Little Duck Family Child Care

As childcare providers, parents, and educators, we are always looking for fun and meaningful ways to help children grow into healthy, confident, and capable individuals. One of the best activities we have discovered over the years is yoga. At our daycare, yoga has been part of our daily routine for over 10 years, and it continues to be one of our favorite activities. Not only do the children enjoy it, but we have also seen firsthand how it helps them regulate emotions, strengthen their bodies, and develop a positive relationship with movement. This book is such a great tool to get your started on your yoga with kids journey: The ABC’s of Yoga For Kids The best part? Yoga doesn’t feel like exercise to young children. It feels like play. Why Yoga Is Great for Young Kids Children are constantly learning about their bodies and emotions. Yoga gives them an opportunity to slow down, move intentionally, and learn skills they can use throughout their lives. Some of the benefits of yoga for you...

When it comes to daycare crafts, sometimes the simplest materials create the biggest smiles. One of our all-time favorite craft supplies at Little Duck Family Child Care is the humble pipe cleaner! These colorful, fuzzy sticks are affordable, versatile, and perfect for little hands that are still developing fine motor skills. Whether you’re creating animals, flowers, crowns, or silly sculptures, pipe cleaner crafts provide endless opportunities for creativity while helping children learn and grow. Why Pipe Cleaner Crafts Are Great for Kids Pipe cleaners are more than just a craft supply—they’re a fantastic learning tool. As children bend, twist, and shape them into different creations, they’re strengthening the small muscles in their hands and fingers. These skills help prepare children for writing, cutting with scissors, and many other everyday tasks. Pipe cleaner activities also encourage: Creativity and imagination Problem-solving skills Hand-eye coordination Color recognit...

Ahoy Mateys!  Pirate Week at daycare was an absolute blast from beginning to end. There is something magical about themed weeks that instantly gets children excited to learn, play, imagine, and participate. The moment the kids walked through the door wearing pirate hats, striped shirts, and eye patches, the entire daycare transformed into a ship full of tiny adventurers searching for treasure. One of the best parts about themed weeks is how easy it becomes to weave learning and creativity into everyday activities. The children stayed engaged because every day brought something new, exciting, and hands-on. Our Pirate Week Activities We packed Pirate Week full of fun activities that encouraged imagination, teamwork, creativity, and movement. Dressing Up Like Pirates The kids absolutely loved dressing up as pirates. Some wore bandanas, pirate hats, striped shirts, or eye patches, while others carried little treasure bags around the daycare all day long. Even simple dress-up pieces mad...

  Children learn how to treat the world by watching the people around them. The way we teach them to care for animals shapes not only the safety and happiness of those animals, but also the kind of adults our children will become. Compassion starts at home, and one of the most important lessons we can teach is that animals are living beings with feelings, fears, needs, and trust. Being firm about how children treat pets and wildlife is not about being harsh. It is about teaching respect, empathy, and responsibility from the very beginning. Gentle hands, calm voices, patience, and kindness should never be optional lessons. Animals rely on us to protect them, and children rely on us to teach them how. Kids are naturally curious. They want to squeeze kittens because they are soft, chase dogs because it feels like a game, or pick up tiny creatures because they are fascinated. But animals can feel overwhelmed, frightened, and hurt just like people can. A scared pet may scratch, bite,...