Little deers childminding

We had lots of fun celebrating Halloween last week. Here at little deers we love any excuse for a party 🕷🎃

Some of the children have shown an Intrest in dinosaurs lately so to build on their interests we have been focusing on some dinosaur based learning activities & have had lots of fun whilst learning 🦖🦕

Meet shelly our resident Giant African land snail. Today it was time for shelly tank to be cleaned out and restocked with her favourite goodies. On our outing the feed the ducks this morning the children enjoyed collecting sticks leaves and flowers for shelly's tank. The children really enjoy feeding shelly daily and spraying her tank with water to ensure she is happy and comfortable in her home 🐌🐌🐌

Today we headed out on the hunt for blackberries and apples.
The children loved finding the biggest and juiciest blackberries to make our crumble and searched high and low for apples in the trees. Of course we had to stop off and say hello to the horses too, even if they were trying to eat all our freshly picked blackberries

We love nursery rhymes here at little deers, so some of our latest activities have been based around nursery rhymes.
This week to tie in with our theme we have had our annual teddy bears picnic we invited some of our friends round to attend & its always a great day.

Our latest topic of focus has been spring. We have been learning all about new life, and how things grow. The children have especially enjoyed planting, watering and tending to the fruit and vegetables we are growing in the garden & love seeing them grow. We have had fun out in nature feeding the ducks, visiting the horses and of course jumping in muddy puddles!!

Today the Department of education have announced that from May 12th, parents of 9-month-olds and older will be invited to apply for their childcare codes ahead of our September 2024 rollout.

The children at the moment are so interested in fire engines, tractors and role-playing doctors that it was easy to plan outer nect theme people who help us. We have talked alot about lots of different people who help us & what to do if we need help from the emergency services. Here are some of the activities the children have enjoyed 🚒 🚔

It’s that time of year again when mini eggs are lining the supermarket shelves. But, did you know that, just like grapes and cherry tomatoes, they are the perfect size to block a small child’s airway and choke them. Their hard shell can make it difficult to dislodge with standard first aid techniques.

With whole grapes and cherry tomatoes we advise cutting them in half lengthways and ideally into quarters to create thin strips. But chopping up mini eggs isn’t as easy. So, what can you do?

1. Hide them from the children and eat them yourself – good luck with that!

2. Put the mini eggs into a sealable plastic bag and smash them into small pieces with a rolling pin. Or, crush them in a pestle and mortar.

3. Opt for a different treat. Larger, hollow eggs are much safer for little ones.

When it rains, it pours & when it pours we have big puddles to jump in!!
The children had a great time today running, jumping and splashing in the puddles. So much so that they didn't want to come back in. What a fun morning

All may have been quiet on social media from us at little deers but we have been having lots of fun behind the scenes.
We have waved our friend off to pastures new, celebrated birthdays, had a new little deer join us & have been learning
all about winter & arctic animals.
Just look at some of the wonderful activities we have been up to. ❄️🐻‍❄🐧☃️
I do have limited availability coming up for April. If you are interested in a place for your little one please don't hesitate to drop me a message

From April the government are extending funding to help more working families.
From April 2year olds from working families will beable to claim 15 hours funding per week termtime towards childcare & from September working families from 9months will also beable to claim 15 hours a week termtime if they fit the criteria.
To see if you are eligible please follow the link below. I have limited availability coming available April if you would like to register your interest please drop me a message

Childcare Choices from GOV.UK All about Government help with childcare costs, including 15 to 30 hours free childcare, Tax-Free Childcare, tax credits, Universal Credit, vouchers and support while you study

‘Twas the night before Christmas
As the moon shone so bright,
All signs of the children
Were hidden from sight.
Away went the dolls house,
Away went the bricks,
Away went the train track,
Away the glue sticks.
Gone were the nappies,
Gone all the toys,
Gone snotty noses,
Gone went the noise.
Prams, high chairs, potties
Packed away in the shed,
As the house falls in silence
And I go up to bed.
Thoughts fill my mind
And memories appear,
Of all the adventures
We’ve had through the year.
The learning and growing,
Adventures and fun.
The songs that we’ve sung,
All the crafts we have done.
The cuddles, the laughter,
The magic kiss better.
The school runs that couldn’t
Have possibly been wetter.
Some days were tiring,
Some made me smile,
Most days were hard work,
But all were worthwhile.
To see how these children
Are growing to be
The most amazing small people
I ever did see.
So here’s to a new year,
To all that’s ahead,
As a hush does ascend
And I go up to bed.
May your Christmas be special
And full of delight.
Merry Christmas to all
And to all, a goodnight.

We've had a lovely 2 days celebrating with our Christmas pyjamas parties.
The children have made their own reindeer food decorated biscuits made Christmas tree decorations and some lovely gifts for all of our little deers lovely parents. Then of course we had LOTS of fun singing and dancing

Christmas has hit our playroom today. Just look at how cosy our Christmas reading corner looks. I love it & i am looking forward to sharing lots of festive stories with the children 📖🎄🎅

Lest we forget

We've had a fantastic week celebrating Halloween here at little deers.
The children have had fun at our Halloween discos, made chocolate apples, decorated biscuits, enjoyed Halloween themed crafts and activities and had fun picking pumpkins in our pumpkin patch.

As some of my little deers are term time only we are starting our Halloween celebrations this week & I have spent the day making our very own pumpkin patch and getting the playroom ready for our week of Halloween fun!! 🎃💀👻