Happy Hedgehogs Childminders

24/08/2026

☀️🦔 Weekly Learning Update – 17th–21st August

The editor is back and we are slowly getting ourselves up to date again! 😂🤣😂

We also realised we forgot to mention a very special moment from last week — seeing the eclipse!

Julie managed to capture some lovely pictures for us, which gave the children another opportunity to talk about what they could see and explore something a little different happening in the world around them. 🌒✨

This week has been another lovely, relaxed summer week, with the children continuing to enjoy lots of child-led learning and following their own interests through play.

We have enjoyed all our usual favourites including outdoor learning, construction, small-world play, stories, singing and dancing, imaginative play, sensory resources and quiet-time activities.

A lovely highlight this week was harvesting our tomatoes from the garden. 🍅 The children have watched them grow and were excited to finally pick them, supporting their understanding of where food comes from, how plants grow and the importance of caring for living things.

As always, even during our more relaxed summer weeks, the children are still learning across all seven areas of the EYFS through communication, friendships, physical development, early maths, literacy, creativity and exploring the world around them.

✨ Another lovely week of sunshine, discovery and learning through play.

We are back on track and making the most of these final summer week together. 💛🦔

24/08/2026

☀️🦔 Weekly Learning Update – 10th–14th August

The photos are a little later than normal this week… our editor has been away on holiday! 😂🤣😂

Another lovely week of our summer holidays at Happy Hedgehogs. We have continued to enjoy a more relaxed summer pace, with lots of child-led learning, giving the children time to follow their own interests, make choices and become fully engaged in their play.

We've enjoyed plenty of outdoor learning, alongside all our usual favourites — construction, small-world and imaginative play, stories, singing and dancing, sensory resources, quiet activities and lots more.

Although we don't follow our usual adult-led themed planning during the summer holidays, there is still so much valuable learning taking place. Through their play, the children are developing communication and language, friendships and emotional development, physical skills, early literacy and maths, understanding of the world, creativity and imagination — continuing to support all seven areas of the EYFS.

💛 A Very Special Goodbye

This week was also an incredibly special and emotional one for us as we celebrated the last day of a very special little boy who has been part of our Happy Hedgehog family since he was a baby. 😢💛

Wow… what a transformation we have had the privilege of watching!
From the little baby who first came through our doors to the confident little person leaving us now, we have watched him grow, learn, achieve milestones, develop his own wonderful personality and become so ready for his next adventure.

These are the moments that remind us just how special our job is. When you've cared for a child from such a young age, saying goodbye is never easy.

We are incredibly proud of everything he has achieved and feel very lucky to have been part of his journey.

Of course, there was only one way to mark such an important occasion… with cake! 🎂😂

Go and enjoy your next adventure, little man. Keep being you, keep learning and, most importantly, keep shining. ✨

You'll always be one of our little Hedgehogs and we'll miss you very much.

Lots of love from all the Happy Hedgehog Ladies and your Little Hedgehog friends. 🦔💛 ###

10/08/2026

☀️🦔 Weekly Learning Update – Summer Holiday Fun

Another lovely week of our summer holidays! We have continued to enjoy a slower, relaxed pace, with the children taking the lead, choosing what they would like to explore and making the most of lots of time in the garden. 💛

🌱 Child-Led Learning

Our biggest focus has continued to be child-led play, giving the children plenty of time and space to follow their own interests, develop their ideas and become deeply involved in their play.

We've enjoyed lots of our usual favourites including outdoor learning, construction, small-world play, imaginative play, stories, singing and dancing, sensory resources and lots more.
Even without a set theme, there is so much learning happening.

The children are communicating their ideas, negotiating with friends, sharing and taking turns, problem-solving, being creative and developing their independence — supporting learning across all seven areas of the EYFS.

🎨 Chalk Paint Fun!

One of the biggest hits this week was making our own chalk paint and using it to decorate the path. The children loved experimenting with the colours and making their own marks and designs.

This naturally developed into some fantastic imaginative construction play when some of the children decided to make their very own winners' podium! 🥇🥈🥉

There was lots of teamwork, planning, building and problem-solving involved... although the finished podium didn't quite survive and eventually fell down — along with them! 😂🤣 Thankfully, this only added to the fun!

It's a perfect example of how something so simple can lead to so much learning when children are given the freedom to develop their own ideas.

💛 Summer at Happy Hedgehogs

The summer holidays are giving us a lovely opportunity to slow things down, enjoy our garden and allow the children plenty of uninterrupted time to play, explore, investigate and create.

✨ Another week of sunshine, laughter, friendships and lots of learning without the children even realising they're doing it — exactly how learning through play should be! 🦔☀️💛

03/08/2026

⭐ Weekly Learning Update – Summer Holiday Fun ☀️🌳🦔

We've enjoyed our first full week of the summer holidays, and what a lovely week it has been!

With no planned adult-led theme this week, the children have enjoyed a relaxed pace, leading their own learning through play, following their interests and making the most of the beautiful summer weather.

