Today’s post is a suggestion from an Instagram follower. Sensory play is what it says on the tin: Play that stimulates a child’s senses: touch, smell,taste, sight and hearing. Messy play is just a small part of sensory play. When I was a registered child minder one of the games I would play with the children…
Category: Child Minding
All of these crafts from ichild can be made cheaply from store cupboard essentials:- MAKE A WITCH Using the blank or ready coloured template assemble the pieces to create your very own witch . PAPER PLATE GHOST;; This is a simple, but effective way of creating a ghost, it will help children to learn to…
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…
Registered child minders may work alone in their own homes, but they are early years professionals and should have a contract with parents, just as larger settings do. I would have an initial meeting with parents looking for childcare; tips on what to say here When the parents had agreed to me looking after their…
A recent programme on television showed parents who have 3 children and believe that their children don’t need any rules: they do what they want, when they want. The mother sleeps with the youngest child in her bed. The children don’t have set bedtimes; they go to bed when they feel that they are tired…
A friend has suggested this week’s post. She said that she has noticed that many parents seem to want to keep their children in a buggy or pushchair for their convenience and wonders at what age a child should be expected or encouraged to walk rather than ride. My answer is that as all children…
After watching a child have a major temper tantrum in a supermarket, a customer ( who was not the parent) told him to “Shut up!” Is it okay to discipline someone else’s child? I used to work as a registered child minder and therefore I had to manage the behaviour of the children in my…
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…
Having an Ofsted inspector or N.V.Q. assessor visit your setting can be a daunting prospect for child minders and other early years practitioners. . Here are a few of my personnel experiences:- When my N.V.Q. assessor was visiting as part of my work to gain my N.V.Q. level 3 in early years care and education,…
A recent television programme shows Jo-Rosie Haffenden who believes that we should train our babies like dogs. Although I would never suggest putting a collar and lead on your baby:I have been saying for years that animals, children (and husbands!) can be ‘trained’ in a similar way: which is to reward any good wanted behaviour…
This is a selection of back to school and starting school activities available to download form ichild. There are several school related pictures for children to colour; including a colour and count lunch box picture which promotes healthy eating. There are fun school badges to make, with the option of colouring your own badge or…
New child minders and other early years practitioners are sometimes confused by early years jargon; hopefully this will explain:- OPEN ENDED QUESTIONS: These are questions that make children think about their answers, for example; when playing with children instead of asking questions that can be answered with a simple “yes” or “no” ask a…
It has recently been mentioned that maybe parents should be banned from school sports day; this is because some parents have behaved badly and embarrassed their children. Some parents are annoyed when their children don’t win.One parent even went so far as to take along her own sports day medal to give to her (and…
Katie, a child minder has requested today’s post. I am a fan of getting children out and about whenever possible; so forest schools are right up my street. I often took the children in my care to the woods when I was a registered child minder- read about it here …
A book has recently been published in which it states that a baby should be left to cry and that there is no evidence that this will harm a child. This got me thinking:- I believe that a baby cries for a reason and therefore should not be left to ‘cry it out’. I also…
When I first applied to become a registered child minder, many years ago now, we were all advised, at a compulsory foundation course ( designed as an introduction to child minding)not to child mind for friends or neighbours, I wasn’t sure, then, why this was so and when I received my child minders certificate, I…
When I was working as a resisted child minder, like most other child minders I looked after a variety of children of different ages, stages of development and some with special needs (often all at once). My favourite activities which can be enjoyed by everyone, with maybe a few adjustments to suit special needs are:-…
When I was a registered child minder I would often sing with the children in my care; I will admit to being the world’s worst singer, but the children seemed to like it, recently a parent whose son I used to look after when he was 4 ( he is in his 30’s now) told…
I can clearly remember driving in my car in the 1990’s on the way to collect my children from school, the news reporter on the radio said that by the year 2010 more school age children would have mobile phones than wrist watches; what a load of rubbish I thought to myself, why would school…
