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Shelby’s Childcare | Ofsted Outstanding Childminder

@shelbyschildcare

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🏡 Hygge Accredited • Montessori Inspired
🌿 Outdoor & natural play
🧸 Child-led learning for under 3’s
📍 Maidstone, Kent
🗓 Mon-Fri, 8am-5pm
💚 EST 2021

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Ofsted Outstanding 🌟

I am so excited to finally share the amazing news that I have received ‘Outstanding’ in all areas of my ofsted inspection and I could not be any happier or feel more proud.

I have worked so hard the last two years, in fact I don’t think I’ve ever worked harder in my life and whilst raising two little ones of my own, it has not always been a smooth ride but I’ve finally done it.

If you had of told me two years ago, when I first started out and I left my job in the city that I’d be an ‘Ofsted Outstanding Provider,’ I would never have believed you but it just goes to prove that if you focus your mind on something and do something you’re truly passionate about, anything is possible!!

Thank you to all my amazing family, friends, childminding network and to all my amazing childminding families for all your love and support, especially my other half and my babies, I really could not have done it without you 🤗😘

Swipe right to see what Ofsted had to say ☺️

#ofstedoutstanding #ofsted #sohappy #proud #thankful #childminder #earlyyears #eyfs #childcare #educator #teacher #carer #montessori #hygge #lovewhatyoudo #passion #soproud #greatful by @shelbyschildcare

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3 years ago

Who is the face behind Shelby’s Childcare?

Hello, I’m Shelby, mum of two amazing little treasures, Anella & Gino, and engaged to my best friend George. As a mum of two, I combine my love of being a mum, with my passion for working with young children.

I provide an educational/learning experience of a nursery within the comfort of a home setting, providing an exciting, safe, warm and welcoming environment. I was also very proudly, graded ‘Ofsted Outstanding’ in my most recent inspection in February 2024.

Shelby’s Childcare is a Hygge Accredited setting and is also inspired by Montessori and the Forest School ethos. We also love to get outdoors, using the natural environment as much as possible, all of which creates a fantastic learning environment, full of opportunities for exploration and play.

If you have any questions or would like to enquire about a space for your little one, please send me a message 🫶

#childminder #childcare #childcareprovider #ofsted #ofstedregistered #ofstedregisteredchildcare #ofstedoutstanding #ofstedoutstandingchildminder #kent #maidstone #loose #kentchildminder #maidstonechildminder #earlyyears #eyfs #hugge #montessori #forestschool #hyggeaccreditedsetting #smallbusinessowner #smallbusiness #workingmum by @shelbyschildcare

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2 years ago

I’m super excited and happy to share that Shelby’s Childcare is now officially a Hygge in the Early Years Accredited setting 🎉🙌🤩

I really have been on such an incredible journey and I have loved the whole course from start to finish. It was packed full of incredible and insightful information that has helped me to learn, grow and develop so much, not just within my work environment but also so much on a personal level. Everything I’ve learned will continue to help me keep improving and growing into a better early year’s educator every day.

Hygge is not just a feeling but I believe a way of life, a culture and one that I am now so incredibly passionate about. One of the key parts of the course was learning to really slow down, be present in the moment and be truly greatful for what we have, this is something that not only helps me to be a better educator but ultimately helps the children in my care to be happy, healthy and thrive each and every day.

An amazing course and highly recommended. Thank you @hyggeintheearlyyears 🤗

#hygge #hyggeintheearlyyears #hyggeintheearlyyearsaccreditation #hyggeintheearlyyearsaccreditedsetting #childminder #childminderuk #ofsted #ofstedregistered #ofstedoutstanding #ofstedregisteredchildminder #eyfs by @shelbyschildcare

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2 years ago

Let’s Dance! 💃🏽🎶🥁✨

The children always love music time and today we had extra fun exploring a variety of African and Caribbean music!

One of their absolute favourites was the lively soca song “Whoa Donkey” — and they couldn’t get enough! 🥰

There was so much joy as the children danced around together, held hands, reached up to touch the sky, spun around in circles and even pretended to play the drums on the floor! Some of our little ones were even singing along to “Whoa Donkey!”

