Sam Spondon Childminder

Strawberry picking in the rain and sunshine today — a true British summer adventure!We took our time choosing the very best strawberries, checking carefully that each one was red all the way around and hadn’t been nibbled by any little visitors. My little mates were so gentle with the plants, making sure not to stand on any leaves as they worked together to fill their baskets.
It was quite a challenge because there weren't many ripe strawberries so we had to really search for them as they were hiding low to the ground, but the children showed brilliant teamwork and patience.

Once our baskets were full, we weighed them in, paid… and then enjoyed every single one. Not a strawberry left behind!

A lovely mix of fresh air, teamwork, and delicious rewards!

And the ladybird theme followed us to Rhythm and Rhyme! C was so happy to spot (🤣) this at instrument time ❤️.
Absolutely lovely morning at Danceworks Unlimited as always!

And a change to the fishing activity.

Today we explored our seaside and ocean‑themed books. This story follows a brave little mouse who rescues a whale caught in a carrier bag and gathers friends to help clean up the mess. My little mates were so moved by the whale’s struggle and full of praise for the mouse’s kindness.
‘Teamwork is good, Sam,’ they told me — and they’re absolutely right!
Mr Rio listened in as well, watching the pages closely as though he had his own ideas about helping.

New Curriculum now available from The Early Years Edit .
Currently there's an offer on where you can get the 2 latest curriculum releases for £20 but with code Sam10 you get an extra 10% off, making it just £18. Bargain!

Water, Movement & Sensory Exploration is now LIVE! 💦✨

Our newest Early Years Edit curriculum framework is here, and it is packed with purposeful, revisitable invitations for water play, movement, sensory exploration, pouring, scooping, noticing, comparing and deep toddler learning.

And even better…

If you buy it today, you can get our 'Movement, Sounds and Living Things' framework for only £7.01 - making them 2 for £20!

An absolute bargain if you’ve been waiting to try our frameworks or want to make your provision feel calmer, easier and more intentional without endless planning.

Real learning. Real play. Real settings.

What are you waiting for? 👀💦

Links to both in the comments.

Our little mates were buzzing with excitement over the bee tray today.
They decided every bee needed to land on a flower, gather its nectar and fly safely back to the hive — a whole story they built together, helping one another along the way.
Then the smooshy sand caught their attention and everything changed.
Suddenly they were dividing it up, creating their own tiny gardens, each one different, each one full of care and imagination and lots of beautiful chat about which flowers they were choosing and why.
Little ones build knowledge through repetition with variety. Watching real bees at work, meeting them in stories and exploring them in play all weave together, helping their understanding grow deeper each time.
Such beautiful teamwork, curiosity and creativity. Love them 😍.