Do-Re-Mi Childminding

What do our under 18 months get up too? 🔭 EXPLORATION!!! 🔭 They are integrated with the older children who teach them so much. They mimic what they are doing in their play. They sometimes use them to walk. (This is fantastic PSED for the younger and older children. Adults encourage and scaffold this interaction by talking to the older children when they are looking after the younger children). Our youngest children get to explore the same sensory experiences. They climb the same equipment as the older children at their own pace and when confident with adults nearby for support. This in turn supports strength. However, there favourite thing to do is open and shut the welly boots door and pull all of the wellies out. This is great for observing cause and effect as they watch the wellies tumble but also supports their physical development as they open and shut the door.

In a home-from-home setting, children get the chance to help with real-life things. They support us with things such as watering the plants. They learn resilience when using heavy items and thinking outside the box to make the watering can pour out water. We widen their vocabulary for understanding the world. 🏡

💦 Messy play at its best. At Do-Re-Mi Childminding, we encourage children to explore through play. So, this time we provided some Gloop Play. This was great fun and the children enjoyed seeing the splashes. 💦

🥒🍅 Sustainability 🥒🍅 An important skill to model to children from a young age. So we have been growing our own vegetables that are sprouting nicely. Flora has been keeping them watered over the May half term. 🥒🍅

✏️ We have been supporting our preschool children with their fine motor skills and imagination combined. We have been having seperate preschool sessions to focus on this. This is developing into their own play and the children are now drawing real objects like 'Flora's pink flowers'. Can you guess the other two animals drawn? ✏️

Promoting reading is important for us at Do-Re-Mi! We read everywhere we go but outdoor reading is one of our favourite activities. We even have blankets to make it a cosy space for our children. (Even the adults love it!)

A different type of climbing set up today. The children climbed into the tuff trays at the end of the day so the very next day we made this a climbing and balancing activity. This was loved by all our children, especially when they learnt it bounced. Yes there is risk in this type of play. But the children are encouraged too only do what they are comfortable with. An adult is there at all times to ensure safety. Great opportunities for physical development.

Pilots of their own play today. 💦 The children have enjoyed an activity using scooping and pouring bubbly water. The children then found if they moved the water more bubbles were made. The children were critical thinkers and obtained the wooden brushes to use. They were having fun, thinking critically and building gross motor skills in the process. This is why our moto is almost always yes! The children know they can explore within limits.

To ensure we provide an enriching curriculum. First, we read a book about growing vegetables. They loved this story as it is relatable to them. Then, we used different sized tools to scoop mud into biodegradable pots. We sprinkled seeds and watered them. The children then became the pilot of their own play and their schema of transportation came out where they moved the soil from the tuff tray too the pot. 🪏