Ruth

About Me

My name is Ruth, and I am Registered Childminder in Park Farm, peterborough for 20 years. I have Level 3 qualification in early years and provide NEF. I constantly attend training throughout the year, in order to better the experiences I can offer to the children under my care and learn about new developments in early years caring. I have two daughters, who are both currently studying at university. As part of my services I look after children from 1 year to 11 years old and I offer collection from the local primary school (Heritage Park Primary School). I am a proud Peruvian and have lived in the UK for over 20 years. Previously to living in the UK, I lived in Portugal for 10 years. I speak three languages fluently at C2 level, this includes Spanish, English and Portuguese. Many of my children enjoy listening to salsa, merengue and Cumbia in the car on day trips out.

As a Member of Sacrawell Farm, playroom, hammerton zoo and Hollywood bowling, the children under my care go on day trips 3 or 4 times a week, in order to access a variety of activities. These trips are extremely important to enhance and further develop the physical and emotional development of children during these critical years. I run a weekly tots group alongside another childminder, where children are able to socialise with peers; learning to share and be kind with one another as well understanding how to interact with others.

In my home there are two playrooms, one indoors and another in the summer house in the garden. My whole house is open to the children, with the garden and lounge accessible, so they can switch between areas throughout the day. On a daily basis there are plenty of indoor and outdoor activities set up, such as: Arts & crafts, cooking, messy play, and painting. I strongly believe that children need to have these activities in order to develop their sensory skills and to understand different shapes, colours and quantities. We celebrate many Hollidays and festivals in the calendar year, to explore different cultures and music. It is important for children to experience our multicultural society and immerse themself outside of their what they know. For example: Chinese new year, Valentine’s Day, Easter, Diwali, Christmas, Rememberance day, Halloween, Mardi Gras and many more. In the morning, we usually have reading and music time, where each child picks and nursery rhyme. Each nursery rhyme has actions, which the children learn through repetition and following their peers.

In my home, I encourage all children to talk about our feelings and emotions, whilst exploring how we might express them in a calm and appropriate manner. Often children cannot express themselves due to the lack of vocabulary or speech and can get frustrated, leading to outbursts and tantrums. I take time to talk to each child individually and all together so that they feel comfortable having these outbursts of emotions and then follows the process of learning how we deal and express ourselves.

I communicate with the parents/carers throughout the day, sending photos and updates of the days activities. At the end of the day, I talk with each parent as they collect child and give a verbal summary of the child’s day and any concerns that may have arisen. It is necessary that myself and the parent work together to implement the same rules and behaviour at home and in my setting, to achieve as little disruption as possible. At the end of each day, I write reports for each child and assess their development and ‘the next steps’, which are shared with the parents