Little House on the Green Childcare

The afternoons have been far too hot to spend much time outside this week, so we brought a little bit of nature indoors instead. ☀️🌿🌸🐚

Inspired by the bright yellow sunshine, I made some yellow playdough and added a basket of natural treasures for the children to explore. They loved rolling, and making prints with our Yellow Door, Early Years Educational Resources Let’s Investigate Nature tactile stones and creating beautiful transient art.

It was a lovely, calm activity that kept little hands busy while staying cool. 💛

Well, we survived the heatwave! ☀️

It’s been quite the week, and I won’t lie, the heat has definitely tested me. Keeping everyone safe in such high temperatures felt like a huge responsibility, and those afternoon school runs were especially tough. ☀️🥵

But together, we made it. My little team have been absolute superstars, embracing every splash, water play session and ice lolly with huge smiles. Even through the hottest days, we’ve found plenty of fun, laughter and magical moments together. 💛

Thank you to the families for supporting my sun safety policy too and the ice lolly contributions. 😊💛

A morning of water play in the shade, trying to keep these little people as cool as possible in this heatwave. ☀️🌸

Today we celebrated the Summer Solstice with a morning of simple joys in nature. ☀️🌿🌸🥁

We wandered through the little woods, danced beneath the trees, sang together, created nature crafts from gathered treasures and enjoyed the feeling of bare feet in the grass. There was music, laughter, sunshine and plenty of time to simply be.

These gentle seasonal celebrations help children connect with the rhythms of the natural world, noticing the changing seasons and finding wonder in the world around them. ❤️

🌿 Happy Father’s Day 🌿

Today I’m feeling especially grateful for my dad.

So much of my love of nature, gardening and the outdoors began with him. From teaching me how to grow things and care for the natural world, to sharing his knowledge and patience over the years, he has inspired more than he probably realises.

Standing together at his allotment today, surrounded by the fruits of his hard work, reminded me just how much I’ve learned from him. The wonder and appreciation for nature that I now share with the children at Little House on the Green has its roots here.

Thank you, Dad, for everything you’ve taught me, for always encouraging my curiosity, and for being such a wonderful role model. ❤️

Sending love to all the dads, grandads, stepdads, father figures and special people being celebrated today. And holding in my thoughts those who may find Father’s Day difficult for any reason. 💚

⭐️🩵 Happy Father’s Day and Happy Bupa’s Day in our setting. 💜⭐️

The children carefully created these beautiful clay star keepsakes, each one unique and made with love for someone special.

Wishing all my childminding families a wonderful day together. ✨

🐛🍊🦋🍃

This week we’ve been extending our learning around The Very Hungry Caterpillar, taking inspiration from all of the delicious fruit the caterpillar enjoyed throughout the story.

The children spent a lovely morning exploring a fragrant citrus water play invitation filled with oranges, flowers, petals and a variety of tools. There was lots of scooping, pouring, stirring, squeezing and zesting as they followed their own ideas and discoveries.

Simple sensory experiences like this provide so many opportunities for learning, supporting fine motor development, hand strength, language, mathematical thinking and imaginative play, all while engaging the senses. ✨

A gentle reminder: if using citrus fruits in play outdoors, please be aware that citrus juice can make skin more sensitive to sunlight and may cause burns. It’s best enjoyed in the shade, with hands washed thoroughly afterwards. ☀️🍊❤️

🥔🌱

Back in February, the children bought seed potatoes from the allotment shop and carefully planted them in the garden, beginning a project that would unfold over many months.

Since then, they have watered them, watched the plants grow and patiently waited to discover what was happening beneath the soil. This week the wait was over and it was time to harvest!

There was great excitement as the children dug through the compost, uncovering potatoes of all shapes and sizes. We sorted, counted and washed our harvest before making potato salad and homemade chips, inspired by our story, Oliver’s Vegetables.

It’s been a great opportunity for the children to experience food growing from beginning to end and to take pride in something they had nurtured themselves. 🤎