I grew up believing in Santa. I remember the magic of waiting and watching out my window to see his sleigh but, growing up I soon became highly anxious about a random man entering my room at night. There wasn’t even a chimney at my Grannie’s house where we went each year so did he just let himself in the front door? And, if santa could then surely a burglar could too? There was great relief at about 7 or 8 when I went in to my mum one evening and asked her to confirm he really wasn’t real.

I never could imagine Heppy in a conventional nursery setting when the time came to take a look what was available, in fact I hadn’t even realised funded hours were available to us. I wasn’t against a conventional nursery setting, but I was keen to do something completely different to the experiences she was getting at home but where in many ways the atmosphere felt an extension of the home in the value given to children, the opportunity to explore and gain a sense of self.

I was a little surprised when I saw how captivated Heppy was by the simple act of hanging up scraps of fabric with a peg, taking them down, folding them and putting them in the basket, only to then repeat the whole task again a few minutes later! All you need is some string, some pegs, some scrap fabric (old t-shirts or towels)- you could even go as far as cutting into the shape of items of clothing, and then maybe a little bag or basket for it all to be kept in.