The benefits of using the library can easily be forgotten now that we all use the internet to look things up rather than using a book for research and many people, myself included, use an e reader rather than the traditional paperback novel. The library has so much more to offer than just books though….
With the cost of living rising almost daily, parents and carers will be wanting to save money whenever possible. These are some of my ideas:- Make window shopping a fun activity; I have spent quite some over the years time just looking in shops rather than buying with my own children, grandchildren and the ones…
The February school half term can sometimes be tricky for parents and carers to think of activities for keeping children entertained and happy; because it is still winter and the weather may not be favourable for doing anything outside. However, if we are lucky enough to get some dry, bright days, then why not wrap…
This post is prompted by a question that a registered child minder asked on a Facebook group. When I was a registered child minder I looked after a little boy who was quite slow in learning at 4 years old he had no idea of colour recognition, among other things more on colour recognition here…
I came across a question on Facebook were a person who was just starting a career as a registered child minder asked how many toys she needed to begin with. Anyone wanting to become a child minder ( and why wouldn’t you) more here needs to get the essentials sorted first, that is, registering with…
The long summer break was one of my favourite times when I was a registered child minder. I took on a few extra children, who were mostly ones that I had cared for before they went off to school: It was lovely to be able to see them again and catch up with their parents…
Whenever the weather was favourable, I would walk with the childrenin my care to wherever we were going. Walking is good exercise and it takes longer than driving so would help to fill our days. I tried to make walking fun, but sometimes children are reluctant to walk, so I used several ideas to help…
Because child minders have fewer children in their care than larger settings, such as nurseries and pre-schools, they should have more time to be able to tailor activities to suit individual children. When I was a registered child minder I felt that I knew my children very well. As I was in receipt of the…
When I was working as a registered child minder, I did a topic on the theme of people who help us. We went on a visit to the local fire station, with some other child minders and their children; this was arranged by the leader of our child minding network. We were all given a…
When I was a registered child minder I was always keen to get my name ‘out there’ as word of mouth is the best form of advertising. I had my people carrier vehicle sign written ( the cost can go against tax as an expense) it just had my name, the fact that I was…
When I was working as a registered child minder I was always on the lookout for ideas for cheap activities and places to take the children. We often went to the local soft play facility at the leisure centre where several child minders would meet up with the children, we even managed to get a…
The endless days of summer—sitting by the pool, soaking up the sun, catching up with friends and family. The cook outs, summer trips and summertime projects. There are many activities to fill the longer days of summer, but what do you do when you get to the midpoint of summer vacation and the kids start…
Another fun post inspired by the innocent things that children say. When my middle son was due to start school, he was very excited.He went with me to meet his teacher. When we returned home and his dad asked what the teacher was like, he told him, “She has hair here and hair here,” while…
Austin Macauley publishers kindly sent the following children’s books for review: THE DUCK TRAIL Is written by Steven G. Matthews. It tells the tale of Drake the duck who doesn’t listen to his mother and gets into an unfortunate situation. The text is written in a poetic nature and the illustrations are bright and colourful…
Homework, whether you agree with it or not (I have heard of parents who believe that because children are at school all day they shouldn’t have to have homework too) is a part of the school years. My youngest son was so excited when his speech therapist gave him some sounds to practice at home,…
What is a story sack? I hear you ask . A story sack is a bag of items which relate to a children’s story book, often the contents are hand made ( the ones which I used were made by members of the W.I. women’s institute). I borrowed several story sacks from the library; these…
Helping or encouraging your child to learn her colours, should be both fun and light hearted. My eldest son, learnt his colours from playing with his toy cars, he would ask me, “What colour is this one, mummy?” He learnt very quickly and I remember when we were in the library and he referred to…
Elizabeth has asked about this subject as she is new to child minding and therefore unsure how to approach these sensitive topics with the children in her care. When I was a child minder I borrowed toys from the toy library which was organised by the network coordinator there was a good supply of equipment…
Following the success of my previous post on surviving the school holidays when you are a child minder I have decided to write a similar one for parents. With the half term break and then the long summer school holidays fast approaching now is the time to start planning. My mum always referred to the…
As most registered child minders take on extra children during the school holidays these could be stressful times. When I was working as a child minder the school holidays were some of my favourite times. I did take extra children, some of the ones that I had looked after as babies would come back. Of…
Regular readers will be well aware that I worked as a registered child minder for 14 very happy years. years, I proudly managed to achieve an outstanding grade from Ofsted at my last inspection. Sandra has asked for some tips to enable her to get a similar result. I displayed some disability posters in my…
Samantha has asked me for some tips to make food shopping with her children a bit easier. Food shopping at the supermarket can be quite stressful if you have young children with you. When my 2 sons had to accompany me every week to the supermarket, my youngest who was almost 2 years old would…
I think it is a good idea to make your health visitor aware that you are a registered childminder; this will be the first port of call for many new mothers intending to return to work. Another good way of advertising is to be seen out and about. Go to local toddler group sessions…
As a Child Minder you are at an advantage over a larger setting such as a nursery (I’m my opinion anyway) when it comes to planning activities for the children in your care. For example; I like to think that when I was a child minder I knew the children I looked after really well…
Many parents are under the impression that teaching their child to read is the responsibility of their child’s teacher. While this is true to a certain extent, there is a lot you can do to help as a parent. My eldest son started to recognize words from a very young age by the way they…
Personally, I have never experienced sibling jealousy with my own children. When I was pregnant with my second baby, I told my son who was almost two ,in language that he could understand. We looked at pictures of babies in magazines and borrowed library books etc. He came with me for some of my midwife…
Many people are of the impression that child minders just put their little ones in front of the television and leave them to get on with it. Hopefully, my account of a typical day for me when I was a child minder, will show that for most this is far from the truth. A typical,…