Jersey Take 5 — with Philippa Alexandre & Sarah Quenault from Tinker Tots Jersey

Kids About Jersey
Jul 30, 2017 · 4 min read

We were delighted to interview Philippa & Sarah, founders of Tinker Tots, Sticky Kids & Nature’s Child

Tell us a little about yourselves & your fabulous kiddie businesses

Sarah & I (Philippa) have worked together & been friends for over 15 years, we are like family. We have worked in nurseries, as nannies and have also owned children’s party businesses, a fancy dress shop and a Nanny agency.

Last Summer (2016), as we developed personally & professionally, we moved back into our real passion — building a community where children are safe, secure & able to grow & explore at their own pace; supporting children & their families to develop mentally, physically & emotionally.

We started Tinker Tots in September 2016 & took over Sticky Kids Messy Play in January 2017. We moved venue to Trinity Youth Centre in April 2017 & we now have a fantastic outdoor play area with a mud kitchen & sand pit too! This Summer we have just launched Nature’s Child Jersey, which provides holiday sessions for children aged 3–7 years focusing on forest skills, outdoor exploration, loose parts & most importantly child-led free play.

Our personal ethos is based on respect for nature, the environment, each other & building a future for all children.

1How do you think children see the world?

Children (& babies) are more wise & capable than most people understand. They see the world through unbiased eyes & with wonder & love. That can be so refreshing; making you reassess your own ideas & beliefs. Through our years of spending time with & observing children we have found RIE (Resources for Infant Educarers) & Magda Gerber’s respectful parenting philosophy to be particularly useful. We’d highly recommend parents & anyone working with children to look into it.
A child’s rules: Live in the moment, do what makes you happy, love, be kind to people, sing out loud & dance around the room. You never know, you might brighten someone else’s day as well as your own.

2Where’s your favourite place to go with children?

With the children that we nanny for, we love to go to Samares Manor & St Catherine’s Woods in all weather or Greve de Lecq on a sunny day - if we can be outside we will!

Greve de Lecq Beach. Credit: Jersey Travel

3What’s your favourite Jersey family memory or event?

Philippa — I have 2 brothers & a sister & we’re all a bit crazy- these are my favourite kind of people. My favourite times as a child are playing in the woods where we used to live or at my grandparent’s farm with my brothers, sister & cousins.
Sarah — When my niece, Marli, was born

St Catherine’s Woods

4Where’s your Jersey place to escape without children?

Philippa’s favourite places are the area over looking St Ouen’s Bay from the dolmens & St Catherine’s Woods. Sarah loves relaxing in the camper van as the sun sets at St Ouen.
Our very favourite place to be though is at home with our families.

St Ouen’s Bay Sunset. Credit: Freedom Holidays

5What 3 words sum up Jersey for you?

Home, frustrating & potential

Credit: It’s A Sign Jersey

Final thought….When everyone has gone home, what do you secretly have a play with? ;o)

We don’t wait for everyone to go home… we play with the toys & children at our sessions! The best part of our jobs is to play all day. The most rewarding part of our jobs is supporting children & families to reach their potential - watching a child develop, especially from your input, is the best thing in the world.

Thank you Philippa & Sarah for a fab interview

You can find Tinker Tots, Sticky Kids & Nature’s Child at Trinity Youth Centre

Find out more on their Website. Follow on Facebook at Tinker Tots, Sticky Kids & Nature’s Child

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Kids About Jersey

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Loving & sharing all that Jersey, Channel Islands has to offer for you & your children, everything that makes our little 9 by 5 part of the world great!

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