Wellies and Wildflowers Childminding

The summer holidays are already halfway through and we’re savouring every last minute together. Our study topic this week was the night sky, and we’ve explored it through discussion, woodwork, treasure hunts, baking and story time.

On Monday we met with our home education group at the allotment for a night sky maths treasure hunt. The children worked brilliantly to find the clues, count carefully and practise their writing skills to solve each of the maths challenges. They then put their woodworking skills to the test, carefully hammering nails into wood slices before using wool to join the “stars” together and create their own constellations. Afterwards we headed to our local library for a chocolate making session. The children concentrated so hard decorating their chocolates with sprinkles and, unsurprisingly, had just as much fun “cleaning” the spoons afterwards!

Tuesday we had a lovely visit from our larger childminder group. We talked about all the things we might see in the night sky before the children decorated biscuits with their own night sky creations. Our younger friends were fantastic at identifying their newly learnt colours, while our older children impressed us by remembering the names of the planets. One child even accidentally created the perfect crescent moon after taking a big bite out of their biscuit!

Wednesday we took a little detour from our curriculum and celebrated everything blackberry. We read a story about a blackberry monster before heading around the allotment to pick our own blackberries. The children mashed them into Greek yogurt, exploring new flavours and expanding their taste buds. They then fully embraced their imaginations, becoming “blackberry monsters” complete with purple stained mouths as they chased one another around the allotment. Later, we experimented with using the blackberries as paint, exploring the different colours, textures and marks they could create.

Today was a lovely slow, child-led morning at home before we headed to our local library for the Reptile Rendezvous event. The children were fascinated meeting some very unusual animals and asking lots of curious questions.

Another week of adventure, curiosity and making the most of summer together. Now it’s time for a well deserved week off before we do it all again ❤️

This week has been full of big adventures and adapting to whatever the day had in store. Our theme this week was field trips, although we didn’t quite manage as many as we had planned. Sometimes going with the flow creates the best memories.

Monday was the most incredible day out to York. We caught the train over and spent the day at the National Railway Museum and Wonderlab. Although Wonderlab is quite small, it was so engaging that the children happily spent nearly an hour exploring each activity. From scarves whizzing through suction tubes and giant ball runs to the interactive sand pit and older children’s soft play, there was something to capture everyone’s imagination. We especially loved the live science experiment and the creative storytelling, and the staff were absolutely fantastic. After such a full day in Wonderlab, we only had time for a quick ice cream and a whistle stop look around the train museum before dashing back for our train home.

Tuesday we had planned a visit to the allotment and our local library, but the temperature quickly started to climb and the children were deeply engaged in their play at home, so we decided to stay put. Out came the giant dolls’ house and before long the whole room had transformed into one enormous dolls’ mansion, with every child completely immersed in their own little world.

Wednesday we headed to Thorne Library for their Tuneful Chatter session. The children were captivated by a sensory retelling of We’re Going on a Bear Hunt, burying themselves in the swishy swashy grass and creating their own swirling, whirling snowstorms. We stayed afterwards to enjoy some free play and lots of story reading before heading to the nearby park to burn off some energy.

Today we had planned a trip to our local soft play, but after some big feelings we unfortunately missed our bus, so we changed our plans and enjoyed a slower day together instead. We walked to our local shop to collect a few ingredients before coming home to bake apple crumbles using apples kindly donated by our neighbour. The children were so proud to take their bakes home to share with their families.

A week that reminded me that not every adventure goes to plan, but with a little flexibility and a lot of imagination, wonderful memories are still made ❤️

Arghhh what an incredible week. The summer holidays are in full swing, and so are our six weeks of big adventures. Our study theme this week was moths, and I’m feeling very grateful for a three-day work week and a chance to spend some quality time with my own child.

Monday was a BIG day out to Cleethorpes, a trip we love to fit in every summer. The children always love the big train journey, which really adds to the adventure. On arrival we took a road train to the splash pad, which was really special for them. We spent a full afternoon playing and making new friends in the splash pad, which felt like only an hour and went by far too quickly. Then it was a quick trip to the arcades for some slot machine fun before our train journey home.

Tuesday continued our moth theme, with the children dressing as beautiful moths and going in search of yummy nectar at our local wildflower and sunflower picking farm. It was a lovely chance to practise some scissor skills as they snipped and made their own little bouquets, and helped to pick flowers for our vase and a few extras for crafts. The bus journeys gave us lots of time to read all about moths, and we learned that their antennae are different to butterflies because they point outwards and are feathery, so we adjusted our antenna headbands to match.

