Sonia Ha

My children are always asking to go back to Sonia!

My children are always asking to go back to Sonia for a visit, for babysitting or just to say Hi.
Sonia looked after my little boy when he was 1 year old for a year and then again during Covid period when he was 4. She always had some trips and activities planned and provided socialising and lots of fun for the children. She is sensitive to their needs and if they need a quiet day, they have a day of rest. She is very attentive to the children and can listen and talk with them for hours, however, leads them to independence.
She is always upbeat, fun and always with positive attitude.
My son is now 6 and with his sister absolutely loves coming back for at hock care. I was very lucky to meet Sonia these 5 years ago and mainly my children had been lucky for such a lovely role model in their life’s.

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by Zdenka about Sonia Ha on 09/02/2022

Nature loving care setting full of fun

Our little girl started just after her 1st birthday (delayed due to covid rule changes) and is now 2.5 years old. From meeting Sonia to starting was about 6 months and communication was always clear and aimed at making the transition back to work easy.
Having a home setting with a lot of outside time matched well with our family dynamics but feels even more important due to covid.
Rosie is quite a shy/nervous child in new situations but that has never been a issue at Sonia's. She is so excited and asks to go early to play with her friends.
We always get updates and photos of the days activities, with focused weeks learning about certain subjects like the moon, numbers or world events.
If we need a consistent approach to learning (e.g. sharing toys) we discuss the issue and best approach together so that Rosie is less likely to get confused and will learn quicker.
Sonia is flexible and always looking to ensure the kids have the best experience. Even changing plans due to the mood of the children on that day. E.g. if they are run down they might stay closer to home and have a quieter day.
We would not hesitate to recommend Sonia and glad she had availability when we were looking.

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by Hazel_H about Sonia Ha on 31/01/2022

Child-led, flexible and enthusiastic

Our son has been going to Sonia for 8 months, since he was just over 2. We'd just moved to the area and needed to find someone local. Little did we know, we'd stumbled on a gem - not only is she a 3-minute walk away, she also happened to be exactly the sort of childminder we needed!

Sonia is child-led in her approach, getting to know the children really well and adapting play to suit their needs and interests, ensuring they cover a range of different skills over time. She was flexible with settling-in, allowing us to take it as slowly and gently as we needed, and is always kind and gentle with our son when upset at goodbyes, even after he'd been there for a few months and had had a few weeks away from her over summer. This was important to us so that he didn't feel abandoned.

Sonia spends a lot of time outdoors with the children usually at parks or the local moor but also often takes them further afield for more adventurous trips out. This was also a key attraction as we wanted him to spend time outdoors as much as possible! She uses these trips as an opportunity to teach them about nature and the world, but always in a fun rather than didactic way. She also does activities based on diverse celebrations such as Diwali and Chinese New Year as well as British/Christian holidays. Her background as a teacher clearly shows through!

Sonia is gentle in her approach to food and eating - she lets him eat as much or as little as he needs, again important to us that he learns to listen to his own appetite and hunger cues rather than being forced to eat or rewarded for eating all his food.

Rowan looks absorbed and relaxed in the photos we receive from Sonia through the day. He's always happy on arrival and waves to Sonia cheerfully. We are confident that he is happy spending time with her and trust her to be empathetic to his needs.

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by Tasha about Sonia Ha on 27/01/2022

Home away from home! Fun, Loving and Enthusiastic!

My son has been attending Sonia’s setting for almost 2 yrs (since he was 1) and we are so lucky that we found her! He runs into her house, as if its his ‘home’, and has a big smile on his face when he see’s her in the morning. Sonia has been amazing at allowing him time to settle in, and taking his personality into account in all aspects of her care including following his interests, and giving him fun educational activities to do that he enjoys! He also gets to spend plenty of time outdoors, another reason why we love Sonia, as it is very important for us that he gets plenty of opportunity to explore nature.
Sonia has also supported him in successfully toilet training, and supports in loads of other self care activities e.g. learning to dress/undress. And in general encourages independence.

Sonia is so much fun, and has a lovely nurturing nature. She is excited to see the kids in the morning and is enthusiastic about her care for them. It makes going to work that much easier knowing he is loved and looked after during the day!

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by Lieselm about Sonia Ha on 19/01/2022