Fun Affordable Easter Holiday Activities for children As Easter approaches, it’s time to plan some delightful activities to keep the childrenentertained and immersed in the holiday spirit. Whether you prefer indoor or outdoor fun. Here are 6 fun Easter holiday activities that children of all ages will enjoy. The onething you will need to purchase…

Regular readers will know that I have worked with ichild for a number of years. This is a selection of their winter activities and crafts which will be suitable for a variety of different aged children: Winter olympic wordsearch: This is great for alder children, there are 12 winter Olympic themed words to find. The…

A registered child minderwas asking for tips on this subject on social media. When I was working as a registered child minder, I had a system that worked for me and the children, We would tidy away the toys, by making it fun. I said “What time is it?” and the children would answer “Tidy…

In preparation for National nursery rhyme day on 13 November, I am sharing some of my favourites: This little piggy was a firm favourite when I was working with children of different ages, I would recite the rhyme while tickling a baby’s toes or fingers and any other older children would join in. More activities…

This is just a small selection of crafts available from ichild:- GRANDPARENTS DAY FRIDGE MAGNET; This is a picture of a teapot that children can decorate how they wish; then stick on a photo of a grandparent ( or themselves) add a magnet and it’s good to go! HEART CRAFT; Again children can have fun…

Kayleigh, a registered child minder asked for this post after she was finding it difficult to calm the children in her care when they came in from the garden’hypo’. My biggest tip for stopping children being really nosy; was given to me by a school teacher. She told me that trying to shout over them…

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…

Regular readers will know that I often work with ichild, because they have a wonderful selection of crafts and activities to keep children entertained; this is a few of their Wimbledon themed ones: WIMBLEDON WORDSEARCH: Older children will enjoy the challenge of finding the tennis related words( the answers are at the bottom of the…

DAYS OF THE WEEK: Colour the letters of the days of the week, then stick onto thin card to make flashcards. There are also large A4 individual days of the week downloads that can be used as a display around settings. PEOPLE WHO HELP US: This is my favourite of the activities, because ichild have…

This was a question I was asked by a friend: Well when my children were young and went to a pre-school group they would come home with arm fulls of paintings, drawings and other delightful items that they had made; it would have been impossible to keep them all, so I will admit that I…

Matel have recently launched a new Barbie doll, which has Down sydrome. The doll is wearing a necklace which is the extra Down syndrome chromanone and a dress in the flowery/butterfly bright colours, that are the down syndrome recognised symbols. Vogue U.K magazine have also published their first issue with a Down syrome girl on…

As usual ichild have come up trumps with these children’s activities: BIG,BIGGER,BIGGEST CROWN: Is perfect for teaching about size, then children can colour the crowns, COLOUR THE CROWNS: Even very young children can learn to master mark making skills to colour the crowns as they wish. BRITISH UNION FLAG LANTERN : Older children will enjoy…

St. Patrick’s day is just around the corner help children to celebrate it with the following activities and crafts:- LUCKY CLOVER STAMP CARD: What could be more fun than making your own stamp from an empty kitchen roll tube and using it to design a card? FOUR LEAF CLOVER HAND PRINT: Most children enjoy hand…

Most children will tell tails or make things up from time to time, but what can you do when the lies become a regular assonance or more than that? Start by having conversations with your children about telling the truth and lying: Stories, such as the boy who cried wolf could help with this. If…

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…

A 4 year old girl was in the news this week because she bravely managed to call for an ambulance when her mother collapsed in front of her. I taught my own children how to dial 999 if the need arose and also how to phone my mother for help, I did this in a…

Tabitha has reached out for help on this topic: When I was a registered child minder I had a few house rules that the children were aware of: One of the rules was that food was eaten at the kitchen table. One morning when a parent was dropping off her two children they decided that…

I must point out that I have nothing against children’s nurseries and pre- schools, but because I worked as a registered child minder for many happy years I will always recommend a child minder to parents if asked about day care for their children. Looking for childcare here This is why: Registered child minders usually…

Larger settings, such as nurseries and pre-schools will usually put on a Christmas party for their children: So does this mean that registered child minders should do the same? When I was working as a registered child minder Christmas was my favourite time of year. I started providing Christmas themed activities and crafts from the…

Samantha, a registered child minder reached out on social media for help with this issue that she was having with one of the children she cared for who was pulling the hair of other children in the setting. I have always kept my hair short, but anyone who has long hair and holds a baby…

I strongly believe that children should understand why we celebrate rembrance day and wear a poppy. The following activities should help with this: MAKE A POPPY: Using tissue paper and the clever use of a cotton bud, children can make and then wear their own poppy! FIRST WORLD WAR PLANE: Even very young children can…

When I was a registered child minder I had several different policies here, but I didn’t have a sickness policy. Looking back I wish that I had, obviously I told parents at the first interview here that I wasn’t allowed to look after any child who was unwell; because of the risk of spreading infections….