When I was working as a registered child minder I looked after a little girl who wore calipers on her legs to walk, she could only wear them for short periods as otherwise they made her skin sore. Her mother asked me to put them on and remove them throughout her time with me. …
First I must point out that I am bias towards registered child minders because I was one for many years. Child minders are quite different from other providers, such as nannies, nurseries and pre-schools. To start child minders work in their own homes; offering a home-from-home to the children in their care. This in my…
Regular readers will know that I am a fan of ichild: this is a selection of their activities for Easter and spring:- INTO THE WOODS: Is a printout of a woodland scene, then another download produces woodland characters for children to cut out and stick onto their woodland picture. THE BLUEBELL; Not only introduces a…
Bullying is horrible and there is no excuse for it in my opinion. Thankfully I have never been bullied and neither have any of my children. A friend once told me that she was picked on at school by another girl ( it was over a boy which my friend said she didn’t even like…
When I was working as a registered child minder I was told at several training courses that I should work in partnership with parents. This is great in theory but some parents work in partnership more than others. One parent had the idea that because she was paying me to care for her child, I…
Celebrate St. P Patrick’s day with this challenging crossword puzzle. This year St. Patrick’s day is on Sunday 17th March. Education.com asked me to write about this download, as I have previously written successful posts for them. The crossword puzzle is suitable for children aged 7-8 years (roughly year 3 of school). To download these…
Usually I tell parents to try to ignore unwanted bad behaviour in children, but biting is a different matter that can’t be ignored. I would suggest going down to the children’s level, looking them in the eye and say in a firm voice, “No, that hurts.” Also remember to reward children when they are playing…
I was a registered child minder for 14 years and I can honestly say that I loved every single moment of it. I only gave up because ill health forced me to. Being a child minder has lots of advantages: I started this particular career because it meant that I was able to earn some…
Most of the tantrums that a 2 year old has can be dealt with quite simply: Basically don’t give in to bad behaviour. Unwanted behaviour is often a form of attention seeking, ignore unwanted behaviour wherever possible and reward the good, wanted behaviour. A reward can be as simple as verbal praise, don’t get into…
As a child minder I was always looking for ways of entertaining the children that would be fun and educational at the same time. Sometimes, these activities meant that the children in my care would get a bit messy. One of these children would always arrive looking like she was wearing her ‘Sunday best’ and…
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…
This is just a selection of the children’s Christmas crafts which can be downloaded from ichild; FATHER CHRISTMAS PAPER CHAIN: A simple take on the tradition paper chains. The Santa’s can be coloured by children using pens, paints and even cotton wool for beards and hats and then hang them up as a…
Creative steps is a fantastic publication full of fun craft and activity ideas that encourage children to learn through play. In the 4 issues that I was sent there are no fewer than 250 ideas! Each magazine is glossy with a bright, colourful front cover. Magazines which are typical in this genre usually only cater…
A schema is a thought or pattern of behaviours which allow children to explore and express developing ideas. I had never heard of a schema until I attended a workshop when I was a child minder which explained about schema. Looking back my eldest showed signs of being a schema; he like to line up…
This is following on from last weeks post on gross motor skills. Fine motor skills develop the muscles in fingers, thumbs and hands which enable children to hold a pen or pencil to write and draw, as well as mastering skills like doing up buttons, zips and tying shoe laces and holding cutlery to cut…
Children need to learn and develop gross motor skills to simply lead ‘a normal life’. Gross motor skills are the skills that children need to walk, run, climb, swim jump, kick, throw and catch a ball and to be able to play sports and even take part in a school sports day. Most children have…
ichild have sent a selection of activities suitable for celebrating bonfire night:- The gunpowder, treason and plot: This is an account of why we celebrate bonfire night, there are questions on the front page for parents/practitioners to ask the children once the story has been shared, which is explained quite simply. Big, bigger and biggest…
As many people seem to be in favour of smacking children as those who are against it. I would be lying if I said that I had never given my children a smack when they were growing up and I was smacked as a child by my parents. It most likely didn’t do me any…
It was my youngest granddaughter’s turn to take Buddy bear home from school for the weekend. The idea behind Buddy bear is that every child in the class gets a turn to have the bear spend time with them at home, parents are asked to document what Buddy has done and to take a few…