Wednesday was a slower day at home. We used the flowers from the previous day to do some hapa zome (flower hammering) and decorate moth bags with them. We also looked at moth life cycles as we printed them into play dough, and the children were interested to learn that most moths go into cocoons, as opposed to butterflies who go into chrysalis. I had to laugh because they have been educated so well that butterflies go into chrysalis and not cocoons, as Eric Carle suggests, so they really struggled to get their heads around moths going into cocoons instead! We finished the day with some moth symmetry, which was also a little lesson in symmetry for me as I realised I should have drawn the moth on both halves of the paper in order to create a symmetrical final image 😂🤦🏻‍♀️

A really beautiful week, full of big adventures, slower days and the simple joys of summer. Now let the freedom of the summer holidays continue! ❤️

We’ve had such a gorgeous week this week. Our theme was weather, and we explored it through books, conversations, observations, arts and crafts and, of course, by experiencing plenty of different weather ourselves!

On Monday we visited the new allotment our home education group has secured. It was a huge team effort from both the adults and the children to spread woodchip across all the paths, and the children absolutely loved getting involved and feeling like they were making a real difference. We also read weather stories, talked about why the weather changes and how we can predict it, before making our own wind spinners and watching them dance in the breeze. After school we headed to our local park with the ball court. The children had shown a real interest in throwing and catching balls together the previous week, so I followed that interest and planned another opportunity for them to develop those skills.

Tuesday we met with a larger childminder group at the allotment. It was a wonderful opportunity for our children who are heading off to school soon to spend time in a bigger group, building confidence and preparing for their new adventures. We revisited the wind spinner activity with some of our younger children and read more weather stories together. Afterwards, one of our neighbouring allotment holders kindly invited us onto their plot. We were blown away by their generosity. They had made a blackboard for the community area, bought chalks and board rubbers for the children and gave us a full tour of the allotment. The children fed the chickens, picked some delicious fruit to take home and enjoyed some really lovely conversations. The children got so much from these interactions. One of the things I love most about our allotment is how naturally it brings together a multi-generational community, creating opportunities for children to learn from people of all ages.

Wednesday was our regular allotment day with our childminder trio, and the last one before the summer holidays, meaning some emotional goodbyes to a few of our little friends. We read the wonderfully silly story The Boy Who Switched Off the Sun, before making bright summer sun catchers and painting our faces with cheerful summer colours.

Thursday was a slower day at home with more weather themed activities. The children loved making their own kites, creating sun prints using treasures they had collected from the garden and later, at the park, we worked together to paint a giant rainbow.

A really beautiful week, full of learning, teamwork, kindness and community. Now let the freedom of the summer holidays commence! ❤️

❤️

Absolutely 💯

Another week, another heatwave, and we’ve all made it through… again! This week was our tree study week, and despite the soaring temperatures we still managed to pack in plenty of learning, adventure and slow, meaningful play.

On Monday we headed out for a walk in the woods, cooked lunch and enjoyed a picnic in the meadow before playing among the trees with our zip line and swing. The children really pushed their gross motor skills as they climbed steep hills and trees, and there was lots of mark making with sticks in the soil too.

Tuesday we stayed home to avoid the heat, and the children explored trees through art. They painted the rough ridges of bark, learned some new tree vocabulary and used their fine motor skills to the test by hammering nails into wood slices and creating shapes with elastic bands. We also talked about tree rings, counted them and discovered how they can tell us a tree’s age.

Wednesday our regular allotment day was cancelled because of the heat, so we made the most of being at home and enjoyed a really slow day with lots of deep, meaningful play. We also did a short walk to feed the swans and cooled down with some hose pipe misting in the garden as we watered our sunflower wall.

Today, with cabin fever starting to creep in, we made an early morning trip to the park to build sandcastles in the sandpit and ride bikes. We came home for more free play and stories about trees. This afternoon, when an “I’m bored” popped up, we turned it into some brilliant garden challenges: “Can you make a pipe system to transport water to the other side of the garden?” and then “The floor will become lava in 10 mins, can you set up a bridge so that you can still collect supplies?” This naturally turned into some beautiful role play using tuff trays to sail through the lava and rescue friends.

A hot week, but still full of curiosity, creativity and so much learning. I’m so proud of how the children have coped, explored and thrived, even in the heat ❤️

We were all very grateful that the heatwave was over this week! Our Exploring Nature curriculum had a free week, so we embraced it by slowing down, following the children’s interests and spending lots of time helping out at our allotment community garden.

On Monday we made a day of visiting our local skate park and play area. The children really challenged themselves on the ramps, achieving new milestones and growing in confidence with every attempt. They were so proud of themselves, and I was incredibly proud of them too.

Tuesday we had a lovely visit from our friends at Auntie Laura’s childminding - Ofsted registered . It was wonderful to watch the children integrate so naturally, building friendships and playing so beautifully together. In the afternoon we turned the music up for a party dance session, with squeals of laughter as the children made a conga line all around the house.

Wednesday was our regular allotment day with our childminder friends. The children made beautiful sun catchers, enjoyed face painting themselves while looking in the mirror and each “adopted” a pumpkin plant to take care of and watch grow over the coming months. In the afternoon we headed over to our allotment community garden where the children made me beyond proud. They worked so hard helping to plant the new herb beds and pumped and carried water from the well to give everything a good drink. Seeing them so eager to help and take pride in their community was really special.