Diwali is on Monday 23rd October( this coming Monday) and is celebrated by several different religions for 5 days. Diwali is also known as the festival of light, So these acitivities should help parents and carers to celebrate with their children:- DIWALI FLOWER GARLAND; This is pretty easy to make; just copy, colour and cut…

When covid19 first arrived and we went into lockdown; I decided to write this book, as a way to fill my time and to hopefully help parents and carers through this difficult time. . As a parent to 4 boys and a former registered child minder for 14 years I have lots of experience in…

Although my favourite season of the year is summer, because I’m a sun worshiper; autumn is also enjoyable because summer can sometimes be a let down, weather wise ( this year was amazing) and in autumn when we expect the weather to start going downhill it can sometimes surprise us with warmish sunny days: On…

When I was working as a registered child minder, I was living in a small area of a largish town. I was well known by locals as that mad woman with all the children! On one occasion I was asked “How many children do you actually have?” When I replied “4, but I’m also a…

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…

Regular readers will know how much I love spending time with children. As we are experiencing extreme heat at the moment and we have a lovely cool car port next to our bungalow, a few of the neighbour’s children came to spend time with me there: I had a selection of word search puzzles for…

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…

There has been talk about shortening the long summer school break for many years as a way to save heating costs during the winter months; the idea being making the summer holiday 2 weeks shorter and adding that to the Christmas break ( so parents would have to find the extra heating money!). But the…

Holding a graduation ceremony for children who are leaving nursery or pre-school is getting more popular, but is it the right thing to do? It has been reported that some nurseries in London are charging £25 just for a ticket for parents to attend their child’s graduation and other settings are charging for the use…

When I was a registered child minder I did charge for a child’s holiday: I would accept half the usual fee if I was given at least 2 week’s notice ( this worked for me as I was always in demand and could sometimes fill a holiday space from the supply teachers that I worked…

When I was working as a registered child minder I always had a written contract that myself and the parents would sign and each had a copy. The contract would state the days and times that child minding was required. Plus what would happen should the child be unwell more here. And if I was…

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…

Following on from last week’s post about how to encourage a child to take a daytime nap more on that here If you have older children who don’t require a nap. I suggested giving them some quiet activities to do: Here are some of my ideas:- JIGSAW PUZZLES: There are so many jigsaws on the…

We all know that having a child who is tired doesn’tresult in a good day. But children will often object to the idea of taking a nap;especially if there is something interesting going on around him. When I was a registered child minder and had a child who needed to take a nap I would…

T he Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been sharing photos of their daughter Lilibet’s first birthday party: But is putting in all the time, money and effort worth it? Properly not, in my opinion because at such a young age they won’t remember it or understand what’s going on. I do apricate, however, that…

When thinking of a gift to buy for a newborn baby people often decide on a teddy bear or other cuddly toy/stuffed animal. Although these may look cute do they actually serve a purpose and benefit the child? The simple answer is yes: As well as being a comfort to a child, a cuddly toy…

Mylene Klass has said that she does regular fire drills with her children. This made me think; adults have fire drills at work and children have them in schools so why don’t they have them at home where they spend the most amount of time? Mylene said that she makes if fun so the children…

I saw a post on Facebook were a registered child minder was getting tired of parents phoning or texting her after she had finished work for the day, to ask questions like did my child have a nap, bowel movement? etc. So I want to share my Winnie the Pooh book idea that worked for…

With more and more children becoming overweight the government are concidering giving parents lessons on how to pack a healthy lunch for their children. I must admit that I sometimes struggled with what to put in my eldest son’s lunch box; he was a fussy eater and wouldn’t eat any fruit. He was partial to…

