Kelly Bennett Childminder

Kelly Bennett Childminder I am a mother of 2 and a childminder

ROLE PLAY…. Yesterday I set up tents and emptied the dressing up clothes on the floor for the children to explore. The c...
24/03/2026

ROLE PLAY…. Yesterday I set up tents and emptied the dressing up clothes on the floor for the children to explore.

The children became firefighters, shop keepers, doctors, nurses, dentists, teachers, ice cream vendors, Spanish dancers, princesses, pirates and more.

Role play and dressing up are important in the early years because they help children develop language, social skills, confidence, and imagination. Through pretend play, children learn about the world around them, express their feelings, and practise sharing, turn-taking, and communication in a fun and meaningful way.
It’s important to provide a safe space, simple props, and encouragement without taking over the play.

THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR NATURE TRAIL 🐛…. Based at Bluewater. We had a lovely day at the nature trail. The weather ...
19/03/2026

THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR NATURE TRAIL 🐛…. Based at Bluewater. We had a lovely day at the nature trail. The weather was perfect. We walked around the nature trail stopping at each point to talk about the story.
We did lots of climbing, balancing, running and jumping.

PLAY DEN….We made a blanket play den by placing blankets over chairs. The kids were delighted. They helped with the pla...
07/03/2026

PLAY DEN….We made a blanket play den by placing blankets over chairs. The kids were delighted. They helped with the placement of the chairs and pulling the blankets over the top and securing them, They suggested bringing in the rug as a floor for their “house” and draping down the blanket to make it a door. A folded up blanket became a “sofa”
They brought in toys, books and food.
This kept them entertained for ages as the den changed from a house, to a castle, to a kitchen and then a cave “to escape dragons”.

Building a blanket camp supports problem-solving, creativity, language, teamwork, physical development, and early maths skills through fun play.

27/02/2026

slow mo racing

CARS 🚗 🚙….. this week we have been racing cars down ramps. It was lots of fun choosing cars and seeing which ones were ...
27/02/2026

CARS 🚗 🚙….. this week we have been racing cars down ramps. It was lots of fun choosing cars and seeing which ones were the fastest.

This seems like simple play for children but it involves science, maths, physical skills, language, social development, and creativity all at once.

Science: Gravity — Objects roll down, not up
Prediction — “Which car will win?”

Maths: Comparing speeds (“fast/slow”),
Sequencing (“first, second, third”)

Physical skills: Fine motor skills — Placing cars carefully at the top
Hand-eye coordination — Releasing at the right moment

Language: Use descriptive vocabulary (fast, crash, stuck, winner)

Social/emotional: Take turns,Handle winning and losing

Creativity: invent stories for the different vehicles

We then recorded the cars in slow motion much to the children’s delight!

VALENTINE’S ❤️…..lots of talk about love. Who do we love? How do we show love? We used bubbly paint to stamp heart with ...
18/02/2026

VALENTINE’S ❤️…..lots of talk about love. Who do we love? How do we show love?
We used bubbly paint to stamp heart with cookie cutters. We used a heart potato stamp. We made heart shapes in coloured rice and made cards with heart stickers for the people we love.

We extended this to talk about where our heart is in our bodies. We used stethoscope’s to listen to our heart beats.

CHINESE NEW YEAR 🐴…… to celebrate Chinese new year we had an activity tray full of fun. We scooped & poured rice, used ...
18/02/2026

CHINESE NEW YEAR 🐴…… to celebrate Chinese new year we had an activity tray full of fun. We scooped & poured rice, used chop sticks for noodles and fingers for transferring miniature pom-poms. We read books, looked at Chinese writing and opened fortune cookies. We spoke about Chinese culture and how there is a diffent animal each new year.
Lovely activity for all ages. Lots of new vocabulary and chances to use fine motor skills

HORSES 🐎 …. For today’s activity we looked at small world horse yard. We had toy horses, fences, a stable, shredded pape...
26/01/2026

HORSES 🐎 …. For today’s activity we looked at small world horse yard. We had toy horses, fences, a stable, shredded paper as hay and food to feed the horses.
We spoke about how horses have tails, manes and hooves. How horses can be wild or pets. We talked about which food they might like to eat. There was lots of “neighing” and we sang nursery rhyme ‘Horsey Horsey don’t you stop”.

This activity gave opportunities to learn new vocabulary and to promote role play. It provided a sensory experience. Learning how animals live and are cared for gives an understanding of the world.

HAIRDRESSERS ✂️ …..Lucky me getting my hair done at the hairdressers. “Kelly’s got princess hair now”
14/01/2026

HAIRDRESSERS ✂️ …..Lucky me getting my hair done at the hairdressers. “Kelly’s got princess hair now”

DINOSAURS 🦕 ….today I set up a simple activity for 3 children aged 2 and under. Dinosaurs & leaves. I let the children ...
13/01/2026

DINOSAURS 🦕 ….today I set up a simple activity for 3 children aged 2 and under. Dinosaurs & leaves. I let the children move the dinosaurs through the leaves. I modelled simple language eg “Stomp” “Roar”
This activity supported sensory exploration, early vocabulary and fine motor skills.

We then extended the activity by dipping the dinosaurs feet into paint and making footprints across the paper. Again repeating the word “Stomp”.

TRAY CARRYING… carrying a tray may look simple, but for Early Years children it supports a wide range of important learn...
12/01/2026

TRAY CARRYING… carrying a tray may look simple, but for Early Years children it supports a wide range of important learning and development areas:

Physical Development
-Gross Motor Skills: Demonstrates balance, coordination, and controlled movement while negotiating space.
– Fine Motor Skills: Uses hands effectively to stabilise and control equipment.

Personal, Social & Emotional Development: Shows independence, concentration, and confidence when completing a task.

Characteristics of Effective Learning: Active learning (maintained focus and persistence) and Creating and thinking critically (adjusted approach to keep tray balanced).

When my eldest started reception class one of the first things she told me about her day was that she had to carry her own tray of food at lunchtime.

This is an excellent activity to help children be ‘School Ready’.
It can be extended to use slightly heavier or fuller trays to manage balance. Or taking the tray outside to navigate obstacles for more spatial awareness.

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Repton Road
Orpington
BR6

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Monday 8am - 6pm
Tuesday 8am - 6pm
Wednesday 8am - 6pm
Thursday 8am - 6pm
Friday 8am - 6pm

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+447752005621

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