Thursday was a much slower day at home with lots of uninterrupted free play. There was ‘ice cream’ making in the garden, followed by den building indoors, with the children completely immersed in their own ideas and imagination.

After last week’s heat, it was lovely to slow the pace a little. A week full of so much learning, community spirit and giving the children the time and space to simply enjoy being children ❤️

Last week definitely tested us! The heat, dysregulated little ones, what felt like 500 changes between swimwear and clothes, and endless sun cream applications… but we made it through! 💪

We spent the week celebrating the Summer Solstice whilst mostly hiding out at home and finding creative ways to keep cool.

Tuesday was a paddling pool day with lots of “ice cream” foam making in the garden. The children loved making Summer Solstice bracelets, carefully threading beads onto elastic before deciding each bead had its own magical power ❤️. Their imaginations never fail to amaze me.

Wednesday was another pool day, with the children competing to see who could sq**rt their water shooter the highest into the air. We also fitted in some focused learning, juicing pears and talking about how food is produced before turning them into delicious pear ice lollies, which, of course, we very much enjoyed eating!

Thursday was another “survive the heat” kind of day. Inside, the children created beautiful butterflies by spraying tissue paper with water to transfer the colours onto their templates before discovering the spray bottles were just as much fun for cooling themselves down! After school my older children had an epic water fight while I found myself on permanent water balloon production duty.

It was certainly a week to remember, and although we all loved making the most of summer, I think we’re all looking forward to some slightly kinder temperatures this week ❤️

Our study topic this week was bees and we got very creative with it 🐝

On Monday our home education meet was cancelled due to the rain, so instead I hosted the activities at home for a couple of close friends from the group. The children painted wood slices and put their hammering skills to the test, carefully attaching pressed flower wings to their bees. We then did some “nectar tasting”, trying different fruit juices and pretending to be bees flying from flower to flower, rating each nectar out of 10. We talked about how bees return to the hive to tell their friends where to find the best nectar and how they help pollinate flowers as they travel. We finished by making pine cone bees, wrapping wool and pipe cleaners around pine cones to create our own little pollinators.

On Tuesday we headed out on our annual strawberry picking trip with our larger childminder group. I worked hard filling my basket while the children followed closely behind, helping themselves to the strawberries I’d already picked 🤣. Somehow we managed to dodge all of the heavy rain showers and enjoyed a lovely lunch in the café afterwards.

Wednesday was our regular allotment day with our childminder trio. This week our friends treated us to some wonderful activities and even homemade cake. The children painted their own wind chimes and enjoyed experimenting with the sounds they made. They also decorated bunting featuring their dads’ favourite things, ready to gift for Father’s Day.

Thursday was a much needed slower day at home after such a busy week. My EYFS children enjoyed making the pine cone bees and wood slice bees that the home education group had created earlier in the week, and it was lovely to see them put their own spin on the activities.

A very rainy week for June, but plenty of fun memories made all the same. Signing off now for a well deserved week off ❤️

This week was our museum and gallery visiting week, and we really made the most of not being able to travel out every day by creating our own museums at home.

On Monday we met with our home education group for a show and tell. There were bugs, animal skins, plants, fossils and old coins on display, with lots of facts shared and discussed. The children then became archaeologists, using a metal detector to search for hidden historical treasures. There were a few delightful squeals when they dug up an old super glue tube!

Monday evening our garden turned into a “car museum” with the exciting arrival of a work car. The children were very keen to explore it, which quickly led to them viewing and sitting in every car on the drive (including our neighbours’ 🤣)

Tuesday was a big day out all the way to Clifton Park by train. We took time to talk about one of our little ones’ family history, sharing memories of a loved one who worked as a train driver. At the park we enjoyed the playground and the huge sand pit, then headed into the museum for a quick look around before dashing back for our train home.

Wednesday our usual allotment meet was cancelled due to rain, so we made the most of a cosy day at home by turning the house into an art gallery. We created beautiful gratitude sticker art, talked about the things we are thankful for, and finished off some butterfly artwork from the previous week. The children took real pride in displaying their work on the wall for parents to see at pick-up (something I think we will definitely continue).

Thursday we hosted our own “science museum”. We invited friends over and each brought a science experiment to demonstrate. We had everything from inflating balloons and bubbling colour predictions to spiralling dandelions and even an exploding candle-in-water experiment. The children also got hands-on with mixing, making and serving their own ice creams, which was a huge hit!

Thursday evening we headed to a marching band club where the children got to try out lots of instruments and learn how to march like soldiers.

This week we have also welcomed 5 baby cygnets and one little duckling to our local canal and the the children have been loving going to visit them daily to feed them. A beautiful week full of curiosity, exploration and hands-on learning ❤️