them. Their enthusiasm for the outdoors was incredible, and before we knew it, our adventure had turned into a wonderful 4-mile walk! 🌿💦🚶‍♀️🚶‍♂️

Outdoor experiences like these support many areas of the EYFS, including Understanding the World as children explore their environment and learn about living things, Communication and Language through discussing their discoveries, and Physical Development as they build strength, coordination and confidence through walking, exploring and navigating different terrains.

A fantastic day of learning, discovery and adventure in the great outdoors! ❤️🌳 ExploringNature

🎵 Exploring Rhyming Words – The First Step in Our Phonics Journey! 📚✨

🎵 Rhyming is one of the very first stages of phonics and an important pre-reading skill. Before children can recognise letters and sounds, they need to develop their listening skills and become aware that words can sound similar.

Through songs, nursery rhymes, stories, and playful rhyming games, children begin to hear patterns in language. This helps them tune into sounds, build phonological awareness, and lays the foundations for later reading and writing success.

In the EYFS, rhyme supports several areas of learning, particularly:
✨ Communication and Language
✨ Literacy
✨ Expressive Arts and Design

Simple activities such as finishing a rhyming sentence, spotting rhyming words in stories, or singing favourite nursery rhymes can make a huge difference to a child’s early literacy journey.

Learning through play really does start with listening! 🎶📚

🧪✨ Potion-making in the garden!

A simple activity packed with learning, creativity and fun. The children explored colours, quantities and sizes while creating their magical potions. 🌈

For our younger children, we encouraged colour recognition with prompts such as “Can you pour in the green liquid?” For older children, we extended their learning by introducing mathematical language and problem-solving questions like “Which container holds the most?” and “Can you pour the biggest tube into the bowl to complete the recipe?”

Learning through play is one of the best ways to build confidence, communication and early maths skills while having lots of fun outdoors. 💚

Mark making is the term used in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) for a child’s early scribbles, lines, and shapes. It is the essential physical and sensory precursor to writing and drawing, helping children build fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and the understanding that marks carry meaning.

Why Mark Making MattersPhysical Development:
•Whole-arm and finger movements build the core strength and grip control needed later for tasks like using scissors or holding a pencil.
•Early Literacy: Scribbling lines and patterns helps children realize that symbols represent thoughts and stories.
•Communication & Expression: It is a sensory, emotional outlet where toddlers and young children make their thoughts and imaginations visible.

Today we went for a walk to see these beautiful animals. We are very lucky at Bug and Bean Childcare to be able to see these amazing horses and only a short walk from us

https://reports.ofsted.gov.uk/provider/17/2748705?fbclid=IwVERDUARwS-RleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAo2NjI

Using scissors before starting school is a critical developmental milestone that directly supports school readiness by fostering fine motor strength, hand-eye coordination, and independence. By the time children enter school, they are often expected to have developed the hand muscles needed for tasks like writing, cutting, and gluing.