Janet & Katie Leeks Childminding

🐛🦋 Our Life Cycle Adventure Begins! 🦋🐛

Today we were so excited to welcome some very special new arrivals… our caterpillars! The children have already been fascinated watching them wriggle and explore their new home.

We’ve created a lovely, inviting setup to support our learning all about life cycles. Through stories, hands-on play, and close observation, the children will be able to explore how living things grow and change over time 🌿

This experience links closely to the EYFS, supporting:
✨ Understanding the World – learning about the natural world and living things
✨ Communication and Language – introducing new vocabulary and encouraging lots of discussion
✨ Personal, Social and Emotional Development – developing care, patience, and respect for living creatures
✨ Mathematics – counting, comparing size, and noticing changes over time

We’ll be documenting each stage as our caterpillars grow, form their chrysalides, and (hopefully!) emerge as beautiful butterflies 🦋

What a wonderful way to spark curiosity, awe, and a love for nature 💚

🎊🐉 Celebrating Chinese New Year at Our Setting! 🐉🎊

We’ve had such a wonderful time celebrating Chinese New Year with the children this week! It’s so important to us to explore different cultures and traditions in fun, hands on ways.

Here’s what we’ve been up to:

🐲We got creative making our own Chinese dragon masks,the children loved designing their colourful, fiery dragons!
🏮 We practised our scissor skills with cut-and-stick Chinese lantern collages, creating beautiful decorations to display
🎨 We enjoyed Chinese New Year colouring activities, learning about the zodiac animals and traditional symbols.
🥢 We shared a special Chinese-inspired lunch, trying new flavours and practising our chopstick skills.
🌿 We went on an exciting scavenger hunt around Horsforth Oriental Gardens, spotting beautiful features and talking about their meaning.
📚 📚 During story time, we read lovely books about Chinese New Year. This sparked so many thoughtful questions and conversations. the children were curious about why the celebration lasts for several days, what the different animals mean, and how families celebrate in different parts of the world. It was wonderful to see them making connections and sharing their ideas with one another.

It’s been a fantastic week full of creativity, exploration and learning. The children have been so engaged and curious. we’re very proud of them! ❤️

We love celebrating cultural festivals and helping little ones learn about the world around them 🌍

🎄 It’s a wrap… Christmas is here! 🎄

We’ve had such a wonderful few weeks leading up to Christmas, filled with festive fun, learning and lots of smiles ✨

Over the past few weeks we have:

🎅 Visited the “12 Days of Elfmas” trail at Leeds Museum
❄️ Created paper snowflakes using our folding, cutting and painting skills
🍪 Baked and decorated gingerbread men
🌟 Enjoyed the Starry Winter Walk at Kirkstall Abbey
💌 Made Christmas cards for our mummy’s and daddy’s
🎄 Created handprint Christmas trees decorated with sparkly sequin baubles
🌿 Took part in a Christmas session at Outdoor Explorers, which included making our own wreaths and reindeer food
🎉 Visited Grasshoppers Play Centre for our Christmas party
🍽️ Enjoyed a lovely Christmas dinner together
📚 Had story time with Santa at Leeds Library
🍔 Ended the week with a trip to McDonald’s with the big children (their choice instead of a Christmas disco!)
🎈 And our EYFS children enjoyed their own Christmas disco back at the den

I’d like to say a huge thank you to our lovely families for the thoughtful Christmas presents and continued support.

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a happy, healthy New Year 🎄✨

Love Janet and katie and the team x

🌌 This week we are learning all about SPACE! 🪐✨

To kick off our cosmic adventure on Tuesday, we took a trip to the Science + Media Museum to explore the YOU: MATTER exhibit. This supported Understanding the World, encouraging curiosity, discussion, and helping the children understand how they fit into the wider world 💫

Back at the den, we’ve enjoyed a week full of hands-on, creative learning. We took part in space-themed music times, and did some space themed dancing with Danny Go, supporting Physical Development (gross motor skills), Listening and Attention, and Personal, Social and Emotional Development as we moved together and had lots of fun 💃🕺🌟

📚 We read some fantastic space books, with the children talking about our planet, the moon, and the stars. This encouraged Communication and Language, early Literacy, and further developed their Understanding the World 🌍🌙⭐

🎨 We made our own solar systems by scrunching tissue paper, cutting and sticking planets, and decorating them with space stickers. This supported Physical Development (fine motor skills), Expressive Arts and Design, and Understanding the World.

🌌 We explored conker rolling with galaxy colours, talking about the colours we see in space and allowing the children to choose their own paints. This activity encouraged Communication and Language, Expressive Arts and Design, early decision-making, and curiosity, before turning our paintings into cosmic pictures using space stickers.

🪐 We also painted our own planets to hang up in our bedrooms, promoting Expressive Arts and Design, creativity, and Personal, Social and Emotional Development, as the children felt proud of their artwork.

🚀 The children also worked together on a large-scale colouring sheet, adding planet stickers and sharing resources. This supported Physical Development, Personal, Social and Emotional Development, and teamwork, while encouraging creativity and turn-taking.

✨ What an amazing week we’ve had! ✨
So much curiosity, creativity, movement, and learning through play. truly out of this world 🌟🛸

✨ Children in Need Fun! ✨

This week we had the most wonderful time attending a CBeebies Children in Need Story Time event! 🎉📚
There was lots of singing, dancing, giggles and excitement – the children absolutely loved every moment.

