Park View Childminding and early years consultancy

Dear families -*** Important funding in the Autumn term deadline is approaching - to either reconfirm or obtain your Best start in life funding code - (previously known as childcare choices.)

A message from our early years team :-

For parents who want to access the working parent hours in a setting in the Autumn Term, they will need to either apply for a new code or reconfirm their existing code before Monday 31st August 2026.

Any ‘working parent’ codes which are not valid on the 31st August deadline WILL NOT be funded from September term, unless grace period rules apply.

📣 Calling all our local friends and followers 📣

Does your garden have any possible plant cuttings / flower seeds / veggie seeds- grown from your own gardens, that we could come and collect to grow with the children?

We are trying to create a sustainable gardens project with the children, as part of our commitment to sustainability in the early years environment.

This will help to provide rich hands on experiences for our little ones, as they begin to understand more about the world and life cycles, as well as caring for the environment and nature.
We want the children to see the whole process, from harvesting seeds and cuttings to seeing their nurtured plants grow ❤️

You might wonder why would we ask now for seeds and cuttings?
The next few weeks are the perfect time to start harvesting seeds from your plants and flowers in your own gardens and the same goes for lots of cuttings too.

If you can help, please message me :-)

Today we said goodbye to one of our longest standing families as their amazing youngest begins his new adventure in reception class this September ❤️

From the tiniest baby with the cutest of smiles,
You've filled Park View with joy all the while.
Its been wonderful to watch you grow day by day,
Seeing the magic emerge as you discovered in play.

From first little giggles to first wobbly steps,
We've treasured each memory we'll never forget.
We've splashed in big puddles and ran through the rain,
We've shared learning and laughter again and again.

We've painted, explored, imagined and played,
With wonderful friendships so lovingly made.
You've grown into a boy, so thoughtful and kind,
With confidence, courage and a curious mind.

Each challenge you've faced has helped you to see,
Just how amazing in life you're destined to be.
We've watched you discover, imagine and learn,
With excitement and wonder at every turn.

Your smile, has brightened each wonderful day,
And your character has touched everyone on the way.
Now it is time for a brand new chapter to start,
Though you will always hold the dearest place in our hearts.

Reception class is waiting with so much to do,
New friends, new adventures and discoveries too.
We know you'll shine brightly wherever you go,
With your confidence beaming and continuing to grow.

So now spread your wings, and reach for the sky,
Remember we'll always be cheering for you nearby.
We know the most wonderful adventure is about to come true.
Because the world now awaits with a new path just for you.

Have the best time in school, we will always remember you and miss you.

With lots of love, hugs and very best wishes,
From Sara and Kev and everyone at Park View Childminding ❤️

How much fun are these Painted
🐞🐞🌿🪨Rock Pets!! 🪨🌿🐞🐞

Today, the children transformed ordinary stones that they found themselves, into their very own rock pets.

They used paintbrushes and fingerprints and their wonderful imaginations too ❤️.

Every mark they made was unique, bringing their own ideas to life and turning a simple natural object into a treasured character with its own personality.

Painting rock pets supports so many areas of learning in the EYFS:
🎨 Expressive Arts and Design – Children explore colour, texture and pattern, make creative choices, and use their imagination to represent their own ideas in different ways.
✋ Physical Development – Holding paintbrushes, dabbing fingerprints and carefully painting small details strengthens hand muscles, develops pencil grip, hand-eye coordination and fine motor control, all essential foundations for later writing.
💬 Communication and Language – As children talk about their creations, describe colours, shapes and features, and share stories about their rock pets, they build vocabulary and confidence in expressing their ideas.
🧠 Personal, Social and Emotional Development – Creating something of their own encourages confidence, independence, perseverance and a real sense of pride and achievement.
🌍 Understanding the World – Using natural stones helps children connect with the natural environment, noticing the different shapes, sizes and textures that nature provides.
🔢 Mathematics – The children developed their counting skills, one-to-one correspondence and number recognition. They compared which ladybirds had more or fewer spots and used mathematical language throughout their play. Positioning their rock pets around the environment also encouraged the use of positional language such as on, under, next to, behind, in front of, between and inside, helping children build early mathematical understanding through meaningful, hands-on experiences.

