Sam Spondon Childminder

20/09/2026

Amazing delivery and cuddles were included!
Thank you E and Mummy.
These will be so enjoyed by your littler mates and I was so ready for some of your hugs!

20/09/2026

Learning built around them — that’s exactly what’s happening here. I've just made new Mega Bloks name sets for our older ones so that they can begin to recognise their special letters. Matching the top letters to the example underneath helps them understand the order their name goes in, and gives them a gentle first experience of how print works.

We’ll also be spotting their letters in books and out and about — on shop signs, street names, and anywhere those familiar shapes appear. It’s a lovely way to show them that letters live in the real world, not just in activities.

Building their name strengthens the finger muscles and fine‑motor control they’ll need when they begin forming these letters for themselves. It’s early literacy, early writing, early identity — all wrapped up in play.

19/09/2026

Autism in girls can be easy to miss.

Not because the differences aren’t there — but because they can look very different from the picture many people still have of autism.

A girl may be sociable, imaginative, have friendships and cope well at school, while underneath she is masking, constantly analysing social situations, managing sensory overload and holding everything together until she gets somewhere safe.

For some girls, Mum becomes that safe person — the one place they can stop performing, unravel and regulate.

None of these signs alone mean a girl is autistic. But when several patterns sit together, it may be worth looking a little more closely.

19/09/2026

So cute.
10% off with code Spondon10

19/09/2026

Autumn challenge… how many hedgehogs can you find, tucked into a world of pinecones, oranges and woodland treasures.
Next week’s invitation is ready for my amazing little nature explorers — investigation, counting, size comparisons and so much more woven into their play.

18/09/2026

18/09/2026

It’s Recycling Week and the perfect opportunity to get used batteries out of your home.

Even a ‘flat’ button battery that no longer powers your device can still cause serious injuries.
If a child swallows one and it gets stuck in their food pipe, it can burn through the tissue and cause life-altering injuries or death.

That’s why we’re urging you to:

1. Keep used button batteries out of reach and recycle them as soon as possible
2. Share this message to spread the word

And, if you work somewhere that could display this message, please download and display our poster: https://capt.org.uk/resources/button-battery-recycling-flyer/

17/09/2026

Social camouflage can make an autistic child look as though they are coping beautifully.

They may watch other children closely, copy expressions or conversation styles, rehearse what to say, force eye contact, laugh when others laugh, or carefully shape themselves around what seems socially expected.

From the outside, they may appear confident, sociable and settled.

Inside, it can take an enormous amount of monitoring, effort and self-correction.

That effort can show up later as exhaustion, withdrawal, anxiety, shutdowns, emotional overwhelm or after-school restraint collapse.

Social camouflage is particularly common in autistic girls, and it is one reason some children are identified much later than others.

The goal is not to teach autistic children to hide who they are more successfully.

It is to create environments where they feel safe enough not to have to.