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…
As a former early years practitioner I know that children learn a great deal through play, I don’t really agree with the idea of having a curriculum for children under the age of 3; I don’t think it is necessary. When I was a child minder all my under 5’s learnt to tell the time…
Once again ichild have come up with some wonderful activities for children; this is just a selection of some of the ones for autumn:- ADD THE AUTUMN LEAVES is quite a straightforward activity suitable for children who are learning to count, it would also help with learning number recognition (I have written an earlier post…
When I was working as a registered child minder I was a member of the local child minding network meaning that I had to have some additional policies above that of an average child minder. I am convinced that this contributed to me being able to get an outstanding grade at my inspection. These were:…
One of the biggest insults you can give a child minder is to call him/her a babysitter. How many babysitters have a paediatric first aid certificate that is updated every 3 years, have full insurance and many qualifications often including an N.V.Q. level 3 in early years care and education? Babysitters are often teenage girls…
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…
This maybe too short notice for this year as National children’s day is 1st August, but might be worth thinking about for next year. Using National children’s day to promote your business must be a good thing, surely? When I was a child minder the National child minding association (N.C.M.A.) held a National child minding…
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….
Now that the long school summer break is fast approaching, plan ahead by gathering together some activities in case of bad weather (this amazing weather can’t last forever). ichild have a great make a unicorn craft and as unicorns seem to everywhere at the moment why not join in with this trend? The instructions are…
Now that summer is here at last (and we have had some pretty amazing weather so far) use this as an opportunity to get your children out into the garden as it is a great place for children to run around and get some fresh air and exercise. The addition of a few toys will…
Regular readers will be aware that I have been working with ichild for some time. So when I was sent some of their father’s day downloads, I thought that I would share them by writing this post:- Make a tie craft could be used to make a tie for dad, or for yourself, or even…
When my youngest son came home from school and told me that he (along with the rest of this class) were learning some basic sign language using makaton a child’s version of British sign language (B.S.L.) I was inspired to also learn some because I was working as a child minder at the time so…
When I was working as a registered child minder I always felt that I was in competition with nurseries and pre-schools as well as other child minders. To make my setting look more professional to parents I made a prospectus that I offered to post to when they rang to make enquiries into my business….
This week I watched a television programme where a celebrity needed to hire a nanny to help with the care of her baby, but she was concerned that he would love this nanny more than her. I came across a parent with similar worries when I was working as a registered child minder. This parent…
ichild have a variety of paperwork aimed at early years practitioners:- Child photo observation form is ideal for writing an observation and then adding a relevant photo ( don’t be tempted to stage a photo as ofsted will soon notice that) Child observation report consists of 2 pages covering all 7 of the early learning…
Education.com asked if I would write another post on one of their worksheets. I agreed because this was just the kind of activity that my youngest son enjoyed doing when he was growing up, he was the youngest of 4 children and liked to think that he was a’big boy’ like his older brothers. When…
When I was working as a registered child minder I used to write a termly ( or half- termly depending on how much I could think to put in it) newsletter for the parents of the children that I was caring for. I am convinced that this contributed to me achieving an outstanding grade at…
A few weeks ago a daytime television programme did a report about toxic toys. It said that a bath toy which hasn’t been washed and dried thoroughly can contain more bacteria than found on the floor of a public toilet. Toys with holes in them allow water in and because it is then trapped it…
ichild have a wide selection of children’s activities that can be downloaded. Here are just a sample of the ones with a spring/summer theme:- Missing numbers This sheet has 16 rabbit outlines – some are numbered and a few have numbers missing meaning that children could be encouraged to count out loud and say 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…
Now that the spring has arrived at last and we all start thinking about tidying our gardens, why not get the children involved? It might just get them away from sitting in front of some sort of screen which may help to avoid obesity (which is becoming a problem for children as well as adults)….
