Mini Room
Our Mini Room is designed to cater for babies as they become increasingly mobile and begin to explore more of their surroundings. Our Minis get the opportunity to explore many different rooms throughout their day at Educare – something we feel is very important to keep them happy and stimulated
Our Facilities
The Mini Room is well equipped with a wide variety of exciting toys for the Minis to explore. There is a well-resourced ‘home corner’ area for acting out experiences they have seen and building on imagination skills. A construction and small world area to help develop fine motor skills and an understanding of the world around them. We have a calm cosy book area where our Minis can read books with practitioners or take some time to relax during the busy day. And finally, lots of open plan space for the Minis to transport toys and negotiate, practicing all of their gross motor movements.
Mealtimes are a social event and miniature tables and chairs provide the next step from highchairs. The children are encouraged to feed themselves while being carefully supervised, encouraged and supported. Practicality is key, which is why our Mini Room also has en-suite changing facilities where we provide high quality nappies, wipes and cream included in our prices. There is also a kitchenette where medicines are stored out of reach.
The Art Studio allows our practitioners to maintain the highest level of cleanliness while our Minis experience a variety of messy situations, from full body painting to their first play dough experience. Getting creative with paint and glue is encouraged and early mark making skills will start to develop with carefully planned activities. Our Minis make use of both our outdoor garden space and our forest. These areas are an extension to the learning environment and are used every day regardless of the weather. Our Minis will enjoy experiences such as splashing in muddy puddles, building sandcastles and finding mini beasts – all activities that drive investigation and problem-solving skills. They also use our indoor physical play space ‘Playclub’ for their daily Baby Moves session – more information on the benefits of these sessions for this age group can be found on our Baby Moves section of the website.
Your Baby’s Development
Whether your baby is starting at Educare in our Mini Room or transitioning from our Baby Room, we try to make the transition as smooth as possible. We recognise the importance of working in partnership with parents or guardians; and by assigning each child a key worker you will be kept you up to date with your baby’s experiences and progress through the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Curriculum. They will provide you with regular written updates on their progress and we hold a Parents Evening to allow you to discuss your child’s development in more detail. The practitioners at Educare keep daily diaries for each of our Minis, recording the activities they have been introduced to, and encouraging good communication between the nursery and home. This is another vital line of communication, giving you peace of mind that your baby is in the best place to thrive.
Our gradual transition process allows our knowledgeable practitioners to get to know your baby’s interests, sleeping pattern, and eating habits. Our practitioners listen to your baby’s interests and provide toys that will encourage them to excel in their development. We tune into a mixture of educational approaches, taking parts from Reggio and Steiner with a sprinkle of Montessori.
We also follow The Curiosity Approach which is a modern day approach to Early Childhood.
For more information on the Curiosity Approach see our inspiration tab on our webpage.