E-books for childminders... written by a childminder

[sarah707]

Hi!

My name is Sarah and I have been a registered childminder for nearly 18 years.

During that time I have seen various Government early education initiatives come and go... but never have I seen childminders react with such concern as when the EYFS was launched.

The majority of childminders work with children because we love children... not because we want to spend our evenings and weekends writing up paperwork!

For this reason I have put together a series of e-books written especially for childminders which are also relevant to all early years practitioners including nurseries, pre-schools etc.

These e-books form an essential library of information to help you get to grips with the EYFS, so you can put the paperwork systems securely in place and then go back to having fun with the children!

Knutsford Childminding’s e-books are in 3 formats –

Information e-books – these are often many chapters long and look in depth at a range of subjects... from starting out as a childminder (e-book 42) to childminding in Scotland (e-book 36) to childminding in Wales (e-book 33) to completing the Self Evaluation Form (e-book 18) and all subjects relating to the EYFS in between.

There are lots of planning e-books which you can use to help with your group planning and all support you to show evidence of planning a range of multicultural and diverse activities to support the children.

Information e-books range in price starting from £2.99.

Mini e-books – these e-books are between 15 and 30 pages long and focus on a variety of subjects about which childminders have told me they need more information.

They cover titles such as working with parents (mini e-book 10), how to plan a theme (mini e-book 32), managing transitions (mini e-book 8) and much, much more;

All mini e-books are priced at £1.99.

Illustrated e-books – these multi-chapter e-books are fun and informative ways of presenting information which also meets the requirements of the EYFS.

They cover subjects such as illustrated learning journeys, weather planning, people who help us planning and emotions planning. I have information sheets about each illustrated e-book available on request.

Illustrated e-books range in price from £7.99 to £9.99 including postage and packing.

I offer full back-up for all my e-books and I am always happy to answer questions about any subjects either via email or through the forum.

The terms and conditions relating to the sale and use of my e-books can be found on my Knutsford Childminding and EYFS for Childminders websites.

If you have any questions about any of my e-books or if I can help further, please let me know.

[TheBTeam]

Just wanted to say what great books Sarah's books are, I had done all of my own paperwork, but have bought a few books over the past couple of years, it is nice to have another perspective/tips on things, which even if you have done your own paperwork may enhance something. If you have not done your own paperwork they are excellent guidance on where to start, what to include etc.

[4365]

Hi all

These e-books are fantastic, I am quite sure they got me an outstanding. Sure, I did OK beforehand but they gave me so much extra info and confidence. All in a way that is easy to follow and seems very up to date with the latest requirements, I told my inspector I use them and and see them as the training I can't get anywhere else. These and the forum as a whole have been my best find,

Anni

[naartjies]

Sarah's books are fantastic - they made the difference between completing my SEF and all the EYFS stuff and not knowing what to do. I got good for my paperwork and I had only had Sarah's books for 4 weeks before my first inspection

[buildingblocks]

i would highly recommend Sarah's books to anyone who is undecided. They have literally made me the GOOD childminder that I have become. They are simple and easy to understand and do not confuse at all. I recommend these book sto local childminders at every opportunity and they have even been mentioned/used by the trainer on an NCMA workshop I attended at the local ARM

[Rubybubbles]

another fan of Sarahs ebooks. Not only is all her material informative and just darn right brilliant, you can understand it

[Memina]

Hiya,

I purchased one of your books and was just wondering how long it would take to receive it.

With thanks

Wendy

[sarah707]

Hiya,

I purchased one of your books and was just wondering how long it would take to receive it.

With thanks

Wendy

Hi Wendy thank you for your message.

I am totally up to date with sending out my e-books (I try to do them same day or next morning if they come in late).

I will send you a private message and hopefully we will be able to work out where they have gone!

[sarah707]

I have had quite a few messages from worried childminders asking me what will happen if the Eyfs changes as a result of the current review.

There are all sorts of rumours flying around about what might be in the review when it is published.

From what I understand there will be a period of consultation before anything happens which will give us plenty of time to digest the changes and put new practices into place.

