Monika Taratajcio

A nursery like no other- simply the best

My son attended this setting from when he was seven months old and whilst I was aware of how wonderful and nurturing the environment was based on experiences of family members, Monika and her team never failed to continually impress me with the level of care, love and attention they provided to each and every child in the setting. My son absolutely thrived under their care and careful supervision and is now in school but still looks forward to the days he can go to Happy Daisies in holidays. He has settled into school really well, and despite being the youngest in the class as he is born in August, he is progressing really well because of everything he learned at Happy Daisies. The credit for his love for reading, learning and playing creatively instead of being stuck in front of a screen goes to Monika and her team. The team have always explained why they did certain activities and how they help children's development and often gave me ideas of what I could be doing at home to continue to support my child's learning. Thank you for helping to give confidence to our children to tackle new challenges and embrace them.

My little daughter now goes to Happy Daisies, I never even thought about sending her anywhere else as I know that there is no other place where my daughter will receive as much as care, love and attention as she does here. My daughter started off very young but I was never concerned about how she would settle in, she was happy from day one and to this day continues to give the biggest smile to any of the ladies when I drop her off. The whole team goes above and beyond to make children happy, focus on their emotional development and teach them essential skills to make them independent. They provide a clear structure to the day and I love that they explore different themes, religions and cultures to help broaden the horizons of the future generation, and make each child proud of the culture they come from. They help the children focus not just on phonics, reading and writing etc but also on developing social skills, taking a very holistic approach tailored to the needs of each child to help them to flourish and thrive.

The team have always provided me with feedback, telling me when things are going well but equally informing me when certain areas need to be addressed and have worked with me to help the development of both of my children. We receive photos everyday which brightens our day and we are given the work that the children do in the setting at regular intervals. Monika and the team ensure that the children get plenty of fresh air and outdoor play in a safe environment and have lots of freshly made food, fruit and veg as snacks to ensure that the children have the best food to fuel their minds and fill their bellies.

All of the team here have always supported me and my family and it is thanks to them that both of our children are so happy, curious and kind. This setting really is home away from home for the children, I don't know of any other setting that provides as much care and love to children or any other team that shows so much kindness, compassion and understanding as the ladies in this team. They have always supported me with my children without any judgement and always have my children's best interests at heart. I cannot recommend this setting enough, there is no other place in the world that I would send my children!

Thank you to each of you in the team, you always go above and beyond to support our children and for this we are eternally grateful :)

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by KParikh about Monika Taratajcio on 22/03/2023

Highly Recommend- certainly outstanding.

Our son started attending Daisy Childminding in February 2021, at the peak of the second wave of Covid. As a first time mom, I was concerned about my son going for full days to a care setting. In our assessment visit itself, I knew this was the right place for him. He was comfortable and responded as Monika interacted with him. It was calming to see him engage so easily with her. During the settling period, Kasia, his keyworker, was warm and welcomed him with big smiles each morning. Except a few seconds on the first day, my boy happily went in each day of his first week. I was supported to continue with breastfeeding through bottle fed which helped him settle in. The staff team also built on his sleeping skills and we noticed his sleep improve over time.
The team also ensured his dietary needs were met- offering a good variety of vegetarian meals. The food is freshly cooked and smells amazing. I have never once had to worry if he has eaten!

Over the past two years, my son happily walks out of home each morning, ready for a day of fun and engaging activities. The day is structured and we have seen our son learn a number of life skills from dressing (wearing his socks, shoes, t-shirt), eating (using cutlery) to self care (washing hands and toileting). At 2.5 years, Monika informed us that he will move up to the toddler room and we noticed his language skills grow tremendously in a short span of 3 months. We love the variety of activities in phonics and numeracy he accesses. He has begun to show interest in reading at home too, reading number plates, and letters on groceries and clothing. So glad to see the love for reading being instilled so early on.

We really look forward to our lunch time updates via photos and videos of his day. These bring us tremendous joy, allowing us to have conversations with him at end of the day. The team communicate honestly with us, sharing difficult moments experienced as well as achievements of the day. They are patient, consistent in discipline, and open to feedback. We have greatly appreciated this cooperation.

It is evident in their every interaction that looking after the children is not just a job for them. There is genuine love for them. We noted this specifically how his 1st birthday was celebrated by them. I was truly moved. We come from a Hindu family and I was very pleased to see how Diwali was celebrated in the setting. He was exposed to the religious stories and songs. The team being bilingual is also an added advantage, as it ensures my son understands different languages are spoken by different people, and to learn his mother tongue. He is encouraged to be proud of his roots and ethnicity.

Monika and the team (have been very supportive of our family, showing flexibility and allowing our son to attend different days when work commitments required me to switch days. This type of support is unheard of in bigger nurseries or chains. They have gone above and beyond to help, and even got us back home when our car broke down!

I would not hesitate even once to recommend Monika to other parents.

