Homebased Childcare at Megan's

❄️ On this chilly Monday morning, we're embracing all the Frozen vibes! ❄️

With the crisp winter weather outside, it felt like the perfect day to create a magical sensory invitation for some little Frozen fans. 💙✨

This gorgeous sensory kit is called "Aurora Sky," but I felt like it has some serious Frozen magic! Filled with icy blues, sparkling treasures, and fascinating textures, it encourages tamariki to explore, imagine, create, and engage all of their senses through play.

At Home Based Child Care at Megan's, I love following the interests of our tamariki and creating experiences that spark curiosity and wonder. Today's invitation celebrates the beauty of winter while supporting language, creativity, fine motor skills, and imaginative play.

Recently, we welcomed a very special new friend to our little home-based family. At just 6 months old, he has settled in like an absolute superstar, and it has been such a privilege to watch him become part of our days.

One of the things that has warmed my heart the most is seeing how naturally the older girls have embraced him. They are always checking that he's happy, chatting to him, making funny faces, bringing him toys, and doing their very best to make him laugh. Their kindness, empathy, and nurturing nature shine through every day.

This is one of the many things I love about home-based care. As our tamariki grow, they become the older role models, welcoming and caring for the younger children. These mixed-age relationships create beautiful opportunities for learning, leadership, and developing a true sense of belonging.

"He waka eke noa" – We are all in this together. 💛

It is so special watching these friendships grow and seeing our tamariki learn alongside one another every single day.It really is one of the most rewarding parts of home-based care—watching children grow from being the youngest in the group to confidently welcoming the next little one into their whānau.

Today we headed somewhere we haven't visited in ages – West Melton Forest. The children had a fantastic time exploring the natural environment and letting their imaginations run wild.

There was plenty of fun to be had playing in the little hut, building a pretend campfire, collecting nature treasures, climbing over logs, and discovering all the interesting things the forest has to offer. It was wonderful to see the children working together, creating their own games, and using their imaginations throughout the morning.

Outdoor adventures like these provide so many valuable learning opportunities. As the children explored, they developed their gross motor skills, problem-solving abilities, creativity, teamwork, and communication. Collecting natural treasures encouraged curiosity and observation, while imaginative play helped build confidence, language skills, and social connections.

There's something truly special about spending time in nature, and today was filled with smiles, laughter, and plenty of adventure!

❤️❤️

> Today we headed to The Palms for another adventure at Tiny Town! 🏘️✨

The girls were so excited to see Brigit again and couldn't wait to dive straight into all the imaginative play on offer. The dress-up area was, as always, a huge hit, with princesses, superheroes, cowboys and more taking over the town!

One of the favourite new additions was the More FM radio station, where the children loved pretending to be radio hosts, DJs and musicians, chatting into microphones and creating their own broadcasts.

On the drive home, Miss 3 proudly declared Tiny Town to be "the bestest little town in Christchurch!" 💛 I think that says it all! It was another wonderful morning full of imagination, creativity, role play and plenty of smiles. We can't wait to visit again!

Thanks Tiny Town and The Palms

Magnetic blocks are one of the most-loved resources in our play space and are enjoyed by children of all ages. I love finding new and exciting ways to encourage the children to explore familiar resources, helping to spark curiosity, creativity and new learning.

Today's invitation to play was inspired by a clever idea I came across on Instagram. We placed a magnetic tile inside each balloon before inflating it, then discovered that more magnetic tiles could stick to the outside of the balloon. This simple activity quickly turned into lots of experimenting, problem-solving and laughter as the children tested how many tiles the balloon could hold, moved them around, and explored how the magnets worked through the balloon.

✨ Through this playful experience the children were developing:

Scientific thinking as they explored magnetism, tested their ideas and made predictions.

Problem-solving skills by experimenting with different ways to attach and balance the magnetic tiles.

Fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination while carefully manipulating the magnets.

Communication and teamwork as they shared ideas, asked questions and celebrated each other's discoveries.

Curiosity, creativity and perseverance through open-ended, child-led exploration.

I love being able to take inspiration from other amazing educators and adapt ideas to suit our own play space. Sometimes the simplest activities create the richest learning experiences, and today was a wonderful reminder that familiar resources can become exciting all over again with just a little imagination. 🩷🎈🧲