Corby Childminder Michelle

20/02/2026

Building, filling and emptying boxes, hula hooping, making wands, watching themselves in the mirrors and playing with the large shiny “presents” at Made with Many’s Shiny Shop in the old Clarks unit.

17/02/2026

We’d love to win £100 to spend at in their competition. 🥰 I have quite a wishlist. 🙈

17/02/2026

The day started with a trip to Welland Park in Market Harborough followed by visit to Caffè Nero for a warm babychino. Back at home I made noodles and spring rolls. It’s the start of Chinese new year, one of our books taught us that noodles symbolise a long and propserous life. As well as reading about Chinese New Year, we watched some CBeebies clips on You Tube to learn more about it.

For snack, we moved on to celebrate Shrove Tuesday. We measured out ingredients and whisked them up to make fluffy pancakes which were topped with delicious Nutella. We read a story about pancakes, the seven boys were to share one pancake. We agreed that we’d rather not share pancakes! 😜

17/02/2026

Yes, it's Shrove Tuesday today, also commonly known to as Pancake Tuesday!!!
BSL signs can vary regionally, please check with your local BSL community.

16/02/2026

‘We didn’t have ADHD in my day.’

I hear that a lot. And every time, I want to say: Actually, you did. I was there.

I’m 50 now. I started school in 1979. I was that child -the one who talked too much (‘Emma is a very bubbly child’ or ‘Emma is very chatty’ was always on my school report’ My favourite comment of all though was ‘Emma fluctuates from being passionately focussed or extremely disinterested’ that teacher totally got me 😁), thinking, questioning, daydreaming. The one who ‘had potential’ but never quite delivered the way the system expected.

When people say ADHD is some new trend, I think about being 5 years old and sitting in a doctor’s office while my parents asked for help because ‘she doesn’t stop all day.’ The doctor smiled and said, ‘She’s just hyperactive. There’s nothing wrong with her.’ And that was that.

But there was something different about the way my brain worked. I just didn’t have the language for and neither did the adults around me. Back then, kids like me were called ‘distracted,’ ‘disruptive,’ ‘daydreamers,’ ‘lazy,’ ‘too talkative,’ ‘too sensitive,’or ‘too much.’ We were labelled then -but you didn’t probably care. I have the correct label now and that matters.

I was there in the classroom, switching off because everything felt slow or repetitive or just… not interesting enough to hold my attention. I was there when I underachieved, while you were probably excelling and getting gold stars. I was always there -just often missed, overlooked, or misunderstood.

ADHD isn’t new. But what is new is the recognition and the understanding that’s finally starting to catch up. The awareness that ADHD shows up differently in different people, and that girls -especially back in the day- were often missed entirely because we didn’t always fit the stereotype. We weren’t always bouncing off the walls.

Sometimes, we were quietly zoning out, overwhelmed inside but masking it with a smile.

To me, ADHD means I have a brain that’s wired for interest, not for routine. It means I feel everything more intensely -boredom, excitement, frustration, passion. It means my thoughts move fast, sometimes faster than I can keep up with, and it takes effort to rein them in. It means I struggle with things others find simple, and I thrive in places they find chaotic.

But ADHD also means creativity. It means seeing patterns others don’t, jumping between ideas, thinking outside the box because I never really fit inside it anyway. It means I can be spontaneous, empathetic, intuitive, and deeply curious.

Yes, ADHD brings challenges -but it also brings strengths. And it’s not a flaw or a failure. It’s a difference. A valid, neurodivergent way of experiencing the world.

So no, ADHD isn’t ‘new.’ It just wasn’t talked about. It wasn’t seen. People like me were there the whole time -you just didn’t notice us. Or if you did, you probably misunderstood what you were seeing.

Now I know how to manage my brain -which comes from knowing I am AuADHD- things are easier; I know when to rest, to take time out and to let myself go with the interest I have. I can laugh at myself when I’m researching an actor in a TV show I’m watching while relaying the facts I’ve found to Hubbie.

I don’t mind being on the go all the time; I recognise my burn out or near burn out that always looms just around the corner.

It’s doesn’t bother me that you’re upset that you’ve finally noticed people whose brains are different to yours.

I was always there.

Emma
The Autistic SENCo
Infinity

Photo: Me. Yesterday when the yellow thing in the sky appeared.i got a little overexcited.

08/02/2026

Does anyone have any Grapat toys? If so, what do you recommend? I'd prefer some of the larger pieces suitable from birth or 1 year rather than the smaller parts? I was thinking perhaps the posting box and some loose parts to start with. I have bought so many resources over the years that are left untouched so want tp ne sure before investing!

Shop Grapat at Babipur! The Grapat Object Permanence Box is a lidded wooden box with a hole and slit in the lid for posting objects, a great developmental toy for babies and toddlers.

05/02/2026

I demonstrated how to paint the bubble wrap then use it to print a design on the heart. The children experimented then painted all over their textured pattern. However, it’s not end product that matters but what they gained from the process.

“What is bubble wrap, oh my mum has bubble wrap” said one child who had learned new vocabulary from the activity.

05/02/2026

Thank you Corby Library and Made With Many, “that was fun” I was told as we left the session. The storyteller was wonderful, guitar playing, movement, imagination, a little bit of water 💦 and lots of fun. 😆

Rhyme Time Takeover!

Thursday 5th February - 9.30-10.00 and 11.30-12.00

Come along and join the fun with a special Rhyme Time to celebrate National Storytelling Week. As always, we will clap and sing through some of our favourite nursery rhymes, but this week with the added twist of a special story told by interactive storyteller Mike Payton and friends from Made with Many​.

​This session is FREE to attend and does NOT need to be booked. ​

Then, as if that is not enough, Mike has kindly agreed to run a story session in our childrens library later that day from 2.00pm. This means that if you were busy and missed Rhyme Time, you get another chance to join us! However, due to capacity in this area, spaces for this session need to be pre-booked. You can bag a spot by talking to library staff or sending us a message here.

Mike is an interactive storyteller that has brought the joy of storytelling into over 200 schools around the UK and further afield. His unique way of engaging with his audience is not to be missed and we cannot wait for you all to join us.

04/02/2026

We were at East Carlton yesterday, the boating lake this morning and then back to East Carlton this afternoon.

Today turned out so sunny that it seemed a shame to be at home! Mara was here so she joined us, bringing the dogs too. 🦮🐕‍🦺

04/02/2026

We have been using our Teacher Play cards to practise writing letters and trying to form them correctly. They have little rhymes to remind the children of the correct formation.

31/01/2026

The older children were enjoying jigsaws yesterday and I didn’t have anything that interested the youngest child. Hopefully he will enjoy the interactive jigsaw.

I was looking for books about Ramadan and the reviews for this Ladybird book were good. I’ve found with books on world celebrations you have to be careful what you buy for children. The review section is a good place to find comments from those who celebrate the occasion and can avoid books with misinformation.

29/01/2026

Warning for anyone who has a dairy allergy or like me, avoids dairy for ethical reasons.