🌱 Child-Led Learning

This week the children have enjoyed:

• Outdoor learning and garden adventures
• Construction and block play
• Small world and role play
• Stories and quiet time
• Singing and dancing
• Sensory play
• Creative activities

And all of our usual favourite resources!

Following the children's interests has encouraged communication and language, confidence, problem-solving, creativity, independence and positive relationships, while supporting learning across all seven areas of the EYFS.

🚶‍♀️ A Summer Adventure

Some of our children enjoyed a lovely trip to Chester, followed by time at the park. The children loved exploring somewhere different, enjoying the fresh air and taking part in lots of conversations about what they could see and do.

These real-life experiences help children develop confidence, curiosity and an understanding of the world around them.

💛 Summer is all about slowing down, making memories and following the children's interests.

We are looking forward to many more adventures, laughter and special moments over the coming weeks.

✨ Another wonderful week full of smiles, sunshine, friendship and learning through play. We can't wait to see what next week brings! ☀️🦔💛

30/07/2026

1 space remaining these soon go… if this is something you are wanting, please arrange a viewing of the setting. Spaces cannot be held unfortunately.

25/07/2026

24/07/2026

💛 Weekly Learning Update 💛

What an emotional week it has been here at Happy Hedgehogs Childminders.

By Wednesday, most of our children had finished for the summer holidays, and with that came the end of so many special chapters. This year has brought more transitions than we've ever experienced before.

We've said goodbye to children moving on to preschool, primary school, secondary school and others who have simply come to the end of their wonderful Happy Hedgehogs journey.

Each goodbye has been incredibly emotional. Watching these amazing children grow from shy little Hedgehogs into confident, kind and capable young people has been the greatest privilege.

While our hearts are sad to see you go, they are also bursting with pride as you take your next exciting steps.

To every child leaving us... thank you for the laughter, the cuddles, the endless conversations, the adventures and the memories you've given us. You will always hold a very special place in our hearts. Go and show the world exactly what we already know—that you are brave, kind, clever, resilient and capable of achieving amazing things. Never stop believing in yourselves, keep smiling and keep shining. ✨

Over the summer, our remaining children will enjoy a slower pace, following their own interests through child-led play, outdoor adventures and hopefully a few lovely trips out together. We'll be embracing plenty of downtime, making the most of the sunshine and creating lots more happy memories along the way.

Finally, we'd like to say a huge thank you to all of our wonderful families for your continued trust, kindness and support throughout another incredible year. It means more to us than you'll ever know and our gifts are truly lovely and appreciated.

From all of the Happy Hedgehog Ladies, we wish every one of our families a safe, relaxing and fun-filled summer holiday. We hope you make lots of wonderful memories together, and we can't wait to welcome many of you back for another year of adventures.

For those beginning a brand-new chapter... remember, once a Happy Hedgehog, always a Happy Hedgehog. 🦔💛

With all our love,

The Happy Hedgehog Ladies & Little Hedgehog Friends ### 💛🌞

20/07/2026

⭐ Weekly Learning Update – Holidays & Travel ✈️🏖️🧳

This week our learning focus was Holidays and Travel, with lots of exciting opportunities for the children to talk about their own experiences and explore different ways people travel. Our activities supported learning across all seven areas of the EYFS, encouraging communication, curiosity and learning through play.

🌱 Child-Led Play

Our children continued to enjoy a wide range of child-led experiences, following their own interests through:

•Outdoor learning
•Role play
•Construction and blocks
•Small world play
•Stories and quiet time
•Singing and dancing
•Sensory exploration
•Creative activities

And so much more!

These experiences encouraged independence, imagination, problem-solving, communication and positive relationships as the children explored and learnt together.

👩‍🏫 Adult-Led Learning

Our adult-led activities focused on Holidays and Travel.

The children enjoyed talking about holidays they have been on or places they would like to visit, sharing holiday photographs and discussing different types of transport used for travelling.

We explored early maths by counting luggage, comparing big and small suitcases and sorting holiday items. The children also had fun packing a suitcase, helping to develop decision-making, language and independence skills.

To support physical development, we took part in balance activities and pretended to travel using different forms of transport through imaginative movement games.

Our focus stories included "Maisy Goes on Holiday" and "Spot Goes on Holiday", which encouraged discussions about holidays, travel and family experiences.

The children also enjoyed creative activities by designing their own postcards and making passports, encouraging imagination, mark making and early writing skills.

🌍 Learning Through Play

Throughout the week, the children were encouraged to share their own holiday experiences, compare different places and explore the world around them through meaningful conversations and imaginative play. These experiences supported confidence, communication, early mathematics, creativity and understanding of the world.

✨ Another fantastic week full of adventure, imagination and learning through play! We loved hearing all about the children's holiday experiences and can't wait for another exciting week of learning together. 🌞✈️🏖️💛

13/07/2026

Very rare opportunity … I have 3 spaces available asap.

These are given on a first come first served basis.

I am open all year round, I normally take a week off at Easter and 2 weeks at Christmas and these are confirmed in advance.

Funding is term time only and private rate in the holidays.

If this is something that may interest you please message and book in for a look around to see if we are what you and your family need.

Could my current families please share xx

13/07/2026

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