is threading cheerios onto strawberry laces ok with ofsted??

[keelybooboo]

hi all

ofsted are coming during the week for my inspection and i'm racking my brains for a nice activity to do with the mindees....

i will have 3 kids aged 2, 2.5 and 4

they all love making necklaces with strawberry laces and cheerios but i'm not sure if ofsted would frown on this??

any thoughts would be gladly received

ELC used to do really nice cotton reels and laces for threading.

Seriously?!

I would not be happy with my 2.3 yo DD coming home with cheerios onto strawberry laces. I wouldn't really wanting her eating strawberry laces full stop, at home or at CM/nursery.

What about fruit kebabs?

make pasta necklaces to take home, or decorate rice cakes with cream cheese (not icing) chopped up grapes/cucumber/peppers/apple, or let the children chop up their own fruit with child friendly knives

strawberry laces don't fit with healthy living I'm afraid

you would have to justify to the inspector why you were giving the children unhealthy food

no god no

surely not

nb I don't work for ofsted but just don't go there, it's a terrible idea. is that all you've got?

You need one of those rainy day books.

potato stamping and pasta collages and all that

i actually thought it was a nice activity, but then im not a cm/parent/ofsted inspector

can understand that some mums dont want sweets so how about pasta threading or the rice cakes/cream cheese sounds good

doesit have to be cooking

can you not paint instead?

i think it sounds fab and ofsted regulations sound loopy

we spray painted some cheerios once to make them metallic looking

oh ok..... glad i asked as i really didnt see a problem with it!!!

for what its worth i got the idea from the local pre-school whilst doing a pick up!

does that mean choc crispie cakes are out too lol

what do you offer for the children to drink?

bleurgh I wouldn't go with rice cakes either

It's just there are SO many other fun things to do.

Am not that strict re sweets but strawberry laces and twangers and that type of additive laden stuff have always been strictly grandparents' treats

that way I get to be consistent but they are still allowed a sugar headache every now and then

I like the idea but unfortunately it does not fit with current fashions of good early years practice.

Unfortunately, sweets are now frowned upon - I got a lecture (nicely though) from my early years team when I suggested cupcakes, choc crispie cakes.

You need an idea that is universally acceptable to all.

In fashion at the moment are fruit kebabs, Raita (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raita), cheese straws, potato cakes (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potato_cake), flapjacks (which I personally think is worse than cupcakes but hey, what would I know)

I think your idea is fun and I will try it with my kids (outside childminding hours)

hmmmm, what to do..

thing is, she said 'carry on like i'm not there' so thats what i want to do really,

i dont want it to be all false and stuff i want an honest judgement of the service i provide.

i have glowing ref's from all the parents (who have all in the past thought cheerio necklaces were lovely)

maybe i'll hide the photos from when i took the older kids to Macy D's as an end of term treat!! (yes i got permission 1st!)

they all drink water by the way, why?

I don't mind my DD having sugar/treat things, today she has had ice cream and two slices of cake, I just really don't like the horrible gummy sweets like strawberry laces unless as another poster said, it's a treat bought by someone else.

it isn't against any regulations at all, all I would say is that you may get an inspector who is on the healthy train but if you can justify what and why you are doing it, it will be fine, i.e special treat. I found as have many that the inspectors are only interested in safeguarding and EYFS, although healthy eating is part of EYFS. If you have plenty of pics and the children can recall lots of healthy eating times you will be fine.

Good luck with your inspection

Food issues abundance if food starts becoming a treat.

We thread cheerios onto string to hang out for the birds could you not do that instead.

What do you do then Fab, just out of interest, nothing at all or let them eat crappy food whenever they like?

Mine don't eat crappy food at all.

A treat will be my baking or an ice cream but it is just something they have, not a big here is a treat deal.

Love the idea of cheerio strawberry lace necklaces! I bet you're a wonderful childminder. Do agree that if you get a spoilsport inspector it might be frowened on though... Why don't you do finger painting? Or washing dolls clothes in a water tray with lots of bubbles? Or making smoothies?

I don't think many people say, "here's a treat" though, do they? Maybe they do, just never seen it personally, just an adult definition applied to it in my experience.

It's the same here, sometimes we have homemade cake, sometimes we have ice cream, sometimes we have chocolate, sometimes other people buy DD chewy sweets which I wouldn't ever have/buy. Mostly, we have fruit and yoghurt for something sweet.

Anyway... sorry for hijacking your thread OP! Good luck with your ofsted inspection.

why are people assuming the children would eat the necklaces

did you all eat the pasta on the pasta shape pictures you did in nursery?

Cheerios on strawberry laces is a good way to get my craft averse son to join in with a fine motor skill activity. threading buttons/ pasta on string... he can't see the point, so refuses to do it.
Preschool occasionally do this activity and send them home with the kids, so its parents choice if lil johnnny actually eats the sticky fluffy crummy thing or not.

It's a bit different though, sea, as the pasta is obviously not for eating as it is raw but the strawberry laces are sweets and can be eaten as they are.