The Playhouse

The Playhouse A registered childcare environment established since 2006 offering a variety of fun, interesting and stimulating activities for children of all ages.

I've taken this from another childminders page but it just screamed out to me and I've been wanting to say each and ever...
11/04/2025

I've taken this from another childminders page but it just screamed out to me and I've been wanting to say each and every one of these words to all four of our children for years, even more so since Gary started working with me 14 years ago! 🫶

🌟 A huge shout out to the unsung heroes of the school holidays… the incredible children of childminders! 🌟

While everyone celebrates the amazing work childminders do (and rightly so!) — there’s a group of quiet heroes who don’t always get the credit they deserve.

These amazing kids share their mums and dads every single day — with babies, toddlers, big kids, and everyone in between 👶🧒👧
They open their homes, their toys, their space… and most importantly, their hearts ❤️

🌟 They become bonus siblings, best friends, peacekeepers, entertainers, snack buddies, and cuddle givers 🧸🍪🎨

They show patience when things are noisy 🔊
Kindness when others need a friend 🤝
And flexibility when their routines get shuffled ⏰

They’re the glue that helps hold it all together —
the smiling faces, the helping hands, the big-hearted legends ✨

They often wait quietly while someone else’s needs are met first — coming second more than they should sometimes 🫣 — and still show up with love ❤️

🥰 So here’s to you, my own beautiful children, and all the childminder children out there — the true heroes of the school holidays 💪
We see you, we appreciate you, and we think you’re absolutely amazing!

Yesterday we took a trip to the park in Capel. It's one of the most uninhabited parks we've known, which makes it perfec...
04/04/2025

Yesterday we took a trip to the park in Capel. It's one of the most uninhabited parks we've known, which makes it perfect for the children we care for to have space to explore and challenge themselves!

We planned to do this day trip as we are supporting self confidence and the want to give things a try, even if it hasn't been tried or practiced before.

We used the equipment for climbing, balancing, problem solving, hide and seek, role play (making a fire and eating marshmallows using sticks, Daisy's and pine cones!). We also took a variety of balls to use on the field. There was lots of throwing, kicking, rolling, chasing, and learning how to take turns.

The wind made for lots of fun also, as our picnic blanket became a kite and it helps the balls move very quickly!!!!

Happy 1st April, how is it the 4th month of 2025 already! We have not been 'fools' today and decided to spend the day ou...
01/04/2025

Happy 1st April, how is it the 4th month of 2025 already!

We have not been 'fools' today and decided to spend the day out in the glorious spring sunshine exploring Scotney castle, no 'joke'! 😜

We are SO excited to have been given some frogspawn from one of our mindees family after mentioning we are looking at li...
17/03/2025

We are SO excited to have been given some frogspawn from one of our mindees family after mentioning we are looking at life cycles!

Just as our favourite current book says, we are 'Growing Frogs'! 🎉🐸

17/03/2025

The heat did make them move!!! 🎉

Happy St Patrick's Day!! ☘️Gorgeous rainbow wind socks made at the childminding group this morning 🌈We hung them up near...
17/03/2025

Happy St Patrick's Day!! ☘️

Gorgeous rainbow wind socks made at the childminding group this morning 🌈

We hung them up near the heater to see if the heat rising would make them move!

This week we have had a focus on loose parts play and rotational schemas which several of our children are exhibiting in...
28/02/2025

This week we have had a focus on loose parts play and rotational schemas which several of our children are exhibiting interest and exploratory play around more than other types of play.

Simple bangles were used as colour sorters, size and texture comparisons, for counting up and taking away, weight transfer, interest in the sounds they make when held or tapped together to name but a few.

We have been using cogs to see how items can move when they touch each other but what happens when one or more are taken away.

We've used cars and other vehicles as a method to engage some younger children in recognising numbers from one to three.

Natural items have been used to make patterns and test balancing. One child started off investigating this alone and once others saw the line they had made, they immediately showed interest and either wanted to join in or try their own investigations and "making towers"

What to do on a rainy day ....bake of course!!! Weighing, measuring, tipping, pouring, stirring, mixing, combining, sepa...
20/02/2025

What to do on a rainy day ....bake of course!!!

Weighing, measuring, tipping, pouring, stirring, mixing, combining, separating, folding, dividing, adding and setting a timer, all with a really yummy end result!

