Gemma's Childminding

08/06/2026

Just popped down to the allotment to check on th chickens.

Looking around at everything that is growing makes feel so proud of what the children have done.
They are so good at the watering and the planting.

They need to work on their weeding skills but its not my favourite task either and also the worry is they will pull up what is supposed to be growing!

They love going down to see the chickens and occasionally collect the eggs if we come late enough (these hens dont like laying early like the textbook says they should!!)

All in all its a lovely experience for everyone.

Hopefully as the summer term progress we will do some more forest school type activities down there as there isnt too much to as nature takes it course (growing is a slow process!!)

We have had to net the lettuces, tomatoes, strawberries and fence off the sunflowers as we have been getting visits from the bunnies!! 🐰 Xx

07/06/2026

Our week in photos! Xx

28/05/2026

I saw this and its very true!!

We speak about children who have left my setting quite regularly - we remember what they did when they were here and are always surprised when we think about how old they are now. They are in my setting for such a small amount of time but very much leave their marks!! Xx

23/05/2026

Well hasnt it been a week of 2 halves.....

We started the week with a rainy start so I planned some different inside activities to keep us busy, unfortunately we arent very good at being stuck inside so we very quickly embraced the weather - wearing puddlesuits and wellies we went on an adventure to find puddles and thats exactly what we did (full outfit changes required by the time we got home).

Tuesday was our last caterpillar music session - probably not forever but for now I decided we needed a change and a bit of a mix up (watch this space).

Then Wednesday hit and the weather started to change....we enjoyed going for a walk and picking the daisies and we popped to the allotment thankfully for a drier visit (however when it rains it does some of the hard work for us!)

By Thursday things hard started to get warm so we spent the whole day outside - we took the slide over to our local green space and enjoyed a walk where it was a bit breezy so the children used their best jumping skills to try and catch the branches!

Friday was next level warm - so we went early to the allotment for essential watering of our crops and a bit of maintence to the bark path. Then it was back to the garden for lots of water play!!

A few weeks ago we read 'Jaspers beanstalk' - he finds a bean and plants it.
We had some beans and planted them - with the help of the water and the super warm sun they have started to grow at rapid speed. After half term the child will have the very important job of getting them into the ground so they can continue to grow - hopefully they will produce beans and not be climbed to find giants!!!

As its half term, things are quiet here for a few days but some my playmates will be back towards the end of the week!! Xx

18/05/2026

We popped to the allotment this morning to check on the chickens and to cover the potatoes that have poked through over the weekend - i am told by my friendly neighbours this helps to keep the plants warm which helps the potatoes to grow!!

I did take a moment to be impressed by how evenly spread out 2 year olds had planted the seed potatoes!
Cant wait to see how many potatoes we harvest in a couple of months!! 🥔

18/05/2026

We had such a busy week.

This cohort are very good at playing together, sharing ideas and practising at taking turns!! Xx

15/05/2026

We have been down to the allotment this morning.
We watered our crops and were excited to find that some are actually starting to grow (no-one is more surprised by this than me!!)

Our carrots and peas are starting to poke through the soil.
The starwberry plants are growing flowrs 🤞🏻that means they may produce fruit.
The herbs on our 'sensory path' are starting to grow and the potatoes plants are coming though too but on helpful advice we have been covering them over to keep them warm from the frost.
We are optimistic the corn will keep growing and soon the pumpkins, tomatoes and french beans we have growing in the garden will join the other crops too xx

13/05/2026

11/05/2026

Our week in photos!!

We have spent time going on walks and at the allotment.

We have enjoyed Caterpillar music.

We have read stories, enjoyed small world play, explored the sand and mud kitchen, made marks with chalk and water, constructed with the large foam bricks and magnetiles, enjoyed roleplay and loved every moment of it!! Xx

03/05/2026

We have had a very busy week at the allotment this week.

The children have been very excited to meet the chickens!! They have really taken an interest in them when we go down they head straight to the run and say 'hello' and they watch intently when I go in to see if there are any eggs in the nesting boxes.🐔🥚

We have planted out our sunflowers, carrot and pea seeds, made sure the plants and seeds have plenty of water and tried to do some weeding!! 🌻🥕🫛

The children have enjoyed digging in the mud, pushing the wheelbarrows and riding on the tractors.🚜

They have worked so hard all week that on friday we downed tools for a the mirning and did some big painting on cardboard boxes and and enjoyed blowing bubbles 🖌🎨🫧