Little House on the Green Childcare

A little throwback to some of our favourite apple and blackberry play ideas from last year. 💚💜

At this time of year, we often come across apples and blackberries that are damaged, overripe or otherwise inedible. Rather than going to waste, they make lovely natural additions to children’s play. Squishing, mixing, pouring, exploring colour and texture, and of course, plenty of sensory messy play! 🌿🍎

Our home corner has had a few lovely new additions from TTS Resources ❤️.

The new stainless steel cookware, baking set and pizza oven fit perfectly into this space and will add lots of new possibilities to the children’s play. There are also some new Story Time Hats ready for dressing up and bringing favourite stories to life.

I love giving familiar spaces a little refresh from time to time. Sometimes just a few new resources are enough to spark fresh ideas and inspire completely different play.

I can’t wait to see what the children cook, bake and create when they’re back in September! 🍕🥣✨

AD | Gifted by TTS Resources

One of the things I’m most grateful for as a childminder is having access to this wonderful allotment. 🌿🥕🌻

A huge thank you to my lovely friend Lesley, at Lesley Hooper, for so generously sharing this special place with us. I know just how much time, care and hard work goes into maintaining an allotment, and we never take for granted how lucky we are to spend time here with them each week.

Over the last few years we’ve created a safe little space where the children can play, explore and learn alongside the wider allotment. It’s become somewhere they feel completely at home.

They plant and grow seeds, water vegetables, harvest fruit, care for living things and begin to understand the importance of looking after the world around them. Along the way they’ve learnt about so many new things and each visit brings a new adventure. It’s a place that sparks curiosity, encourages responsibility and helps children build a genuine connection with nature. 💚

A little look around our garden this summer… 🌿☀️🌸🐛🦋

Every corner has been loved in its own way over the past few weeks. From splashing in the water, mixing potions in the garden kitchen and painting on the easel, to caring for fairy gardens, exploring small world play and finding peaceful moments beneath the tree.

The children all have their favourite area. Some are drawn to the water, others to imaginative play, creative experiences or simply sitting quietly exploring nature. Having a range of inviting spaces means every child can follow their own interests, return to favourite places and spend their days learning through play.💚

A little while ago, we noticed a Cabbage White butterfly fluttering around our nasturtiums.🤍🌸🦋 A few days later the children returned to take a closer look. Turning over the leaves, they discovered clusters of tiny yellow eggs and lots of hungry caterpillars happily munching their way through the leaves. 🐛🌿

It wasn’t long before the caterpillars had eaten an incredible amount of the nasturtiums before disappearing as suddenly as they had arrived. We like to think they found a safe place to form their chrysalises, ready for the next stage of their amazing journey.

Watching the butterfly life cycle unfold naturally in the garden has been such a special experience. It reminded us that when we look closely, nature always has another story waiting to be discovered. 💚🌿

Explore Nook GIVEAWAY Day 4! ✨

I’ve partnered with TTS Resources and Explore Nook for something special: Over the next fortnight, 4 different creators will each be giving away a different Explore Nook prize...and this is the FINAL chance to win! 🎉

🎁 On my page, I am giving away the Explore Nook Construction Wooden Cement Mixer worth £199.99 (exc. VAT). 🎁

HOW TO ENTER:
1️⃣ FOLLOW twilight resources. ✨ Explore Nook and Heather 🌸
2️⃣ LIKE AND TAG a friend in the comments (1 tag = 1 entry)

✨ BONUS ENTRY: Share this post to your Instagram Stories and tag us! ✨

TERMS & CONDITIONS: Entrants must be over 18 years old and live in the UK. Giveaway ends 21/07/2026 at 11:59pm BST. Winner will be picked at random and announced on stories by TTS Resources and Heather 🌸 (T&Cs at the link in our bio).

Please be aware of spam accounts, we will not contact you via private message. Do not click on any links via private message or in the comments. The winner will be announced via stories and asked to private message us. This competition is in no way sponsored, endorsed, administered by or associated with Instagram. Good luck! 🤞

And just like that, another school year comes to an end! 💗🌿July has been a bit of a whirlwind as we worked through the heatwave while preparing for the end of term and welcoming new children for settling-in sessions! So it was lovely to spend the last couple of weeks doing everything I love most about childminding, slowing down, spending our days outdoors and simply enjoying learning together. 🥰

We ended the term with a lovely celebration alongside our friends Lesley Hooper, we had a teddy bear’s picnic at forest school, stories, traditional games and lots of precious moments that I’ll remember for a long time. This week also meant saying goodbye to two very special little ones as they head off on their next adventures. Watching children grow from tiny babies and toddlers into confident, capable children is such a privilege, and these two will be missed so very much. ❤️❤️

To all of my wonderful families, thank you for trusting me with your children, for your kindness, your support, and for every thoughtful card, gift and message. I appreciate every single one and feel incredibly lucky to do a job I love, surrounded by such lovely families. I’m now taking a little summer break, although there are still plenty of photos and memories waiting to be shared, so you’ll still see a few posts over the holidays.

Wishing you all a wonderful summer. ☀️💛

We couldn’t finish exploring the children’s interest in the seaside without enjoying some sand playdough. 🐚💛🦀

Filled with shells, sea glass, mermaid treasure and our favourite ocean rollers and seashore stones from Yellow Door, Early Years Educational Resources, it was one of those activities the children kept coming back to.

Rolling, pressing, printing, squashing and creating, each child found their own way to explore, making patterns, discovering textures and following their own ideas. 💛💙

Sand play dough recipe -
💛1 cup plain flour
💛1 cup sand
💛1/4 cup salt
💛1 tbsp cream of tartar
💛1 tbsp oil
💛1 cup hot water.
Mix all ingredients together.

A beautiful celebration of another year together. 🌿

Stories under the trees, a teddy bear’s picnic, traditional games, parachute play and lots of laughter shared with friends.

We’ve visited this woodland through every season, watching it change as the children have grown alongside it. It’s become a familiar place filled with memories, adventures and quiet moments of wonder. 💚🥰

Painting with hands, arms and the whole body is such a wonderful sensory experience. As children feel the paint moving across the surface, they’re exploring texture, pressure, movement and cause and effect in a way that simply isn’t possible with a paintbrush alone.

Large movements help to strengthen shoulders, arms and core muscles, building the foundations needed for later fine motor skills and early writing. At the same time, children are expressing their ideas, making choices, experimenting with colour and developing confidence through open ended creative play.

There are no expectations, no right or wrong way to create, just the freedom to explore, imagine and enjoy the process.

Our outdoor easel from Plum® Play UK provides the perfect space for these big, expressive mark-making experiences. 🌿