✨ Magic happens when a simple stone becomes a ladybird, a bee, a hedgehog or a magical creature—showing that, with imagination, children really can bring their ideas to life. At Park View Childminding, we believe these open-ended creative experiences inspire children to think, explore and create in ways that are meaningful to them.

Have you ever looked at your child and wondered… “Is this normal?”

One of the biggest challenges of parenting is knowing the difference between behaviour that reflects healthy brain development and behaviour that may need extra support.

That’s why we’re starting a brand new series.

From age 3 right through to age 25, we’ll be exploring how the brain develops, what that can look like in everyday life, and the simple things that help children and young people thrive.

Today’s post begins at age 3—a time when curiosity explodes, emotions are big, independence blossoms and little brains are making millions of new connections every day.

Every child develops at their own pace, so these posts aren’t intended as milestones that every child must reach by a certain age. Instead, they’re designed to help you understand the development behind what you see.

💬 I’d love to hear from you.
If you have a 3-year-old (or remember when your child was 3!), what part of this post resonates most with you?

And if you’d like to follow the series all the way from 3 to 25 with daily posts, make sure you’re following The Contented Child so you don’t miss the next age. Come back tomorrow for 4 years old.

🌿 Forest Play: Where Nature and Imagination Meet ✅️

🍃🐞🌿🌱☘️🍀🌴🌳🪾🍃🦋🐌🐛 🐜🐝🪲🐞🦗🕷🪳🌱☘️🐌🍀🌴🌳

There is something wonderfully calming about sitting beneath the trees with nothing more than playdough, woodland treasures and the fantastic Yellow Door Education sensory bug stones.

Today the children explored leaves, pine cones, sticks and ferns, creating bug habitats, making prints and bringing their own ideas to life through imaginative play.

These rich, open-ended experiences nurture learning across every area of the EYFS. As little hands rolled, squeezed, pinched and pressed the playdough, they developed the fine motor strength needed for future writing (Physical Development).

Conversations about insects, textures, colours and woodland discoveries extended vocabulary and encouraged children to confidently share their ideas (Communication and Language).

Creating bug homes and woodland scenes inspired storytelling, creativity and symbolic play (Expressive Arts and Design), while exploring natural materials encouraged children to observe, compare, classify and develop a deeper understanding of the world around them (Understanding the World).

Working alongside friends also supported turn-taking, cooperation and confidence (Personal, Social and Emotional Development).

Our hearts were full, our minds were thoughtful and our hands were busy.

This reflects the aspirations of Development Matters (2026), where children:-

🌿 Develop increasing control and coordination of their hands and fingers through meaningful play.

🌿 Use a widening vocabulary to describe, compare and explain what they discover.

🌿 Explore, investigate and make sense of the natural world through first-hand experiences.

🌿 Create with a range of materials, expressing their own ideas and imagination.

🌿 Build sustained attention, curiosity and resilience as they become deeply engaged in self-chosen learning.

John Muir philosophised :-
🌿 "In every walk with nature, one receives far more than they seek." 🌿

Today we said goodbye to the wonderful "A" as she moves on to her new and exciting adventure at school.

We had a super special final day together with all of her friends.

A poem just for you "A"

From the tiniest baby with a curious smile,
You've filled Park View with joy all the while.

From first little giggles to first wobbly steps,
We've treasured each memory we'll never forget.

We've splashed in puddles and skipped in the rain,
We've shared learning and laughter again and again.

We've painted, explored, imagined and played,
With wonderful friendships so lovingly made.

You've grown into a girl so thoughtful and kind,
With confidence, courage and a curious mind.

Each challenge you've faced has helped you to see,
Just how amazing in life you're destined to be.

We've watched you discover, imagine and learn,
With excitement and wonder at every turn.