With the cost of living rising daily, make the most of the better weather with some money saving activities that the whole family can enjoy: 1. Build a bug hotel; use old toilet roll tubes, sticks and bamboo. 2. Sow some seeds; tasty cress on a window sill or see who can grow the tallest…

I first met Lulu with her mum when we were waiting to collect our children from school. When her mother discovered that I was a registered child minder she asked if I had a space for her daughter ( I did). Lulu’s mother asked me to treat her the same as I would any other…

As the majority of child minders work alone, it is sensible to have a back up plan in place in case of an emergency: What would happen to the children if the child minder suddenly became ill in the middle of the day and was no longer able to take care of them? When I…

I saw a post on Facebook from a child minder asking for pre-school platinum jubilee activities. Once again I have gone to ichild to find a selection: BEEFEATER FUN: Children can learn about the beefeaters while coloring the picture. BIG/BIGGER/BIGGEST CORGI: The youngest of children should be able to learn about size and position using…

Discipling a baby may seem harsh; but babies can sometimes show behaviour that needs discipling. Obviously, managing the behaviour of babies has to be different from the way an older child would be dealt with: However, the same principles of ignoring unwanted behaviour and rewarding good, wanted behaviour are the same. Babies love to pull…

St. Georges’s day is tomorrow 23rd March. I love these downloads that are designed for children to celebrate St. George’s day:- DRAGON CRAFT: The main thing needed for this craft is an old wooden spoon ( that will need painting) and some basic store cupboard essentials. Simply download the activity and follow the instructions. DRAGON…

I was watching an episode of Dragon’s den when 2 woman were asking for money to expand their business. Their company was started after one of the woman was decorating the Christmas tree with her daughter who asked “Can a Christmas angel have black skin?” They then started to sell decorations with black skin colour….

Once again, I am sharing some of the activities that ichild are offering: BUNNY PAPER CHAIN: This is simply a case of concatenating some paper and cutting out the bunny shape; children can then colour or use different mediums to decorate their bunnies before hanging them up as bunting. BUNNYCOLOUR-BY-NUMBERS: Is exactly what it says;…

Ellen, an early years practitioner has asked for activity suggestions for the children she looks after as a registered child minder to do safely in her garden. When I was working as a registered child minder I had a small walled garden that we made the best use of as I believe that children can…

This was a subject that was brought up on a television programme I was watching this week: One child was playing up by attention seeking when he felt that his parents were spending more time listening to his sister than they were him. My advice for dealing with this problem is to acknowledge the issue,…

After the response to last week’s post about the early years hairdressing salon; this week I am sharing another of my role play ideas, that I set up for the children when I was working as a registered child minder. As with the hairdressing salon, I supplied a telephone, pen and paper for the children…

At last, spring has arrived, with the promise of warmer wether ahead, meaning that families can enjoy the great outdoors: Family time, anywhere is important, but spending it outside with nature around us , makes it even more valuable. My suggestions for satisfying everyone, especially the younger members of a family are:- To go foraging;…

This was a question that I have seen on one of my social media platforms. My middle son used to enjoy playing with a neighbours children, We often went there for a coffee. I noticed that he particularly liked playing with the dolls. So for his 3rd birthday I bought him a doll. I admit…

What is circle time? I hear you ask. Circle time gives children in schools and early years setting the opportunity to sit together ( usually in a circle) and take time to talk, listen and interact with each other and their practitioners. During circle, or group time, as it is sometimes called, children can sing…

Having your child take a nap during the day is benefical to them and you: The child won’t be irratible because he is tired and the parent/carere gets a well earned short break. The key is to have a routine and start young. When they are babies, children will often sleep after being fed ,…

As a former registered child minder, with a passion for children’s literature; World book day is something that I find interesting. World book day was invented to get children, especially those from a disadvantage background, interested in literature, hopefully to encourage a life long love of books. This year World book day is on Thursday…

Children associate Easter with a lot of chocolate. But what about anyone who can’t have a large sugar high, if they have diabetes or other dietary needs? Instead of buying children eggs, buy them something to wear; cute bunny slippers, or an Easter themed onesie ( babies will look super sweet in one of these)….