Another suggestion from Sarah Knight. This time for day trips on a budget where everyone can still have fun still have fun. Thanks again, Sarah. When I was child minding I was always on the look out for budget outings, as I didn’t like to keep asking parents for money. on top of their child…
Sarah has been in touch because she has been having a few problems when leaving her 6 year old daughter at school in the mornings. . She has asked for some advice:- .Leaving your child anywhere can be difficult for many parents. whether it is at school, nursery or with a child minder. I’m sure…
ichild have some fantastic activities for children that are available to download. Here are just a small sample:- The baby animal flash cards are a fun activity that young children will love. I would use them by first asking the child to name each animal and then ask him to match the animals with their…
As many new mothers don’t want to leave their young children with a stranger when they go back to work and let’s face it, nowadays, most of us have no choice on the subject of having to return to work after maternity leave because of high mortgage rates and the general cost of living. Becoming …
I am very fortunate in that I live in south west England where we have wonderful beaches. When I was working as a child minder I didn’t take the children to the beach in the height of summer because they were often full of tourists and it sometimes became very hot. Instead I would go…
Melanie has suggested this weeks topic. One of my favourite messy play activities is what I call gloop (cornflour and water experiment) as this also covers science in the early years. Basically you mix lots of cornflour with water in a large vessel. I used to mix it in my grill pan as this allowed…
Long before they can learn to write children need to master the skill of holding a pen or pencil.This usually begins by doing a few scribbles with a chubby crayon. This primitive form of writing is known as mark making, just having fun with any form of arts and crafts can help with hand to…
Recently I attended a Christmas craft evening where I discovered the following crafts, which I feel children would manage with a little help from an adult. I feel sure that many parents and child minders will enjoy and benefit from this. All the items needed can be purchased reasonably from arts and crafts suppliers and…
Without meaning to sound like a slave driver, I believe that children should be encouraged to help in the household. My youngest son loved to clean my kitchen sink, this started one day when he was bored and as I was pottering in the kitchen I pulled up a chair so he could reach the…
Thanks to Shannon from education.com who got in touch with this brilliant blog, after reading it myself I knew I had to have her as a guest blogger! Knowing the letters in your name, and the order they go in, is an important sign of nursery readiness. But it’s not as easy as you might think! Children need…
Regular readers, will know how I love to get children out and about whenever possible.One outing, that comes to mind, was when I took my youngest son. then aged 12, a child minded child, age 8 and went, with another child minder and her son, 12 on an afternoon walk to Heddon’s mouth, via the…
When I was a registered child minder I heard about a drop-in for child minders, I went along and discovered that it wasn’t well attended, which I thought was a shame. Later when I also became employed as a support child minder I took over the running of the drop-in, we were extremely lucky, in…
Nowadays, with electronics, such as, games consoles, tablets and i pads it may seem old fashioned to think about playing traditional games, but they, too, can be fun and a lot cheaper on our pockets. Eye- spy is one of the oldest, it can be adapted for younger children, I used to to play it…
As an experienced child minder I often used to child mind for social services, which is now known as community child minding. This initially meant attending a 2 day training course ( where I met another child minder who 20 years on is still one of my closest friends). This training consisted of listening to…
As a mother of 4 boys ( 3 of my own and a step-son) and that the majority of the children I looked after while I was working as a registered child minder were boys, I have quite a lot of experience in keeping them amused. In my opinion, boys will be boys, so you…
This is a request from Julie Tallin, thanks Julie, for tips on how to divide your time and attention between several children. In my experience, trying to juggle several children at once is easy, if managed correctly. I used to try to include everyone together, so nobody feels left out. I can recall my youngest…
I was sent this book by ichild. It is just the sort of activity book that I would have found really helpful when I was working as a registered child minder as many of the activities relate to the early years foundation stage (E.Y.F.S.) which are personal, social and emotional development, literacy, maths and understanding…
I love to get out and about whenever possible and liked to do outdoor activities, with my child minded children, when the weather would allow. One bright Autumn day I decided to take them on an outing to the woods, I had to drive us there, as it was approximately 8 miles from my home….