I would like to reassure my lovely customers that we will work together to make sure everything goes smoothly.

As soon as any changes to the Eyfs are confirmed I will check them out and update my e-books so that customers have access to the latest information as quickly as possible.

There are always wonderful forum members who share their knowledge as well so nobody needs to worry.

I will advertise when I have updated e-books on the forum and on my blog so that people can email me and ask for a new version of their e-books - just keep an eye out and your e-books will never be out of date.

If anyone is concerned they only need to ask!

[ZoeAlli]

Thanks Sarah!
By the way, the e-books are great- easy to understand and very useful!

[miffy]

Cheers Sarah, we'll just wait until you have it all sorted as usual! xxxxxxxx

Miffy xx

[nicoleon]

Brilliant, thank you x

[catminder]

Hi Sarah, I'm thinking of buying one of your illustrated e-books. Could you explain to me the difference between IEB 1 - learning journey for the EYFS and IEB5 - a year of my learning journey? They both seem to be what I'm looking for but I was wondering if I need both or just one of them. Many thanks, Alison

[sarah707]

Hi Sarah, I'm thinking of buying one of your illustrated e-books. Could you explain to me the difference between IEB 1 - learning journey for the EYFS and IEB5 - a year of my learning journey? They both seem to be what I'm looking for but I was wondering if I need both or just one of them. Many thanks, Alison

Hi Alison thank you for your message.

If you send me a pm with your email address I will email some info tonight for you.

[sarah707]

New mini e-books

I have been busy writing a few new mini e-books… some in response to customer requests and others that have been on my ‘to do’ list for a while.

All mini e-books cost £1.99 and are usually between 15 and 30 pages long (sometimes a little longer).

Mini e-books are for sale on my Knutsford Childminding website.

The new mini e-books include –

Mini 52 – Child record book - this mini e-book contains many of the records you need for EYFS aged children and should be completed before the child starts in your care. Please email if you would like a list of contents. I can change the font on request.

Mini 53 – Child’s daily diary – for those childminders who prefer to use a loose leaf file rather than a book format when sharing daily information about children with their families. Please email if you would like a list of contents. I can change the font on request.

Mini 54 – Emergency plan review – I reviewed my emergency planning recently and put it into mini e-book format. It covers risk assessments, fire safety information, emergency procedures and much more.

Mini 55 – Infection control - childminders have a duty of care to provide a safe and healthy environment for children to play and learn. This mini e-book looks at how the requirements can be met.

Mini 56 – Organising resources – I started this before my recent outstanding inspection and my inspector was very impressed to see that I am always focussing on the future, auditing and reviewing the ways I work and improving outcomes for the children through the resources I provide.

Mini 57 – Story sets – I recently audited the contents of my story sets / sacks. This mini e-book gives ideas for contents to hopefully inspire you to make new sets or enhance current provision.

Mini 58 – Suitable person questions – I wrote this for a nursery manager who was about to undertake her suitable person interview. She said it was excellent so I thought others might find it useful.

If there are any subjects you would like me to cover in mini e-books please ask!

Thank you for reading

[sarah707]

Just to let you know... I have finished my 2012 planning calendar!

It features lots and lots activities linked to a range of multicultural and diverse celebrations and festivals.

It is e-book 22 on my Knutsford Childminding website and priced at £2.99.

Thank you!

[sarah707]

Hello! Me again!

I am sending out my very first newsletter over the next few days to share information about the e-books and mini e-books I have been updating and writing for the revised EYFS.

I have also written a series of information sheets to help you prepare for the EYFS. I have put 4 of them on the ‘New EYFS’ page of my Knutsford Childminding website as free downloads. If you find them helpful I will add more over the coming weeks.

If you have any questions about the new EYFS or any concerns about implementing it you are in the right place! The forum is full of knowledgeable folks who will guide you through it all.

So don’t forget to keep checking for new information… and, for all my lovely customers, look out for a Knutsford Childminding Newsletter… arriving to an inbox (or junk filter) near you soon!