This was a question that I was asked recently : As all children are individuals, the age that they can dress themselves will vary and a child with special needs could take longer to master the art than other children. On average, I would say that by around 3 years of age children should be…

In my experience the worst age for trying to settle in a new child minded child is between6 and 8 months, when they seem to be much more aware of their surroundings and who is taking care of them. The hardest baby that I had to settle was a 7 month old boy that I…

Thumb sucking can have advantages as well as some disadvantages in children. My first born was a thumb sucker from a young age, It gave him comfort and would help him settle himself to sleep, sometimes he would stick his thumb in his mouth when he was tired, such as when he was sitting on…

Maria has kindly suggested this post. She told me that in Norway, early years settings run on a 3 strike policy: if a parent is late for the above 3 times, they get a £ 20 fine ( she also said that Norwegian’s tend to follow the rules!). When I was a registered child minder…

When I was working as a registered child minder, I knew that Ofsted inspectors liked to see evidence that I was making the children aware of different cultures and how they celebrated their traditions. As the Chinese new year is fast approaching. I wanted to share aome of the crafts that ichild have on offer….

I had never heard of this, until my sister, who works with special needs children, told me about it. Basically a playdough disco is a fun activity that uses playdough to encourage the movement of the hand and fingers to develop muscle control and fine motor skills more here It also helps to improve hand-to-eye…

My sister told me about this easy to make playdough recipe and as I have only one working hand, since stroke, I decided to have a go at making it from my wheelchair. Ingredients: 2 cups of flour ( any will do, even the cheap value one) half a cup of salt 3 tablespoons cooking…

Most of us are spent out now after the cost of Christmas and maybe buying more in the sales, Finding things to keep the children entertained which doesn’t cost a lot can be a challenge; so my homespun activities could be the solution:- Flower pressing: I used to do this with the children when I…

Separation anxiety in children was something that I had to deal with often when I was working as a registered child minder. In my experience it affects children the most when they are aged between 6 and 9 months, but as every child is different this can vary. My tips for coping with this problem…

Now that the weather may not be favourable for getting children outside to let off steam and burn off some energy; encouraging them to get involved in some action songs indoors, in the warm could be a good alternative. These are some of my favourites:- I’m a little teaspot: This is great as it’s quite…

In my opinion, Christmas is best when you have children who believe in the magic of Santa: I want to share some of my precious memories of these times: My youngest son called Santa father Cripman and when we took him to see the big man, Adam was at the stage of making up his…

As usual ichild have come up with a range of Christmas crafts and activities to keep children entertained. These are my favorites from this year’s selection: ANGEL/FAIRY WAND: Children can make their own wand from a drinking straw, card and a piece of ribbon. It doesn’t get much simplier! PINE CONE CHRISTMAS TREE: This is…

Children everywhere will be over excited now that we are finally into December; but keeping them entertained for the next 24 days can be a challange for some parents. These are my ideas based on my experience of being both a parent and a registered child minder:- Baking is something that children always enjoy, so…

A well known singer has admitted to crying in front of her child and is concerned that this may have damaged him a report has said this week. So is it wrong to show your emotions in front of children? We had to have our beloved German shepherd dog put to sleep when my son…

I wasn’t aware of this phrase, until it was a topic being discussed on a daytime television programme that I was watching recently: A parent’s witching hour is that dreaded time towards the end of the day, when everyone is tired, including parents. I can remember my own children moaning and whining while I was…

I saw a post on social media this week were a parent stated that her child minder had still charged when her child didn’t attend because he was unell. When I was working as a registered child minder I would charge parents if a child was unwell because this is what I was advised when…

A 1o year old girl in Australia has asked Santa for an expensive watch, designer clothes and £50 worth of skincare products, her mum has reported this week. So is it time to ditch the Christmas wish list to prevent children from becoming greedy and asking for too much? My thoughts are that Christmas is…

A woman has been reported this week as being furious about when she collected her toddler from nursery, he and the other children were sat watching cartoons on the television. She was annoyed about the amount of money she was paying the nursery and felt that watching television was not justified. When I was working…

As with all the ichild activities, these are user friendly; making life simple for parents and carers: LOLLIPOP GHOST: This simple way of making a ghost only requires a lollipop, tissues, ribbon and double sided tape. Follow the instructions to make your ghost and the thing that children will love is that after Halloween they…

As a stroke survivor, I have only one working hand( my right). With the winter months approaching, I was keen to find a hobby to fill my time. Many years ago, before stroke, I made a Christmas plate decoration by glass painting here This got me thinking, if I could attempt glass painting again:- I…