Corby Childminder Michelle

23/05/2026

Part time space available will become available from September 2025. Please contact me if you would like information about how to secure a place for your child.

17/05/2026

Why So Many Girls Grow Up Feeling “Different” Without Knowing Why
A lot of autistic girls don’t get noticed because they learn very early how to blend in.
They study conversations before speaking. They rehearse reactions. They force eye contact even when it feels uncomfortable. They become the “quiet,” “mature,” “sensitive,” or “overthinking” girl while carrying constant exhaustion underneath.
Many grow up believing they are just too emotional, too awkward, too intense, or “hard to understand.” What people often miss is how much energy it takes to mask confusion, sensory overwhelm, social anxiety, and the fear of getting something wrong.
Because autism in girls and women can look different than stereotypes, many spend years feeling out of place before finally realizing their brain was never broken.
It was simply trying to survive in a world that expected them to hide who they really were.

14/05/2026

Does anyone know if any local businesses that make mud kitchens? The ones from high street store don’t last and my previous handmade one has rotten after many years of use.

12/05/2026

We spend the morning at Irchester Country Park at a network event organised by the Early Years Team at Northamptonshire County Council. The team had provided a range of activities linked to the Stickman book. The children gathered on rugs to listen to the story before heading off on a woodland walk with their tick-list ready to follow the trail. Once we’d found all the pictures we returned to the field where the children tried to free Stickman from ice, make Stickman designs on playdough with natural materials, make potions, read books and play with puppets and do some weaving.

When we first arrived the children were unsure of joining in, they’d seen the play park and wanted to be there instead! By the end, I couldn’t get them to leave the activity area, “this is great” one of them said.

Thank you very much to every one at NNC who was involved with the organisation and took on board feedback that we’d love to have events like this!

11/05/2026

North Northamptonshire Council has launched a survey to help shape a new play area strategy.

Once complete, the new strategy will guide how the council manages its play area assets.

The strategy will focus on accessibility, funding, usage, future provision and active travel within North Northamptonshire owned play areas:

Once complete, the new strategy will guide how the council manages its play area assets.

09/05/2026

There is a dog alone at East Carlton, it seems lost but won’t come near us.

07/05/2026

Week 11 of the Think Equal project, “The Tale of Baby Beetroot. The learning outcomes are to recognise kind behaviour and continue to celebrate diversity. Baby Beetroot is moved from the nursery to the garden. He was initially excited but then scared when he saw that everyone different.

01/05/2026

Week 10 of taking part in the Think Equal programme, the book was ‘The Wall’. This programme hasn’t been easy in a small childminding setting, the activities are geared at groups of 4/5 year olds. However, with some adaptations this one was popular with the group, ages 19 months to nearly 4 years. They worked together to create a piece of art work, we need to source some red/purple paper to finish it next week.

27/04/2026

🚗 Be careful if you are driving to Kettering. We have just passed a lorry and a car having their tyres changed between Barford Bridge and Starbucks. Possibly a bad pot hole! 🚗

25/04/2026

There are plenty of resources for children to learn without the need for young birds in a noisy classroom. The chicks are often killed shortly after hatching as males are simply a waste product of the egg industry. Local rescues such as Animals In Need Northamptonshire are often inundated with requests to take them on.

We request: - The immediate ban of all egg hatching programs in schools and nurseries. - The development and promotion of alternative educational resources that communicate similar concepts without involving live animals.