Prize Draw

We have some fantastic prize draws in the February edition of The Essential Childminder.

Look out for your chance to win a set of beautifully designed fabric hand puppets. Learn about the different roles and create great stories. Includes teacher, doctor, fire fighter, farmer etc. 10 Puppets. £31.95 (excluding VAT) from TTS, available at www.tts-shopping.com.

February Edition - Role Play

The February edition of The Essential Childminder Magazine is available to purchase from 1st February.

ONLY £2.50

This edition is packed full of role play planning activities and ideas. Also featured are Valentines Day activities, Chinese New Year, the Equality Act 2010, childminding groups, policies and much much more. Purchase your edition from our Ezine shop or subscribe to receive your copy straight to your inbox on the 1st of February.



Featured Places To Visit

As childminders we are constantly looking for new and exciting places to visit with the children in our care.

We would love to hear from any childminders, organisations, councils or companies that would like to recommend a place to visit which is suitable for children aged 0-5 years.

Places may include;

Parks, zoos, farms, soft play centres, museums, discovery centres, woodlands, National Trust settings, commons, forests, beaches, towns, aquariums, childrens centres, country parks and so on.

This is just a small list of the types of places out there and we would love to hear from you about your favourites.

Email us with your suggestions, reviews or photos at info@essentialchildminder.co.uk

Weather Chart

Have you downloaded your monthly weather chart yet?

The January edition of The Essential Childminder Magazine contains weather symbol printables which you can use to attach to your weather chart each day to record the weather.

Involve the children in learning about the different types of weather with this quick and easy five minute daily activity. The weather chart is free to download and you could even make up your own symbols to stick on or draw your own unique pictures. Let us know how you are getting on! info@essentialchildminder.co.uk

Featured Blog

Would you like your blog featured in The Essential Childminder Magazine?

We will be featuring one blog per month, which our readers or we, think could benefit childminders in providing informed experiences for the children in their care.

If you are an organisation, charity or company who considers their blog supportive of early years childcarers, or if you blog about the wonderful activities you have carried out with your children please contact us with the details of your blog and you may be featured in the magazine.

If you have a particular event or fundraiser occurring soon which relates to children or childcare, then please feel free to contact us with the details and we will promote this event or fundraiser with you.

info@essentialchildminder.co.uk

Childminders look for a new leader

http://education.scholastic.co.uk/content/15013

The National Childminding Association (NCMA) is advertising for a new chair to take over from Susanna Dawson, who ends her term of office in September. The organisation represents and promotes the work of registered childminders and nannies in England and Wales.

Click the link to find out more.

The Weather - Wind Rhyme

PSRN

Five little leaves so bright and gay,
were dancing about on a tree one day.
The wind came blowing through the town,
WHoooo! WHoooo!
And one little leaf came tumbling down.

Four little leaves so bright and gay.....

Fees

With the recent VAT increase are any of you going to raise your childminding fees? or start charging for additional expenses? Share your ideas here.

The Weather - Shadows

KUW

Explore the light made by the sun by introducing the children to shadows. While you are out and about during the day look for your shadows, find out where they are, later on in the day discover if the shadows are in the same place? can you still see your shadow? Discuss the sun hiding behind the clouds.

Use chalk to draw round someone's shadow & mark the spot where they were standing, come back later & draw round the shadow again, how far did it move. Try this at regular times through the day to track the path of the shadow.

The moon also makes shadows at night time - involve parents by asking them to look at shadows with their children during the evening & the sources of light such as the moon, street lights, house lights, car lights. If these lights weren't on what would the world look like?