Carlys Home Based Childcare

24/05/2025

15/04/2025

“There are no seven wonders of the world in the eyes of a child. There are seven million.”
- Walt Streightiff

20/03/2025

✨What is a PROVOCATION?✨
It is an invitation to play, a prompt to think, a source of inspiration, and above all; it is an opportunity for the child to create their own unprescribed learning.

Take a look at the photo. How would you engage with these resources? Would you make an underwater scene? Would you hold the shells to your ears? Would you abandon the play dough and create a story with the sea creatures? Today, these children chose to stamp the resources into the play dough and examine the markings left behind. They created their own unprescribed learning.

20/02/2025

We know that babies and toddlers use their senses to explore their world, but did you know that sensory play also encourages early self-regulation; bringing calmness and opportunity to develop mindfulness

22/01/2025

Play dough can be used for all sorts of of wonderful things; from strengthening fine motor skills, to expressing an idea, and facilitating social interactions.

Here we are reimagining the magic of the birthday cake ritual! The sculpting of the cake, placement of the candles, and singing of a favourite waiata made this play an experience rich in learning and joy.

08/12/2024

We are so lucky that we live in a community with so many fantastic opportunities for adventure. The children especially love investigating the fairy garden!

19/02/2023

Kia Ora! I’m Carly Finlay, and I’m a mum of two beautiful children.

I’m a qualified ECE teacher, and I have 13 years experience working in day cares and my homebased childcare. I specialise in working with infants and toddlers, and have experience in working with disabled children with a range of learning support needs.

My teaching practice is based on respect for the child. This means meeting their holistic needs, listening to all of their communication languages (gesture, expression etc), respecting the child’s time and space for developing independence, and following their lead in learning and development.

I provide resources that facilitate the learning that the child wants, and offer experiences in my specially-designed environment and out in the community to keep them safe and secure in their exploration.

A little about me..
⭐️ My favourite animals are chickens
⭐️ I play the guitar and drums
⭐️ I live on our wider family’s farm
⭐️ Before childcare, I had a background in audio engineering
⭐️ In my spare time I enjoy scrap booking
⭐️ My favourite Disney movie is Moana

30/01/2023

Mahi tahi is where people come together to work as one, and our community has been a shining example of this through these floods.

My four-year-old daughter has been making play dough to donate to children who have lost their toys, and she has learnt a great deal about mahi tahi through this.

So I’d like to encourage everyone to embrace the contributions that our tamariki can offer, whatever that may be. This is how we create a community culture of mahi tahi, for now and for the future.

Sending much aroha to those affected by the floods.

Here is my favourite recipe for play dough - a small offering, but might just bring moments of peace and joy for some.

27/01/2023

Kenya is the friendliest hipi I’ve known, and we just love saying hi to him

16/01/2023

Last week we delved into a scientific investigation of mixing the best giant bubble mixture. Judging by the size of these bubbles, we seem to have reached success!

14/01/2023

Who says education is only for big kids? For infants, everything in their world is a learning opportunity, and a chance to form a lifelong relationship with oneself as a learner.

Whether learning to grasp or read, babble or leap; every learning experience is a stepping stone in the journey of early childhood education.