A wonderful way to continue our Black History Month learning through music, movement and shared experiences, while supporting physical development, coordination, listening skills, communication and a love of rhythm. ❤️

#africanmusic #caribbeanmusic #soca #blackhistorymonth #blackhistorymonthuk #musicandmovement #learningthroughmusic #earlyyears #eyfs #learningthroughplay #earlyyearsactivities #toddleractivities #physicaldevelopment #culturaldiversity #littlelearner #dancing #dancingtogether by @shelbyschildcare

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8 days ago

Story Time – Handa’s Surprise 🐒🦒🍊

The children always enjoy gathering together for a story, and today we shared the lovely book Handa’s Surprise by Eileen Browne.

A lovely story about Handa, a little girl who takes a basket of delicious fruit to her friend, only for some cheeky animals to help themselves along the way!

The children enjoyed pointing out and naming the different fruits and animals as we turned the pages. One little one was particularly interested in spotting and counting five little chickens!

Story time is such a lovely opportunity to encourage early language development, introduce new vocabulary, practise counting and spark curiosity about different foods, animals and cultures.

#storytime #handassurprise #blackhistorymonth #blackhistorymonthuk #earlyyears #eyfs #earlyliteracy #earlylanguage #learningthroughbooks #learningthroughplay #earlyyearsactivities #toddleractivities #booksharing #culturaldiversity #littlelearners by @shelbyschildcare

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8 days ago

Tropical Fruit Exploration 🥭🍉🌴🌍🍌🥝🍍

Continuing our Black History Month learning, the children enjoyed exploring a variety of tropical fruits enjoyed in African and Caribbean countries.

There was lots of sensory exploration as the children touched, felt, smelled, cut, chopped and, of course, tasted the different fruits!

A wonderful hands-on experience that encouraged curiosity, introduced new flavours and textures, and supported the children in exploring different foods and cultures through their senses.

#africanandcaribbeancultures #blackhistorymonth #blackhistorymonthuk #tropicalfruits #sensoryplay #sensoryexploration #learningthroughplay #earlyyears #eyfs #earlyyearsactivities #foodexploration #messyplay #toddleractivities #culturaldiversity #earlyyearseducation #freshfruit #cooking #cookingwithkids #cookingwithtoddlers by @shelbyschildcare

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8 days ago

What’s in the box? What could it be? Let’s look and see… 👀✨

The children were so excited when we received a new delivery from @fuxlife_de! 🥰 We can’t wait to take our new wagon for a ride next week!

After helping me unpack the box, the children enjoyed getting creative with lots of mark making and decorating the giant box and then the box quickly became the perfect play space! The children spent ages crawling in and out, exploring, hiding and playing peekaboo.

A lovely reminder that sometimes the simplest things spark the biggest imaginations! ✨

#learningthroughplay #earlyyears #eyfs #earlyyearsactivities #markmaking #creativeplay #heuristicplay #openendedplay #childledplay #toddleractivities #earlyyearsprovision #learningthroughdiscovery #imaginativeplay #fuxlife #boxoffun by @shelbyschildcare

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8 days ago

African Print Inspired Mark Making 🦒🐘

The children had lots of fun exploring mark making, drawing and colouring, inspired by a variety of African prints, patterns and safari animals 🤎

Through this creative experience, the children explored different lines, shapes and patterns, expressing their ideas and developing their fine motor skills.
Some of our older children also began making links between letters and familiar words, saying things like “M for Mummy” as they drew. We used this lovely opportunity to explore early phonics, recognise letter sounds and have a go at mark making their own initials to 🥰

#africanprintinspired #blackhistorymonth #blackhistorymonthuk #markmaking #earlyyears #eyfs #learningthroughplay #creativeexploration #earlyyearsactivities #finemotorskills #processart #culturaldiversity #diversityandinclusion #toddleractivities #earlyyearseducation by @shelbyschildcare

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8 days ago

Black History Month in the Early Years 🤎🌍✨

Black History Month is a time to celebrate Black history, culture, achievements and contributions, while recognising the importance of equality, diversity and inclusion.

