Vic’s Home from Home Childcare - North Leeds

🌈 Our little toddlers are on the move! 🌈

Next Tuesday, my amazing little ones will be joining their friends at Tots and toddling half a mile to help raise vital funds for Martin House Children's Hospice. 💙

We are incredibly close to a huge milestone, having raised an amazing £998 so far! 🎉 We'd love to smash the £1,000 mark and go as far beyond it as possible before the big day.

If you'd like to support our tiny walkers and this wonderful cause, every donation, no matter how small, makes a difference. Thank you for your kindness and support! 🥰

https://www.justgiving.com/page/tots-big-toddle

Taking a little time by the sea for some much-needed rest and relaxation. 🌊☀️

While I'm enjoying the fresh sea air and taking a well-earned break, childcare is never far from my thoughts! I've been spending some time reading the latest edition of Not Just a Childminder magazine, picking up new ideas and inspiration that I can bring back to my setting.

Taking time to recharge is so important, and I always come back feeling refreshed, motivated, and ready for more adventures, learning, and fun with the children.

A little R&R, a beautiful view, and some professional reading – the perfect combination. 💙

🎵 This week we are exploring a Music & Nursery Rhyme theme! 🎶

We kicked off the week with a brilliant Moo Music session at The Calf Shed Leeds and the little ones absolutely loved it!

From singing and dancing to playing instruments, joining in with actions and using so many fun props, there were lots of smiles and giggles all round 😊

Moo Music sessions are fantastic for supporting children’s development, especially for our little ones today (aged 2–2.5 years).

Music and rhyme help to build language and communication skills, encourage listening and concentration, develop coordination and movement, and support confidence and social interaction. Most importantly, they provide a fun and engaging way for children to learn through play ❤️

We can’t wait for more musical fun this week! 🎤🥁🎼

Today we celebrated an incredible milestone — Sir David Attenborough’s 100th birthday! 🎉🌍🦁

What a wonderful opportunity to help the children learn about the importance of nature, animals, and caring for our planet — values Sir David has inspired generations with. 💚

The children had such a lovely day making birthday cards, playing with balloons, singing Happy Birthday, and hosting their own pretend birthday party with toy cakes and soft toys. 🎂🎈🎶

We also enjoyed sharing books about birthdays, animals, and our beautiful world, sparking lots of conversations and curiosity about wildlife and the environment. 📚🐘🌎

To make the day even more special, we visited our local donkey and pony sanctuary — which felt very fitting as today is also World Donkey Day! 🫏✨ The children thoroughly enjoyed being out in nature, listening to the sounds around them, and learning how important it is to care for animals with kindness and respect.

A truly wholesome day full of learning, laughter, imagination, and appreciation for the natural world. 🌿💛

☀️The sun is out and three busy little boys are happy caring for dolls and pushing prams 👶🏼😊

Role play like this is so valuable for children’s development. It helps build language skills as they chat and create stories, encourages kindness and empathy as they care for others, and supports social skills through sharing and taking turns. Pushing prams also strengthens coordination and gross motor skills.

Learning through play at its best 💛

What a fantastic Easter holiday we’ve had! 🐣🌷

Despite the very changeable spring weather, we’ve made the most of every moment with lots of wonderful outings and adventures. From exploring the great outdoors to enjoying local trips, the children have had so many opportunities to learn, play, and grow.

A special mention to my amazing “big girl” helper, who has been such a superstar—supporting the younger children, joining in the fun, and helping make each day run so smoothly 💕

Throughout all our activities, we’ve continued to incorporate learning through play, covering all areas of the EYFS—building confidence, encouraging curiosity, and creating lots of happy memories along the way.

It’s been such a joy to see the children thriving, whatever the weather has thrown at us! ☀️🌧️
Now onto the next adventures… 🌈

Happy Easter everyone 🐣🌸

We’ve had a lovely week enjoying Easter stories, getting creative with crafts, and taking part in some fun egg hunts 🥚🎨📚

Lots of smiles, laughter, and special moments shared together 💛 and absolutely no chocolate involved!! (but I’m sure they’ll make up for that today! 🍫)

Wishing you all a happy and relaxing Easter weekend! 🐰💜✝️

🥐 National Croissant Day 🥐

What a wonderful way to finish the week with the little ones!

Today we celebrated National Croissant Day, turning it into a fun, hands-on learning experience.

We explored “c is for croissant” and “c is for crescent”, practised letters and sounds, and even learned some French words and phrases including Bonjour, Au revoir and Framboise 🇫🇷

The children got creative while learning about the French flag, and we enjoyed a real-world experience by heading out to buy fresh croissants before coming back to taste, talk about and enjoy them together. Lots of lovely conversations, new vocabulary and sensory experiences along the way!

This activity naturally covered all areas of the EYFS, alongside plenty of free play, stories and child-led fun. A truly tasty and memorable learning day 💛

🐧🦩🐦‍⬛ this week has been all about penguins (as it was Penguin Awareness Day on Tuesday) and birds (as it is the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch this weekend) and we ended the week with a wonderful outing to see real penguins and some very exotic birds!

It’s been another jam-packed week, despite the weather ☔️🌧️, and I can’t believe we’re already approaching the end of January!! Time flies when you’re having fun!!

The little ones have enjoyed a wide range of activities designed to support all areas of the EYFS, alongside regular playgroup visits to help build confidence and develop social skills.

We’re all very excited for the Big Garden Birdwatch this weekend! We’ll be taking an hour out of our busy weekend to join this important survey — a lovely excuse to enjoy some peaceful time, spot some birds, and help nature at the same time 🐦💚

Have a great weekend!

❤️🎄🎅🏻 It’s the most wonderful time of the year … we’ve had a fun-filled and festive couple of weeks to build up to the big day next week!!

The little ones have had such a magical time enjoying all our Christmas activities! We’ve explored lots of festive resources, shared many Christmas stories (including books with sounds and lights ✨), attended playgroup Christmas parties, supported Martin House through a Christmas Jumper Day, visited Christmas tree festivals, enjoyed a trip to Harewood House, and created so many Christmassy crafts I’ve honestly lost count! 🎄🎨

These photos give just a small glimpse into everything we’ve been up to – there’s been so much festive fun and learning happening behind the scenes!

Now it’s time for the little ones and I to enjoy some special family time. We’ll be back refreshed, recharged, and ready for lots more fun and learning in the New Year 🥰

✨ Wishing everyone a very merry Christmas ✨