Your smile has brightened each wonderful day,
And your kindness has touched everyone on the way.

Now it's time for a brand new chapter to start,
Though you'll always hold a place in our heart.

School nursery is waiting with so much to do,
New friends, new adventures and discoveries too.

We know you'll shine brightly wherever you go,
With your confidence blooming and continuing to grow.

So now spread your wings, and reach for the sky,
Remember we'll always be cheering for you
We know the most wonderful adventure is about to come true.

With lots of love, hugs and very best wishes,
From everyone at Park View Childminding ❤️

🍃✨ A Magical Day at Dalby Forest ✨🍃

Some days remind us exactly why childhood should be filled with time in nature... and today was one of those days.

We spent the day exploring the beautiful Dalby Forest, and it honestly felt like we had the entire forest to ourselves. The peace, the birdsong, the fresh woodland air and the feeling of being completely immersed in nature brought such a sense of calm and joy. One of the children even stopped and said, "It's such a lovely day in the forest." ❤️
There was no rush, no distractions—just endless opportunities to wonder, discover and play.

🌿 We painted freely with watercolours. 🍃 We created nature prints using leaves, pine cones and twigs. 🌈 We danced through the trees with ribbon streamers. 🧗 We climbed, balanced and zip lined on the amazing play aparatus and we confidently challenged our bodies.

🐦 We wandered through the forest quietly and intently, listening to the sounds of nature. 🌱 We identified a variety of woodland plants and trees, including wild bilberries. 💚

Most importantly, we slowed down, we connected with nature and embraced every learning opportunity the forest offered.

Today's learning opportunities :-

🍃 Communication and Language – Sharing ideas, asking questions, introducing new woodland vocabulary and engaging in meaningful conversations.
🍃 Physical Development – Developing balance, coordination, strength and confidence through climbing, exploring and adventurous play.
🍃 Personal, Social and Emotional Development – Building resilience, confidence, independence and developing a deep sense of wellbeing through time spent in nature.
🍃 Expressive Arts and Design – Exploring creativity through open-ended watercolour painting, natural printing and expressive movement with ribbons.
🍃 Understanding the World – Observing seasonal changes, identifying plants and trees, learning about habitats and developing respect and care for the natural environment.
🍃 Mathematics – Comparing sizes, counting natural treasures, noticing patterns and exploring shape and space in the environment.
🍃 Literacy – Developing language through singing, storytelling and discussions - making meaning from our shared experiences in the forest.

There is something truly magical about woodland adventures. They remind us that some of the richest learning experiences can be enjoyed from messy shoes, curious minds, tangible experiences and the freedom to explore.

NOW IT'S YOUR TURN TO SHARE 😊

💚 Do your children love spending time in the woods?

🌲 What's your favourite forest to visit in Yorkshire?

🍂 Can you remember a childhood adventure in nature that has stayed with you?

Share it in the comments—we'd love to hear your memories!

Today we enjoyed a wonderful woodland and park walk with purpose today.

Our Park View childminding explorers all had a fantastic time ❤️

Using technology we spent time identifying different trees and plants.
We talked about plants that are safe and plants that are toxic and should not be touched. We identified lots of stunning trees from their leaves, including; Oak, Maple, sycamore, beech, sweet chestnut, horse chestnut and elder, to name a few.

We looked at different woodland plants from common blackberry to greater burdock, Purple clover, Birds-foot trefoil, Herb Robert, and Greater Knapweed and lots more.

We talked about plants that sting such as nettles and that we always need to be careful to not touch some plants.

We listened to birds singing in the trees and used our Merlin app to identify the birds we heard, this is such a wondeful app!

We spotted butterflies and beetles, mole hills and birds including some very beautiful swans and their 5 cygnets.

We sang, ran, played, skipped and explored in the wonderful grounds of Nostell. All as friends, learning together whilst exploring the world around them safely.

For children, when nature and technology come together positively and with purpose, it can create such magic. It also provides the children a tangible aid for a better understanding the world in which they live.