Little Explorers Daycare & Afterschool - Belleek

06/09/2026

Three little books. Three very different stories. One very important message 🫶🏻

We’ve now created three children’s books, each one inspired by real feelings, real experiences and the things we see children navigating every single day.

🤍 I Can Be Brave Without You
For the child who finds goodbyes difficult, needs that extra reassurance and is learning that they can miss someone, feel worried and still be brave.

🎒 My Backpack Full of Feelings
For the child who holds everything in all day, only for those big feelings to come spilling out when they finally reach their safe place.

💙 I Communicate in My Own Way
For the child who may not communicate through words, but still has so much to say. Because a lack of words never means a lack of understanding, feelings or connection.

These books aren’t about putting labels on children. They’re about looking beyond the behaviour, noticing what a child might be trying to communicate and helping our little ones feel seen, understood and accepted.

But there’s another little reason these books mean so much to me…

This isn’t really my little business. It’s hers. 🥹

At just 5 years old, Ealach Mae has been such a big part of this journey. Her experiences, her little thoughts, our conversations together and the things we’ve learned along the way have helped inspire so much of what you see in these stories.

I’m just the mummy helping her bring it all to life. 🤍

I want her to grow up seeing that something small can become something special. That her voice matters. That the things she’s experienced can help another little child feel less alone.

So when you buy one of our books, leave us a comment, share a video or simply tell someone about them, you’re not doing it for me, you’re supporting one very proud little 5 year old and the little business we’re building around her. 🥹📚

And hopefully, along the way, we’re helping a few other little children and their grown ups understand those big feelings too.

Please share our little books, you never know whose family might need one of these stories.

04/09/2026

✨ **OUR NEW DIGITAL BOOK IS NOW AVAILABLE!** ✨

**I Communicate in My Own Way** is a gentle and inclusive children’s story celebrating the many different ways children communicate. 🤍

Not every child communicates using spoken words. Some children use gestures, facial expressions, pictures, signs, sounds or communication devices and every form of communication deserves to be noticed, understood and valued.

This story encourages children, families, caregivers and educators to look beyond words, listen with patience and recognise that every child has something meaningful to say.

📱 **Why choose a digital book?**
Once purchased, your PDF is available to download straight away. You can:

✨ Save it to your phone, tablet, iPad or computer
✨ Read it together wherever you are
✨ Keep it close for moments when your child needs reassurance
✨ Revisit the story as often as you wish
✨ Use it at home, in school or within a childcare setting

No waiting for delivery,simply purchase, download and begin reading together 💛

Because communication does not always sound the same, but **every voice matters**.

📖 **Purchase and download your PDF copy now:**

https://payhip.com/b/CgSp9

Please feel free to share this post and help us reach the children and families who may need this story, tag someone you think would connect with this story or know a little one who may benefit from its message!

04/09/2026

✨ WE’VE BEEN SHORTLISTED! ✨

I’m absolutely delighted to share that I’ve been shortlisted for Best Businesswoman at the Greater Newry Business Awards 2026! 🏆💜

Anyone who runs a business knows how much goes on behind the scenes, the long days, late nights, constant ideas, worrying, juggling family life and probably questioning yourself about 100 times along the way 😂

So to be recognised and shortlisted amongst so many amazing businesswomen across the Greater Newry area genuinely means so much to me.

From starting Little Explorers with a vision of creating something special for children and families, to watching it grow into what it is today, there have been plenty of highs, lows, risks and lessons along the way but I wouldn’t change the journey.

A massive thank you to our incredible team, our families and everyone who has supported me and Little Explorers over the years, none of it would be possible without you.

Now to get the glad rags ready for the Gala Awards Night on 24th September! 🥂✨

Whatever happens on the night, being shortlisted is something I’m incredibly proud of, even if it’s just being recognised 🫶🏻

04/09/2026

🎒🤍 MY BACKPACK FULL OF FEELINGS 🤍🎒

I’ve gone back and forth so many times about how I wanted to share this book.

I originally planned to have it printed, but the more I thought about it, the more I kept coming back to one thing, I just want this story to reach the families who might need it 🫶🏻

So, I’ve decided to do something a little different and release My Backpack Full of Feelings as a digital book, making it easy to purchase, download and read together straight away and with our little ones returning to school, it feels like the right time to share it.

This book came from a very personal experience and from seeing first hand just how much our children can hold in throughout their day, only for all of those emotions to come pouring out when they finally reach their safe place.

Sometimes we see the meltdown. The tears. The anger. The behaviour.

But we don’t always see everything that came before it.

The busy classroom. The noise. The expectations. The worries they kept inside. The moments they tried so hard to hold it together.

My biggest hope for this book is that it helps us look beyond those big emotions and understand a little more about what might be happening inside their little minds.

To start conversations. To look beyond the behaviour and to help our children understand that they don’t have to carry everything in their little backpack alone 💔🎒

Because sometimes, what looks like a difficult moment is really just a little person who has been trying their very best all day.

✨ DIGITAL COPY NOW AVAILABLE ✨
Purchase, download and start reading together straight away.

👇 GET YOUR COPY HERE 👇
https://payhip.com/b/sT1wO

A little story that came from a very real place, with hopefully a very big message 🫶🏻✨

03/09/2026

✨ LITTLE EXPLORERS MERCH HAS LANDED! ✨💜🌿

We are SO excited to finally share our brand new Little Explorers clothing range and this time it’s not just for our staff… our little explorers can match us too! 🥹

We have a gorgeous selection available, including T-shirts, ¼ zips, full zips, tracksuits and coats in our Little Explorers colours! 🌿

And can we just talk about the coats?! 😍 They are FAB and have arrived just in time for the good old Irish weather! ☔️😂

These are perfect for throwing on for creche, outdoor play and messy days without worrying about destroying their everyday clothes or simply as a cute Little Explorers outfit for the weekend! 🥰

Please note: This clothing is completely optional and there is absolutely no requirement for children to wear Little Explorers clothing.

🛍️ ORDERING CLOSES 18TH SEPTEMBER

Once the shop closes, orders will then be processed and will take approximately 4–6 weeks from the closing date.

A massive thank you to Drew McVerry and the team at SWYFT for working alongside us to create some lovely new gear for Little Explorers! 💜

We absolutely love how it has all come together and can’t wait to see everyone wearing it! 🥹👏

👇 Shop the Little Explorers collection here:

https://swyftsportswear.com/collections/little-explorers-day-care-clothing-date-18th-september

We cannot wait to see our little ones (and our team!) rocking their new Little Explorers gear! 💜🌿✨

Custom Sportswear brand based in Ireland.

03/09/2026

🎃👻 HALLOWEEN CAMP AT LITTLE EXPLORERS! 👻🎃

But seriously… look at this week of FUN! 😍🧪🕷️

From Witches’ Potion Labs, Haunted Mud Kitchens, Spell Books and Monster Soup to Halloween Slime, making your own Monster Plush, our Mystery Trip and a BIG Halloween Disco & Costume Party… we have SO much planned!

Our Halloween Camp is all about letting the children explore, create, experiment, get messy and make memories with their friends 💜

🎃 Ages 4–12 years
👻 Halloween themed activities all week
🚌 Mystery Trip Thursday
🧙 Dress up fun
🧪 Messy play, experiments & creativity
🪩 Halloween Disco Friday

If you require a specific day during Halloween Camp, please let us know and we can add your child to our request list. We will then be able to confirm additional camp spaces in the coming weeks once our numbers are finalised.

Our current Afterschool children will receive first priority for camp places, and any remaining spaces will then be offered out afterwards.

We cannot wait for this one… it is going to be SPOOKTACULAR! 🎃👻✨

03/09/2026

🎂🎈 Can you tell we’ve had some birthday celebrations this week?! 🥳✨

There’s been plenty of cake, party fun, big smiles and lots of little voices singing Happy Birthday! 🎉🧁💜

We absolutely LOVE getting to celebrate our Little Explorers on their special days! 🥰🎁🎈

03/09/2026

🌳🤎 Our Handmade Family Tree
Little hands, big love and lots of special people! 🥹✨

The children created their very own family trees, a little piece of art filled with the people who mean the most to them 🎨🍃

A beautiful little memory to make, take home and treasure forever! 🤎

03/09/2026

🌈 AFTERSCHOOLS AFTERNOON ACTIVITY 🖍️✨
What were our Afterschool Explorers getting up to today?

🖍️ Creating our very own crayons using the letters of our names!

The children chose their colours, helped create each letter and watched as their names came together in crayon form! 🌈

Did everyone want to take part? Nope and that’s absolutely okay! 💛

While some of our children got creative with their name crayons, others had much more important business to attend to… 🚔👮‍♀️ Police Officers Role Play! Apparently Little Explorers needed a full investigation! 😂

Child led play means giving children the choice to join an activity or follow where their own imagination takes them and today we had plenty of both! 🖍️🚓✨