Cheeky Chimps Childminding with Sam Littlejohns and Maxine Ellis

28/09/2026

Edible sensory play this morning.

21/09/2026

While the weather is fine we play and explore in the garden

18/09/2026

The chimps are exploring an edible sensory tray using cereal, lemons and limes, scoops, spoons, bowls and a muffin tray.

🌿 Learning outcomes from this activity

👃 Understanding the World – Exploring senses

* Exploring different smells, particularly the fresh citrus smell of lemons and limes.
* Discovering different textures – crunchy, rough, smooth, soft and powdery.
* Exploring differences between the colours, shapes and sizes of the ingredients.
* Beginning to describe what they can see, smell, touch and taste.
* Developing curiosity by investigating what happens when ingredients are moved, crushed or mixed.

✋ Physical Development – Fine motor skills

* Scooping cereal with spoons develops hand and wrist control.
* Picking up individual pieces encourages pincer grip and finger strength.
* Pouring and transferring materials between containers develops hand-eye coordination.
* Using the muffin tray encourages careful placement and controlled movements.
* Strengthening the small muscles needed for later skills such as mark making, drawing, using scissors and dressing.

🧠 Mathematics

* Counting pieces of cereal or scoops.
* Exploring more and less, full and empty.
* Filling and emptying the different sections of the tray.
* Comparing the sizes and shapes of lemons and limes.
* Beginning to recognise patterns and repetition.
* Developing an understanding of capacity through filling, emptying and transferring.

🗣️ Communication & Language

* Learning and using vocabulary such as scoop, pour, crunchy, smooth, rough, sour, sweet, lemon, lime, full, empty, more and less.
* Talking about what they can smell, feel and see.
* Following simple instructions.
* Developing concentration and listening skills.
* Encouraging children to communicate their preferences and describe their discoveries.

🎨 Expressive Arts & Design

* Creating their own arrangements and patterns.
* Using the loose materials in imaginative ways.
* Exploring what happens when different materials are combined.
* Encouraging creativity and independent play.

❤️ Personal, Social & Emotional Development

* Developing independence by choosing which tools and materials to use.
* Building confidence through exploring something unfamiliar.
* Encouraging sustained attention and engagement.
* Developing the confidence to experiment and make their own choices.
* Sharing resources and taking turns when playing alongside others.

🌟 Characteristics of Effective Teaching & Learning

This activity particularly supports:

Playing and Exploring – children investigate the materials freely, make choices and discover what happens.

Active Learning – children become absorbed in scooping, pouring, filling and transferring.

Creating and Thinking Critically – children experiment, solve little problems and work out how to move the materials from one container to another.

🍋 A lovely EYFS observation sentence

“Today the children explored an edible citrus sensory tray. They used their senses to investigate the smell, texture, appearance and taste of the different materials. They developed their fine motor skills through scooping, pouring, picking up and transferring the cereal, while also exploring mathematical concepts such as capacity, counting, full and empty. The activity encouraged communication as the children described their sensory experiences and supported independence, curiosity and sustained concentration.”

It looks like a simple sensory activity, but there is so much learning happening through children’s hands, eyes, noses, mouths and minds! 🍋🥣✨

16/09/2026

15/09/2026

Thankyou to Kirby muxloe library for letting us do makaton songs and a leukodystrophy awareness morning.

14/09/2026

12/09/2026

🐒💚 A WEEK OF LEARNING AT CHEEKY CHIMPS Childminding. 💚🐒

What a busy and exciting week we’ve had! 🌟

At Cheeky Chimps, we believe that some of the best learning happens through real-life experiences, play, exploration and having fun — and this week has certainly been full of all four! 🥰

📚 THE LIBRARY
We enjoyed exploring books, listening to stories, turning pages, talking about pictures and developing our communication and language skills. Our little ones had the opportunity to make choices, develop a love of books and enjoy stories together. 📖

🏊 SWIMMING
Swimming gave us so many opportunities for learning — building confidence, developing physical skills, practising coordination, following instructions and becoming more independent. Our 3-year-old worked on movement, balance and body awareness, while our 1-year-olds explored the water, sensations and new experiences at their own pace. 💦

🎵 TODDLER GROUP
A fantastic opportunity for social development! The children enjoyed playing alongside others, sharing resources and developing confidence in a different environment. 🎶

🌱 GARDEN CENTRE
We explored colours, plants, flowers and the natural world. We talked about what we could see, smell and touch, developing vocabulary and curiosity. There were opportunities to count, compare, notice similarities and differences and learn about caring for living things. 🌸🌿

🛝 SOFT PLAY
Lots of physical development and, of course, lots of fun! Climbing, crawling, balancing, jumping, negotiating spaces and developing strength and coordination all help support the children’s physical development. 💪

✨ Across the week, we’ve supported ALL areas of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS):

🗣️ Communication & Language – conversations, stories, songs, new vocabulary and listening.

🏃 Physical Development – swimming, climbing, balancing, crawling, movement and coordination.

❤️ Personal, Social & Emotional Development – building confidence, independence, friendships, turn-taking and managing new experiences.

📚 Literacy – enjoying books, stories, rhymes, mark-making opportunities and developing a love of reading.

🔢 Mathematics – counting, comparing sizes and quantities, recognising patterns, shapes and developing an understanding of number through everyday experiences.

🌍 Understanding the World – exploring the community, nature, plants, water, different environments and the world around us.

🎨 Expressive Arts & Design – music, singing, movement, imaginative play, creativity and expressing ideas.

And the best part? The children have been learning without even realising it! 🥰

At Cheeky Chimps Childminding, we don’t just provide activities — we provide experiences that create memories, build confidence and lay the foundations for lifelong learning. 💚🐒

Oh and we also did some professional development training on dysphagia and choking!!

What a wonderful week! 🌈✨

🐒💚

28/08/2026

We provide food here at cheeky chimps. Lots of veg and fruit. We use wholewheat pasta and rice and try pack as much goodness into the meals and snacks as we can!!

30/07/2026

In the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), first aid is a legal requirement to help ensure children’s safety.

Today myself (Sam Littlejohns) and Maxine Louise Ellis completed our full paediatric first aid.

Thanks https://www.amedtraining.co.uk/?fbclid=IwVERDUATYOtZwZG9mBWZkaWQWULgWkFdX5HpiKAfTUQQU4Byc3E7aUGV4dG4DYWVtAjEwAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkCjY2Mjg1NjgzNzkAAR5fojeIAHXfp5HrLIqd9_CnMz5KL2PkR9y0nknFwX9qFR_1tOTqXpAScX2M0g_aem_08SiDa-pcGZSG4g1_jjH6Q