Chestnut Childminding

Chestnut Childminding Home from Home childcare. Frobel "Play is the highest form of human expression in childhood"

19/06/2026

Following on from our making it real training together me, Happy Ducklings Childminding and Darwin Child Care decided to do a story a week for our families and beyond ❤️

Iv chosen Walking through the Jungle, we love singing this song but when I saw a very similar book I had to get it for the children, still using some rhythm when reading the book and it’s a huge hit!

At home when reading similar books

🍃 Stop and look at the pictures
Take time to explore each page together. Ask your child:
“What can you see?”
“Who is hiding?”
“What do you think will happen next?”

🦁 Make the animal sounds
Using different voices makes stories exciting and encourages communication.

🗣️ Join in with the repeated phrases
Repetition helps children develop confidence, vocabulary and early literacy skills.

👣 Act out the story
Walk, stomp, creep and tiptoe around the room or garden as you journey through the jungle together!

💚 Most importantly, have fun and enjoy sharing stories together. Just a few minutes of reading each day can make a big difference

In the paper! Thank you to all our families and friends for donating to make the farm happen at Woodland View Care Home ...
16/06/2026

In the paper! Thank you to all our families and friends for donating to make the farm happen at Woodland View Care Home - Barchester Healthcare

It was such a wonderful day and it was memorable and enriching for all involved.

Today we explored a selection of tomatoes of different colours, shapes and sizes. The children squeezed, popped, cut, to...
15/06/2026

Today we explored a selection of tomatoes of different colours, shapes and sizes. The children squeezed, popped, cut, touched, smelled and tasted them while talking about what they noticed.

⭐ Our two golden rules are:
• No one has to like it.
• No one has to try it.

Some of the wonderful comments included:

🍅 “Shannon, this is juicy!”
🍅 “That just exploded in my mouth!”
🍅 “I like this one more.”
🍅 “It’s crunchy!”
🍅 “It’s squishy!”

I honestly expected to have lots of tomatoes left over, but every single child explored them and chose to try them in their own way. We even added some tomatoes to lunch afterwards, and everyone happily had them again!

It’s been fantastic to see the children developing their confidence, curiosity and vocabulary around food. We look forward to sharing more of our sensory food adventures with you soon! 🌈🥕🍓🥒

15/06/2026

I’m booked on and encouraged all my families to attend!

Our Level 2 RHS award just arrived and I Spy a broad bean 🥳🥳
06/06/2026

Our Level 2 RHS award just arrived and I Spy a broad bean 🥳🥳

Me and my oldest C went to Switch - University of Essex today to take part in their study looking at the transition from...
29/05/2026

Me and my oldest C went to Switch - University of Essex today to take part in their study looking at the transition from reception to year 1.

C has not stopped telling everyone that we got to be scientists today!

Without research my own CPD would stop so I’m super passionate about helping researchers wherever I can ❤️

29/05/2026

Following on from our making it real training together me, Happy Ducklings Childminding and Darwin Child Care we decided to do a story a week for our families and beyond ❤️

Taking inspiration from the book that the lovely Happy Healthy Minds had on display at the Essex County Council Early Years early years conference a few weeks ago.

It’s ok to be different! We’ve enjoyed this in our setting looking at all our differences and opposites.

It’s a gentle book to celebrate diversity, enhance emotional development and promote character growth ❤️

17/05/2026

Feeling inspired by so many people at yesterday’s Essex County Council Early Years conference.

So many things I will implement straight away into the setting.

Watch this space ❤️

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Colchester

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