There are many advantages why a parent, mother or father should join a toddler group,( traditionally known as mother and toddler groups.) with their child. Firstly it is a fantastic opportunity to meet other parents in similar situations as yourself. A well run group will benefit your child as it will help to teach them…
Harry started at Little Treasures quality child minding, when he was 2 years of age. I had previously cared for his older brother, Kelvin, until he left me to start school. Harry had initially been with another child minder, as I didn’t have a space for him, at the time ( there are very strict…
This weeks post goes back to when I was working as a registered child minder and took a group of minded children on a visit to the local garden centre. We walked along a safe foot path and on arrival we looked around at the plants and pet accessories they were selling, before visiting…
When I was working as a registered child minder I had a few parents who came to see me to enquire about my child minding service, but were unsure or worried about using me instead of grand parents.. One such person was Heidi who said that her mum Lydia was keen to look after her…
Susan, who has been a child minder for just over a year got in touch and asked if I could offer some advice on transition documents. There are many documents available to buy or download on the market, but I used to make my own using the computer. Basically they need to include the child’s…
Once when I was a child minder and went to collect my youngest son from school, while I was waiting for him to come out of the classroom the head mistress came over to speak to me, ” Mrs. Dennis,” she said, “I need to apologise, as I have done something terrible today.” My first…
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…
As a child minder you may well find yourself with a variety of children of different ages to look after. Unlike many nursery settings, who usually have the under 1’s in a separate baby room; a child minder will look after all ages together. I tried my best to include all the children in all…
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…
Anyone caring for a child under the age of 8 years who is not related to them and for any kind of reward, must become registered by Ofsted Early Years. Many people will think that by becoming a child minder their own children will suffer, however because child minders are self employed they can…
Understandably it can be quite daunting for a newly registered child minder to do their first interview, or meeting with a parent for the first time. You learn with experience; this is how I handled it, and I did manage to convince most parents to pick me as their child minder. Usually, a parent…
As an early years practitioner; you should be very aware of the need to work with the children’s parents in partnership. Here are some of my experiences of this from my many years as a child minder. I liked to think that I knew the children I was caring for extremely well, but I never…
This is an article that I originally wrote for “childcare Expo.” I worked as a registered child minder for 14 very happy years; in all that time, I only ‘went sick’ once. This was because I had a bad stomach upset and there was no way that I could have looked after children (not that…
I was privileged to work as a registered child minder for many happy years, meaning that I never had to leave my children in childcare; other than in pre-school play groups. Being a child minder; I was aware of a parents guilt, and hardly a week goes by without something similar being brought up on…
Another child minder (also called Karen!) has asked me for ideas that are suitable for the older children. She also child minds after school; however most of her activities and games are aimed at younger children. The older children that I looked after liked arts and crafts (especially the girls) Making dolls out of wool was a…
For as long as I can remember I have always loved babies and children (and anything to do with them) including an interest in pregnancy and birth. All I ever wanted to do when I was growing up playing with baby dolls was to to get married and have children. I did get married, aged 19 and had two…
Rebecca, who is a registered child minder has suggested this blog topic. As a registered child minder; you should be invited to attend meetings and courses, on the basics of keeping child minding accounts, for HMRC. As a self-employed person, record keeping is your responsibility. You can, of course, hire…
When I worked as a child minder, I found that most of the new child minded children settled in remarkably quickly. I have written, in more detail, about a particular child, who took a little longer, in another blog post, titled “child minding tales – separation anxiety” I think, it is actually more distressing for…
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 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,…