We started with cupcakes. The children recognized the difference between the wet and dry ingredients, supported each other in taking turns and different ways to hold different apparatus or ingredients when tipping and pouring. The fascination on the youngest children's faces when they saw several ingredients turn into 1 was priceless 🫶 this kind of excitement and wonderment will never tire!

Once the cakes were cooked it was then a memory game for the children to remember which coloured case they had scooped their mixture into!

Next was flapjacks, the conversation around smell this time was another level and wonderful to listen to. Some of the older children said they could "almost taste the smell" and so we used this as a great opportunity to discuss how senses are all linked in more ways than just the obvious!

Tasting was THE best bit and the children were all so patient getting to the point! They enjoyed counting down using the timer.

Again the descriptive words used really captured their thoughts and it was wonderful to hear the youngest ones copying some very complex words/sounds 🥳

We went on a nature walk yesterday to expose at least 4 of our 5 senses to the world around us.We saw the most amazing s...
19/02/2025

We went on a nature walk yesterday to expose at least 4 of our 5 senses to the world around us.

We saw the most amazing shadows cast through the trees from the winter sun as well as new shoots starting to bud and getting ready to blossom and unfurl.

We heard many many sounds whilst on the walk, but the favourite by far was the woodpecker in the trees! All of the children stopped in their tracks to really listen hard and then count how many times we could hear it.

We could feel the warmth of the sun and then the colder moments as we weaved in and out of the trees. We also found a variety of textured trees and felt the differences, smooth, rough, bumpy, peeling!

The smells on our journey were a mixture of good and bad! Some beautiful flowers that were left on a memory bench in remembrance and then the dog mess that sadly wasn't picked up 😔

To help keep the woodland area clear of anything harmful to the animals who live there we took our litter picker and took it in turns to point out what could be seen and then pick up and put in a rubbish bag we brought with us.

Lots of fun at the park at the end 🫶

We find visiting childminding groups invaluable! Knowledge and company of fellow childminders and children in the same p...
11/02/2025

We find visiting childminding groups invaluable! Knowledge and company of fellow childminders and children in the same position who are all coming together for fun, positive experiences.

Today we went to a childminding group out of our town that we visit weekly if we possibly can, we love meeting with this group as they all have a wealth of knowledge and offer wonderful craft and sensory experiences. Today there was a sensory tub with lots of different flower petals in to explore, smell, touch, compare sizes, colours and textures. These were also used in a craft activity for Valentine's. There was also biscuit decorating and lots of wonderful resources such as soft play and alphabet blocks.

This week we have used nature to explore science.Once again we've been able to use ice as our focus and the glorious sun...
07/02/2025

This week we have used nature to explore science.

Once again we've been able to use ice as our focus and the glorious sunshine to 'melt' 'disappear' 'shrivel' and 'shrink' it into water! The temperature of the water was a HUGE discussion point amongst the older children and the younger ones LOVED splashing it to test! 😂🙌 I introduced much warmer water to the icy water which again led to fabulous descriptive language around temperature. The faces on the younger, less verbally communicative, children definitely have away their recognition of the different temperatures.

The water was then the main focus of a shop role play one of the children started and then other children practicing their tipping and pouring. A one year old has mastered this amazingly and even managed it one handed at one point!

Running, changing direction, using the slide to practice turn taking and challenging themselves in how to get down was also the order of the day yesterday 🙌

As we entered today in the icy cold, I reflected back to the glorious sunny and wintery warm Thursday we had last week! ...
03/02/2025

As we entered today in the icy cold, I reflected back to the glorious sunny and wintery warm Thursday we had last week!

We visited Haysden Lake and with all the right waterproof gear we experienced muddy puddles, making shapes, many reflections and shadows, glorious sun and talking about the warmth it gave us all alongside lots of physical activity in the park and around the lake.

Feeding the ducks, swans and cygnets instigated lots and lots of questions and discussions about their size, why their feathers are different colours, where in the family a cygnet belonged to name a few. It's also always lovely when children then relate what's being discussed with themselves and recognise such things as their place in their family 💖

Address

Tonbridge

Opening Hours

Monday 7:30am - 5:30pm
Tuesday 7:30am - 6pm
Wednesday 7:30am - 6pm
Thursday 7:30am - 6pm

Telephone

+447827447044

Website

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