Family Connection: Spring Edition
Kelly from the Mindful Explorers
I'm Kelly, a mum of 2, former primary school teacher and founder of Mindful Explorers, a nature and mindfulness community based in Cambridgeshire and online. I'm passionate about helping families connect with the natural world and develop a deeper sense of calm and presence. Through inspiring families to be outside in nature, creative activities and mindful practices, I work with children and families to explore seasonal rhythms, build emotional resilience and discover the wellbeing benefits of time in nature. I believe that nature connection and mindfulness go hand in hand, and that even small moments of intentional pause can transform how we relate to ourselves and the world around us.
You can find me, Kelly, at the following places:
Sarah from Storytime with Sarah’s Little Bookshelf
Hi I'm Sarah and I run Storytime with Sarah's Little Bookshelf Podcast. Here I showcase my short stories and poems for children narrated by myself. After working with children for over 20 years I wanted to share my passion for stories with children around the world. Dancing Dandelion is a free audio poem all about the life cycle of a dandelion. Written and developed to help promote mindfulness, a moment of calm and can be used at any time of the day.
On this episode I teamed up with Georgina from The Young Ones Childminding and Leigh from Roo's Play Corner-Tuff Tray and Messy Play Ideas, who both provided follow up activities for this episode. Please check out their free resources after listening to the podcast.
You can find Sarah at the following places:
Leigh from Roo’s Play Corner - Tuff Tray & Messy Play Ideas
I’m Leigh, a Mum of two with over 12 years’ SEN experience. I share sensory play setups and our little adventures on my Facebook page, Roo’s Play Corner – Tuff Tray & Messy Play Ideas. Sensory play is my passion, and Roo is a curious little boy who loves to explore. We cover lots of themes and I share activities that make learning engaging.
This low-cost sensory invitation is inspired by a poem called Dancing Dandelion, written by Sarah from Storytime With Sarah’s Little Bookshelf, where we picked Dandelions from our garden and made potions using various loose parts and colourful bath fizzers! This activity is great for building fine-motor skills, coordination, and problem-solving while celebrating the start of Spring!
You can find Leigh at the following places:
Georgina from The Young Ones Childminding
Guiding the Young Ones is a free-access webpage created to support and inspire across the early years. It shares ideas, reflections, and simple, meaningful activities that celebrate play, curiosity, and the magic of early childhood. Rooted in child-led learning and connection, the aim is to offer accessible inspiration that encourages families and practitioners to slow down, follow children’s interests, and value the learning found in everyday moments.
A simple example of this can be found with the dandelion play dough blog. Offering an easy to follow recipe and it’s benefits. After making, as they roll, pinch, and press the dough, they strengthen fine motor skills while exploring creativity and nature. Open-ended activities like this nurture imagination, encourage exploration, and allow children to learn through play in meaningful, child-led ways.
You can find Georgina at the following places:
Marelen from Mindfully Bee
I run creative Mindfulness groups for all ages and love sharing ideas in a fun, thoughtful, and mindful way. Simple ideas to use in the moment, wherever life finds you ❤️
My resource is a free workbook, that encourages the use of our senses to make a walk in spring time mindful and meaningful, and can be done together, during or after the walk.
You can find Marelen at the following places:
Jade from Beyond the Stars
Are bedtimes bringing stress and anxiety instead of that connection filled time you hope for? Are bedtimes taking up most of the evening and your child is feeling less than confident in sleep?
This is my free guide to help you bring the calm back.
I'm Jade; mum of two, child sleep expert and author of the S.L.E.E.P Success Method. I specialise in bespoke and responsive solutions to help bring happy and confident kids in sleep.
You can find Jade at the following places:
Vicky from the Online Language Lounge
I'm Vicky Morley and I run The Online Language Lounge. With 15 years of experience teaching French and German in primary and secondary schools, I now provide individual and group online lessons. My current students range from 4 years old to 60something! I deliver bespoke lessons and tailor them all to the individual's needs, making sure there is a range of activities to keep engagement high. My Spring Collaboration resource has been created by Dawn Furnell on behalf of The Online Language Lounge. There are several different activities to help you to become familiar with some Spring vocabulary in Italian.
Find Vicky in the following places:
Carrie from PlayfullyMindfully Me
TEMP PIC AND ADD RESOURCE
My name is Carrie. I deliver creative mindfulness groups for children.
We came up with a fun mindfulness game together to do on long journeys.
My children designed the cards.
We hope you enjoy them.
You can find Carrie here:
