Kate Jenkins Little Learners

05/10/2026

Happy October! 🎃🍁✨ kicking off the month exploring Autumn treasure baskets and stories 🧡

30/09/2026

Music time! 🎵

Freely exploring the different instruments, making different sounds and older children practising copying a pattern and experimenting with loud / quiet / fast / slow 🥁

Daily singing our favourite nursery rhymes and little routine rhymes like our “welcome” and “tidy up” songs also help support language development, listening, memory, rhythm and early communication skills 🎵💛

30/09/2026

Babies need to move! 💛

Supporting our littlest ones physical development with as much time out of pushchairs / car seats / highchairs / baby seat etc as possible! 🥰 And lots of opportunities indoors and outdoors for them to move FREELY, practising crawling, climbing, pulling themselves up and developing those big gross motor muscles and wellbeing 💪💛

30/09/2026

Farm week! 👩‍🌾 🌾 🐮

Our babies enjoyed a trip to our local farm 🚜 seeing the animals close up 🐐 the farm sound books and toys became a firm favourite this week as our littlest ones started to learn the names and sounds of different animals 🐮 💛

09/09/2026

🌿 A Typical Day 🌿

This September, our focus is all about settling in, building familiarity and confidence, and creating a safe, secure and nurturing environment where little ones can feel comfortable to explore, play and learn at their own pace. 🤍

This morning we headed out to a local sensory cabin, where the children enjoyed exploring different textures, sounds, colours and lights.

Afterwards, we came home for a home-cooked lunch and a well-earned nap. 😴

This afternoon we continued our play with some fresh air outside — exploring leaves, feeling the breeze, listening to the sounds around us and enjoying some simple outdoor play. 🍂🌬️

We also spent reading with stories and singing. We’ll repeat some of our favourites throughout the month as this helps children feel secure, build confidence and develop those lovely connections between language, sounds and meaning. 📚🎶

And to finish the day, we enjoyed another little sensory invitation indoors 💓

02/09/2026

🍎 Mealtimes 🥦

I’m passionate about creating positive, nutritious and enjoyable mealtime experiences for the children in my setting. Mealtimes are an important part of the day and provide so many opportunities for learning and development, alongside nourishing growing bodies.

I have completed the Charlotte Stirling-Reid Baby Weaning & Nutrition course, and prepare a range of nutritious, home-cooked meals in line with current early years nutrition guidance. I also take inspiration from What Mummy Makes by Rebecca Wilson.

Mealtimes provide valuable opportunities for children to:

🥕 Explore a wide variety of tastes, textures and foods
🥄 Develop self-feeding skills and practise using utensils
👶 Build independence and confidence around food
💬 Develop social skills through shared mealtimes
🤲 Explore food through touch and sensory experiences
😊 Develop positive and enjoyable associations with eating

Today was my first day back following maternity leave, with two babies enjoying their first day back in the setting.

For snack, they enjoyed a variety of fruit, cheese and Scotch pancake fingers.

Lunch was spinach macaroni cheese with garlic bread fingers and grated cheese, followed by a little messy food exploration using coloured Greek yoghurt and squashed raspberries. 🍓

I believe it’s important that babies and young children are given the freedom to explore their food and become comfortable with different textures and sensations. Allowing them to touch, squish and investigate food supports their sensory development and helps mealtimes remain relaxed and enjoyable, rather than focusing on keeping clean throughout the meal.

At Little Learners, my aim is to make mealtimes nutritious, sociable, relaxed and enjoyable, while supporting children to develop positive relationships with food from the very beginning. ❤️

11/05/2026

20/12/2025

Exploring penguins through sensory play 🐧❄️

Such a big advocate for sensory play, especially during busy festive days, as really supports calm, regulation and wellbeing 🤍

Plus provides a hook for engaging children in their learning 🌟

Here, we learnt about different types of penguins, how they move through their environment and explored themes of friendship reading the lovely book “Lost and Found” 🐧

20/12/2025

A Winter scavenger hunt on a frosty morning ❄️

We return to this activity each season, giving children the chance to observe how the world changes throughout the year 😊🍂

19/12/2025

Festive painting fun ✨🎄

Some more Christmas creativity with paint, stamps and stencils 🎨

Focusing on the process, not the finished picture — giving children the chance to experiment, express themselves and enjoy the sensory experience — with no right or wrong outcome …hands were painted! 😂😊