contact webmaster

Acknowledgement Liz Hodgman

THE COMMUNITY

Every setting is part of its community even though not all the children may live in the surrounding neighbourhood.

A great way of helping the children to learn about their community is to make a map of the local area. When you are out and about with the children give them a disposable or digital camera to take pictures of the places that you visit or pass that are of interest to them. Print off the pictures and stick them on the map. Include pictures of where the children live, schools and pre-schools that they attend etc. Add in details of local amenities and the routes that you take. The children will really enjoy sharing this map with their parents and any visitors to the setting.

 

 

The local community may contain many different racial, cultural or religious groups. Even if it doesn’t, there will be children and adults of various ages with different views, beliefs and backgrounds using the settings.

 

Why not create a collage of photographs of all the children that you have minded.

 

Research your local community to find shops that sell food or goods from different countries, places of worship for different religions etc and arrange visits.

 

 

When the setting values the local community it can encourage the different community groups to work together for the benefit of all.

 

Childminders are very much part of their local community and well placed to involve their minded children in it.

Daily trips to drop or collect children to school or pre-school involve the children in these communities. Outings to local shops, banks, post office, parks, library, leisure centres etc all take the children out into the community where they can meet and learn about other people.

 

 

Childminders also invite the community into their home. This can be parents, grandparents, other family members and friends. Young children can learn so much from mixing with other generations and trips to local residential homes for the eldery (with parents permission) can be of great benefit to all. In fact some day nuseries have very successfully set up in the grounds of  residential homes.  Children enjoy listening to stories about the past and looking at old photographs.

 

 

Consider the local amenities in your area and how you can involve them.

Do you attend any parent and toddler groups? Consider suggesting they invite different parts of the community to join them at the sessions, police, fire brigade and ambulance service.

 

Together

we can make such a difference

to Childminding in Bromley