Ash & Claire Childminders

21/12/2025

Feeling very lucky and a little bit emotional looking at all the gifts we have been given this year 💛❤️ 🎁

We never expect anything, so this means so much to both Claire and me. It is not about the gifts themselves but the kindness and thought behind them.

Thank you to all our families for your support and generosity. We feel very grateful and very spoilt 💛💕

Ash & Claire

20/12/2025

Our autumn term has come to an end 🎄

The children have all headed home with a bag full of Christmas crafts and little keepsakes, so many lovely memories made and a few presents 🥰

We’ll be welcoming our term-time children back on 5th January 2026 when the spring term begins.

We’d love to see any Christmas photos you’d like to share over the holidays 📸✨

19/12/2025

We took the mindees to The Vyne in Basingstoke for a very festive walk around the old house 🎄✨

We spotted lots of themed Christmas rooms based on traditional stories, The Snow Princess, Red Riding Hood (with a very scary wolf 😅), Peter Pan (and plenty of crocodiles) and more.

A lovely way to spend our last day before the Christmas break. All that fresh air and festive fun clearly did the trick, as they were fast asleep on the way home 💤💛

18/12/2025

Most of the morning was spent at toddler club dressed up as Nativity characters: donkeys, angels, kings and shepherds; and the mindees absolutely loved it 😄✨
So much enthusiasm, imagination and very serious role-playing going on.

We started the day with a rainy bus trip into town ☔🚌 and even with a couple of cancelled buses, the mindees were brilliant at waiting for the next one, chatting away and taking it all in.

And in a slightly lovely twist, one of our school mindees was also doing her first ever Nativity today. Funny how these little milestones seem to line up like that 💛

17/12/2025

We took the mindees to see Santa today and it was such a lovely experience 🎅✨
They all really enjoyed it; so many smiles, excitement and quiet little moments taking it all in.

We actually visited the same Santa last year with two of the mindees, and it really hit home just how much they’ve grown since then. Watching how confident they are now, the little people they’re becoming, and how they experience things differently each year is really special 💛

One of those days that reminds you why these moments matter so much.

Thank you Dunelm Basingstoke | Community Support

15/12/2025

💛 Please Help Protect Local Childcare 💛

We wanted to share something that really matters to us.

From April 2026, the Government plans to remove the 10% wear and tear allowance for childminders. While it may sound like a small change, it could have a big impact on childminders like us and on the families who rely on home-based childcare.

We open our home every day to provide safe, nurturing care, and that comes with unavoidable household costs. Removing this allowance risks making childminding less sustainable and could mean fewer childcare places and less choice for families.

We’re supporting a petition asking the Government to reconsider this decision and protect childminding as a vital part of local childcare.

If you’re able to, we’d really appreciate you signing and sharing:

👉 https://c.org/Kj77DFnkQX

Thank you for your continued support 💛
Ash & Claire

Childcare on the Brink: Stop the 2026 Cut That Will Push Childminders Out

12/12/2025

Sometimes the best moments are the quiet ones.

Concentration.
Independence.
And toddlers completely absorbed in what they’re doing 🤍

No rushing needed.

11/12/2025

Yesterday we headed out into the Library.

We hope we've been teaching the children the love of books and they all found ones to read, some maybe a little more advanced than others 😂 📚

It also gives us the chance to teach the mindees how to behave in different environments like being quiet at the library 🤫 and walking nicely 🚶‍♀️🚶‍♂️

09/12/2025

The mindees came with us to the 24th Basingstoke West Scout hut today and had a brilliant time. They got plenty of running around done first (as you’d expect 😄), and then helped us with a few little jobs around the hall.

They tested the lights (& the emergency lights), helped tidy bits up, and even helped put up a new display. Nothing big — just small things they loved being involved in.

It’s especially lovely because a few of our mindees have gone on to become Squirrels here themselves, so the hut feels a bit like a second home to them 💛

Such a nice mix of play, exploring a new space, and feeling proud of helping out.

07/12/2025

I treated two of my school mindees who don’t get to see each other much to The Magical Christmas Adventure at 4 Kingdoms Adventure Park Hampshire.

We blasted off to the North Pole in a rocket ship, helped find Ice the Polar Bear, I saved Christmas by shifting an actual ice boulder, met Bart the Bear who somehow knew all about the girls’ achievements, snowball fights, saw Santa, and the girls even got to make their own bear, reindeer food and gingerbread man.

It honestly felt so magical.

They loved every minute, and it was lovely being back there again after working this event for so many years.

And a huge thank you to their parents for letting me take them — days like this remind me how lucky I am to be part of their Christmas memories. 🎄💛

05/12/2025

Quiet cold day out at Marwell Zoo today 🥶🦒
Just two mindees, Claire, Ash and John (the mindees’ favourite person 😄)

They loved seeing the giraffes and the alligator (…crocodile 😂), the singing reindeers 🎶🦌 and Tashy the Panda 🐼 (who Ash & Claire Childminding support).
Lots of lovely festive lights and things to see ✨🎄

The boys did amazing walking, asked some brilliant questions, and were so polite and happy to everyone they met 💛👏

04/12/2025

A few photos from our very fun (and very tiring) trip to the The Look Out Discovery Centre today for their toddler day 😅✨

We met Eric the Owl 🦉, did all our usual science play 🔬, plus had story time and songs (which our mindees were amazing at 🎶), face (well, hand) painting 🎨, and lots of arts and crafts.
And we finally managed to get the treasure chest open after so many tries! 🗝️💥

All the mindees from the smallest to the oldest had fun and I think learnt a lot just from playing, the best way to learn 💛

So proud of them all for being there for each other, learning so much and being superstars all day ⭐🌟