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by Jalpa about Monika Taratajcio on 05/03/2023

Amazing setting

My LO was at the setting since she was 1 years old and I have been in touch with all of the girls Monica, Paula, Dora and Kasia. They are all incredibly nice and loving individuals who provided incredible care for my child. My LO settled there very quickly and smoothly, always accepted with smile and hug, and never double thinking about going there. Quite the opposite she would always ask if "today is the day for Monika House". Now 5 years later she is at school and she cannot understand why should she go to school and not to Monika's place where she had great time.

The great things about Monika's setting is not only the care but also the carefully chosen activities. Always planned and tailored around the different seasons or celebrations. My LO learned so much in there through play and was always happy to do so applying it at home too. Her imagination grew incredibly and even now she still enjoying the play with dollies, dinosaurs or whichever comes to her, organising different settings to play with them.

The setting also provided freshly home cooked food which my child adored and preferred to my cooking :). From including her in the making of different biscuits, cupcakes to organising her birthday and celebrating it with freshly prepared cake by them :)

Another one amazing thing is the huge garden of the setting transformed as play area. It also has sheltered area for play in the cold or very hot periods and swings and slides for them to enjoy. My LO has tones of pictures sent from enjoying it and she looks incredibly happy to play there with her friends.

Last and not less importantly, I was updated on daily basis of how is she, what food she had and I had received incredible amount of pictures demonstrating her playing with friends and enjoying the day.

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by desislav about Monika Taratajcio on 31/01/2023

Amazing Childminders - Simply the Best

Our son has been going to Monika's since February 2020, and we are so happy with the setting.
Monika, Paula, Kasia and Dora are wonderful, and care for all the children so well; they make their time spent there fun, educational and exciting.
We are kept well informed about the daily activities and his progress, which we can then discuss and reflect on with him in the evening. We are really happy with the range of activities, which includes free play as well as more structured activities based around different themes which change weekly. He practices his writing, phonics and counting with engaging activities. There is also a huge garden and covered outdoor area, for outside play, which he loves.
Our son enjoys eating at Monika's, and has all his meals there on days he attends. As a vegetarian, he is well catered for and he enjoys the wide and varied menu, and the healthy snacks. He really enjoys the homemade soups for lunch.
Our son always looks forward to going to Monika's and has even asked us to pick him up later on a Friday so he can spend more time with his friends.
He has so many opportunities and input into his development and it is wonderful to see him grow and learn through photographs sent to parents daily, and seeing his collection of works, which are sent home every few weeks. Most recently, our son's reading skills have notably progressed, and he is really eager to practice reading his books, and signs when we are out and about. I have no doubt that a big part of this is the learning he is exposed to through phonics, worksheets, writing practice and group reading time. I am confident that he will be well prepared for reception, when he starts school. We are hoping to get into Deanesfield school, so that he can continue with wrap around care at Monika's.
We are so happy with the care and attention he gets at Monika's and he is so settled and happy, and always looks forward to going to see his friends.
Thank you Monika, Paula, Kasia and Dora for being so amazing!

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by KJH about Monika Taratajcio on 29/01/2023

Outstanding in every way

We use Monika's wonderful setting for both of our girls - our eldest is in year 1 and attends the setting before and after school, and during school holidays when required, and our youngest is two, and attends the setting full time.

We couldn't be happier with the setting we have chosen. Our youngest has shown huge development in her colours, counting, fine motor skills and her social skills. The range of activities provided is broad and exciting – painting, sorting, patterns, water play, baking, dressing up, dancing, singing, reading, to name but a few. Our eldest is supported in learning her spellings each week, and working on her reading, as well as arts and crafts and the chance to play with the other children to keep her busy after school.

In the setting the children learn about all of the religious festivals and other key events (recently this would include the Queen's Jubilee, for example) and the staff in the setting celebrate these things with the children (music, dancing, special food where relevant, costumes) which they all enjoy so much. It’s also a testament to the fantastic diversity of the children and families who use the setting and it’s wonderful to see our children learning about and celebrating other cultures and traditions. The Christmas celebrations were amazing, and Santa even came to visit the children to sing carols and have a Christmas party!

There is a wonderful outdoor space, including a huge covered area so the children get out every, single day regardless of the weather. The summertime was especially brilliant for our eldest who enjoyed playing in the paddling pools after school to cool off from the heat.

The staff are beyond brilliant. Kind and caring but also upholding gentle and appropriate discipline. The bond between our girls and the staff is very clear with cuddles at the end of every day, and my eldest is always keen to share her achievements and news with them. We receive photos every day of what our children have been up to, as well as a short written report about how they have been, what they have eaten, nap length and anything else to note.

The food is of exceptionally high standard and quality – and I think the staff must be miracle workers given that they get our girls eating everything from tuna to beetroot, which they will now eat happily at home too (and wouldn’t have touched before they started at Monika’s!) Junk food is kept to a minimum and only provided on special occasions, but the girls always enjoy the home made cakes, fresh fruit and yogurts as their treats.

Every single child is made to feed extra special on their birthday when the front door is decorated with their name and age. There is then always a birthday cake and all the children and staff sing happy birthday.

We honestly couldn’t be happier with this wonderful setting and would have no hesitation whatsoever in recommending it to any parent looking for a kind, caring, nurturing and developmental setting for their child.

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by Laura C about Monika Taratajcio on 25/01/2023