In our early years setting, we believe it’s important to introduce children to diversity from the very beginning. Through books, dolls, music and open-ended play, we create opportunities for our little ones to explore different cultures, recognise similarities and differences, and begin to understand the world around them.

Representation matters and every child deserves to see themselves reflected in their environment, while also learning to appreciate and respect others.

Even at this young age, these little moments help us nurture a sense of belonging, build positive attitudes and lay the foundations for kindness, acceptance and inclusion.

#blackhistorymonth #blackhistorymonthuk #earlyyears #earlyyearseducation #earlyyearsprovision #eyfs #eyfsactivities #earlychildhood #learningthroughplay #inclusivepractice #diversityandinclusion #representationmatters #celebratingdiversity #culturaldiversity #everychildmatters #littlelearners #toddleractivities #earlyyearssetting by @shelbyschildcare

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8 days ago

Book of the Week: I Am Enough by Grace Byers 💜

I Am Enough is a beautiful and inspiring story that teaches children about self-love, confidence, kindness, and celebrating what makes us unique. It reminds us that we are all special in our own way, that we should respect and support one another, and that we are all ENOUGH just as we are! 💕

#bookoftheweek #iamenough #gracebyers #selflove #confidence #kindness #selfbelief #celebrateourdifferences #childrensbooks #readingtime by @shelbyschildcare

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8 days ago

Conker Painting 🌰🎨

The children absolutely loved exploring conker painting! They got straight in using their hands to move the conkers around the paint and tray, creating lots of different marks and patterns.

Some of the older children particularly enjoyed lifting and tilting the tray, experimenting with how the conkers rolled through the paint and creating their own conker-rolling artwork.

Once we had finished painting, we decided to extend the children’s play by adding the conkers back into our conker wash from the previous day. They had enjoyed this so much that they were very excited to do it again 🥰

We then extended their learning into early maths and counting, using our number leaves and asking the children to place the correct number of conkers onto each leaf. The children had lots of fun counting and matching the quantities to the numbers.

A lovely autumn activity supporting creative expression, sensory exploration, fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, early maths, counting, number recognition and problem-solving — all through playful, hands-on learning! 🤎

#conkerpainting #conkeractivity #autumnactivities #autumnplay #sensoryplay #messyplay #earlyyears #earlyyearseducation #eyfs #eyfsactivities #childcare #childcareprovider #childminder #childminding #learningthroughplay #playbasedlearning #creativeplay #creativeactivities #earlymaths #countingactivities #numberrecognition #finemotorskills #handeyecoordination #natureplay #toddleractivities #preschoolactivities #maidstonechildcare by @shelbyschildcare

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16 days ago

Shall We Wash the Conkers? 🌰💦

The children absolutely loved this activity! When I asked them if we should wash the conkers, they were so excited and shouted “YES!” 🥰

They spent a large part of the morning exploring and enjoying this simple but wonderful sensory activity. They had lots of fun washing the conkers with sponges and scrubbing brushes, splashing the water and waving their hands around to create lots of lovely bubbles. 🫧

The children particularly enjoyed putting the conkers into the bubbly water and then using their hands to search through the bubbles to find them, as they couldn’t see the conkers underneath! This provided lots of opportunities for sensory exploration and encouraged the children to use their hands and problem-solving skills.

They also enjoyed transferring and counting the conkers to and from the basket, with some of the older children proudly counting all the way up to 10!

The children also enjoyed using little nets to collect the leaves from @bakerross , adding another fun element to their water play.

A wonderful activity supporting sensory exploration, fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, early maths, counting, problem-solving and communication — all through lots of fun, hands-on play! 🤎

#conkers #conkeractivity #sensoryplay #waterplay #messyplay #earlyyears #earlyyearseducation #eyfs #eyfsactivities #childcare #childcareprovider #childminder #childminding #learningthroughplay #playbasedlearning #earlymaths #countingactivities #finemotorskills #handeyecoordination #sensoryactivities #autumnactivities #autumnplay #natureplay #loosepartsplay #bakerross #toddleractivities #preschoolactivities #maidstonechildcare by @shelbyschildcare

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16 days ago