ok so ofsted called and said they will be coming next week!eeekkk!!!

I have my own son(2yrs) and my mindee boy who is 14months. We usually go out in the mornings and that takes up most of our time, so I;m struggling to think what activity we can do at home? my main problem is my mindee is a hair puller and will pull my sons hair at any given opportunity!so the thought of spending hours with them both playing on the floor with something will mean endless hair pulling!not quite the situation i want ofsted to be observing!
would do some painting my son will do it for 3 mins and thats his lot!

So any ideas gratefully recieved!
thanks in advance!

I'd get them both in waterproofs and out in the garden.

Put out some sand and water in trays and maybe some shells for making prints and patterns.

Let them mix the sand and water, that's part of the fun. Just referee and make sure there's 2 of everything.

Then come back in for snack and a story... she'll have seen the way you interact with the children by then and will see that you can manage situations.

It's not about what goes wrong on inspection day - it's about how you handle it.

Good luck! :D

ok so ofsted called and said they will be coming next week!eeekkk!!!

I have my own son(2yrs) and my mindee boy who is 14months. We usually go out in the mornings and that takes up most of our time, so I;m struggling to think what activity we can do at home? my main problem is my mindee is a hair puller and will pull my sons hair at any given opportunity!so the thought of spending hours with them both playing on the floor with something will mean endless hair pulling!not quite the situation i want ofsted to be observing!
would do some painting my son will do it for 3 mins and thats his lot!

So any ideas gratefully recieved!
thanks in advance!

We did porridge oat on monday, just poured oat on to trays and gave the children cup,jugs spoons and cars to play with and they sat their for about an hour playing. Had a big mess to tidy up but just keep the dustpan and brush handy or sweep it into a corner to tidy up when ofsted go. Oh and the hair pulling thing don't make a big thing of it if it happens, as my friend did and ofsted was not happy they said they prefer the childminder to ignore it, which you can't do that but just handle it carefully whille they are there.

good luck

Karen

Have a range of activities in mind - such as the ones already mentioned - choose things that do not require much preparation or tidying up.

If do have out free play or things on the floor - sit on the floor with them so to be able to distract /intervien if hair pulling occurs.

Maybe a snack time activity might help such as buttering own toast / cutting own fruit or making 'faces' on crackers with salad items.

Try not to be over ambious with the view of impressing Ofsted - just be yourself and do things that that you would usually do and children familiar with.

Penny :)

Just wanted to wish you good luck.

I agree about keeping things simple and easy to clear away if they get bored.

Do they like playdough? Or dried pasta with lots of scoops, spoons and bowls?

Take your lead from the children and go with the flow.

Miffy xx

I did playdough on my last inspection with Ofsted, with a lot of interaction with the children and it went down really well. Very enjoyable and easy to set up/clean!

Don't be too ambitious trying to impress Ofsted. Keep it easy and follow the children's interests.

I had laid out plenty to do during my inspection and didn't touch any of it as the children went off at a tandem and I just followed their lead.

Good luck. :)