We also enjoyed colouring Pudsey masks and creating our own Pudsey bear pictures, helping the little ones learn about kindness and giving while having loads of fun. 🐻🎨💛

Such a lovely way to support a brilliant cause!

🌺 Remembrance Day 2025 🌺

Today we took some time to remember all the brave soldiers who have fought and those who continue to serve to keep us safe. ❤️

We began our celebration by watching the CBeebies Remembrance Day programme and then the two-minute silence, and the children were so respectful and calm, it was really lovely to see.

We’ve had a very creative and thoughtful day filled with lots of activities:
❤️ Made a beautiful poppy field using cutting and sticking
🖍️ Created paper plate poppies
🎨 Enjoyed poppy do-a-dots and colouring soldiers
🧁 Baked and decorated poppy buns
🍪 Made poppy biscuits with the big children after school
🍓 And finished the day with some poppy jelly for pudding after tea!

Throughout our activities, we talked about what poppies mean, why people wear them, and how buying a poppy helps to support soldiers and their families.

These activities linked beautifully to the EYFS:
🧠 Understanding the World: learning about people, communities, and traditions.
🎨 Expressive Arts and Design: exploring creativity through different materials and techniques.
🤸‍♀️Physical development: developing our fine motor skills I.e. cutting, holding and controlling mark making tools.
💬 Communication and Language: developing conversations and understanding through discussion.
❤️ Personal, Social and Emotional Development: showing respect, empathy, and care for others.

Lest we forget. 🌺

🔥✨ Bonfire Night Fun! ✨🔥

We’ve had such a sparkly time celebrating Bonfire Night together this week! 🎆

The children have been so creative, colouring in their very own Bonfire Night crowns 👑, making delicious chocolate sparklers with breadsticks, chocolate and sprinkles 🍫✨, and decorating chocolate-dipped apples with lots of colourful sprinkles (the perfect Bonfire Night treats!). 🍎💫

We made our own little bonfires using tissue paper 🔥 and even worked together on a big group drawing of a huge bonfire, it was amazing to see everyone join in! 🎨

We shared a story around our role play area bonfire, sang Bonfire Night poems and rhymes 🎵, and chatted about all the firework displays the children had been to over the weekend, so many exciting bangs and sparkles! 🎇

To finish off our celebrations, we enjoyed a lovely Bonfire Night tea with hotdogs, chips and chocolate sparklers for pudding 🌭🍟🍫 yum!

And of course toady, we rounded off our clebrations with a fun trip to Outdoor Explorers 🌿

We Hope everyone has a safe and sparkling Bonfire Night! 💥💛

🍂 What an amazing Autumn half term we’ve had! 🍁

It’s been such a busy few weeks full of fun, learning, and adventure as we explored all the wonderful things that come with autumn!

✨ We started the term by waving off our big girls as they headed off to Reception, such a proud moment for us all! And welcoming some new children to our gang❤️

🐿️ We’ve been focusing on The Gruffalo, learning all about the different woodland animals we might see as the weather changes and how they get ready for hibernation. The children loved acting out the story, talking about the animals, and exploring textures and sounds.
supporting their Communication & Language and Understanding the World skills.

🍁 Our outdoor adventures have taken us far and wide, from autumn colour hunts at RHS Harlow Carr, to conker picking, and autumn treasure hunts and playtime at Roundhay Park, the Arium and other local parks and geeen spaces. So much learning through play, movement, and exploration. Great for Physical Development and Curiosity about Nature!

🐮 We’ve also had some lovely days out at Eureka! and Temple Newsam Farm and Play Barn, Leeds library and museums, trips on the train, and so many more giving the children plenty of chances to learn through real-life experiences and hands-on discovery.

🪔 We celebrated Diwali by making our own diva lamps,creating mandala and Rangoli patterns, reading stories, and watching BBC My First Festival — a lovely way to explore Expressive Arts & Design and learn about different cultures and traditions.

🎃 And of course, we finished the half term with our Halloween party! Lots of spooky crafts, dressing up, and sensory fun, perfect for Personal, Social & Emotional Development and creative play.

It’s been such a lovely half term full of new experiences, laughter, and learning through play, all building on the EYFS areas of development in a fun, natural way 🌈

COVID babies are starting school , and it feels surreal. 😭

Between March 2020 and March 2021, over 3.5 million babies were born into a world of masks, lockdowns, and uncertainty.

They were tiny newborns when the world stood still. The first smiles hidden behind face coverings, first steps often witnessed only by parents at home, first birthdays celebrated on video calls.

And now, those same babies are walking into classrooms with backpacks bigger than they are, full of personality, resilience, and curiosity.

They’ve grown up in a time unlike any other, yet here they are—ready to learn, make friends, and take on the world.

It’s a reminder of just how fast time moves, and how strong and adaptable this generation truly is.

And just like that… summer club 2025 is a wrap! ☀️💦
What an amazing 4 weeks we’ve had—filled with laughter, sunshine, and plenty of fun. Today we celebrated our big girls graduating and getting ready for their next adventure at school 🎓💖. Thank you for the gorgeous cards, gifts, and all the love you’ve shared. Enjoy the rest of the holidays, and we’ll be ready with open arms! to welcome you back and our new families in September. 🌈✨

“The tokens of appreciation we receive from our families as the children move on to preschool and school make every bit of our hard work and dedication completely worth it. Knowing we’ve made a positive and lasting impact on ‘our’ little ones’ learning is the greatest reward of all.”