Dawn

About Me

Vision
To provide professional, quality childcare in a safe, nurturing, home-based, educational environment where play is learning, curiosity is power and fun-filled happiness is key.

About Happy Hedgehogs
Happy Hedgehogs provides a safe and secure home nursery with a warm and friendly, happy and fun-filled atmosphere in a cosy, home from home setting. The power of play in all its forms is fully embraced at Happy Hedgehogs and is what motors young children’s learning: developing their social skills, their physical skills, their cognitive abilities, and their ability to manage their feelings and emotions. With a child-centred, enabling environment, children can take part in a range of activities and experiences to play, explore, ponder, investigate,
invent and discover.

Happy Hedgehogs wants children to experience the real warmth of play and by fostering their curious minds, they learn to ask questions and seek answers about the world around them - curious minds see more! Inspired by elements of the child-led curiosity approach, children have opportunities to make their own choices and work things out for themselves, which leads to enhanced confidence, critical thinking and problem solving skills. Loose parts play is thoroughly enjoyed at Happy Hedgehogs and provides endless possibilities for creativity, imagination and so much more both indoors and outdoors.

Being active, exploring the great outdoors, nature and wildlife in all weathers, is fully embraced at Happy Hedgehogs. Inspired by Raising Little Shoots’ Exploring Nature With Children, our outdoor exploration, especially our wander and wonder walks, have a different weekly nature focus. Alongside mini adventures and outings, Happy Hedgehogs’ back garden, also provides many opportunities for children to fully immerse themselves in the outdoors and nature. Whether it be the sensory experience of our garden kitchen creating mud pies, petal soups and magical potions, investigating magnificent mini beasts, growing plants and vegetables or even creating their own obstacle course with our large loose parts, being outdoors is all part of a normal Happy Hedgehogs’ day.

As well as this, opportunities to ignite children’s imagination and creativity with
messy, sensory play and art are aplenty and very much focused on the exploration of materials and the process of creating and making, rather than an emphasis on the end result. Creativity continues with our daily storytelling, music and rhymes, as well as imaginative role play and small world play.

With a nurturing approach, children are supported and encouraged to tackle challenges and problem solve through varied and engaging opportunities. This in turn, helps them to grow and build not only their knowledge and skills, but also their perseverance, independence, confidence and sense of self. Being immersed in a language-rich environment, helps to develop children’s language and communication skills in order to express themselves and speak and listen in a range of situations.

Happy Hedgehogs is a place where kindness and respect are valued, as well as friendships and teamwork. Not only between myself and the children and amongst their peers, but also between myself and the families who are lovingly welcomed into our home. It is so important to build a strong partnership with parents and carers: a partnership with great communication, so that everyone can share and celebrate their child’s learning. Sharing and celebrating these achievements, promotes healthy minds and well-being, which is vital in order for children to thrive, flourish and unlock their potential to find out what their superpower is!

What’s In The Neighbourhood?
Located in Boughton Monchelsea, Maidstone, Kent, Happy Hedgehogs is close to local parks, playing fields, woods and the beautiful Kent countryside for daily wander and wonder walks. Favourite days out such as Leeds Castle, Mote Park, Buttercup’s Goat Sanctuary, Teston Bridge Country Park, Little Fant Farm, Kent Life, and Sissinghurst Castle, are all only a short drive away, along with local libraries and Maidstone Museum.

Some of our more special, bigger adventures have included Bedgebury Forest, Chatham’s Historic Dockyard, animal parks, castles, museums and also the beautiful Kentish coast!