Mama Duck's Childcare

08/04/2026

With the first glimpses of summer today, we swapped our wellies for sun hats & sun cream and headed to the farm! 🐮

Some of the skills we saw in practice today:

🖍️Speech & Language:
There were a LOT of animal noises to discuss! Colours, sizes, behaviour (we loved the peacock shaking his tail!)

🖍️Motor skills:
Throwing food, flat palms for feeding, climbing and walking, and of course gentle hands for stroking dogs and donkeys 🥰

🖍️Social & emotional skills:
Empathising with a sad friend, learning to be gentle with animals, or even laughing together when a cow did a great big wee AND a poo right in front of us 😭🤣

Although, the highlight was probably when a donkey stole the feed bucket, tipped it upside down and finished the lot 🫣 the children thankfully saw the funny side! 🤣

Days like today with good weather and good laughs are the best 😁

11/03/2026

Does anyone else forget to update their business social media pages? 🤣 Amongst all the learning and play, wiping snotty noses, sorting paperwork, and endless toy sorting... Facebook posts seem to have taken a backseat!

Here's a little snapshot of some of the exciting activities our little ducks have been up to through Feb & March so far, and some of the learning areas we've been building through our play 🤍

Lots more fun to come! 🙌

05/02/2026

Hi lovely followers 😊

I want to share something that's really important for childminders right now.

I want to shout it from the rooftops and encourage people to do their own research on this too if they have the chance! 🗣️🗣️🗣️
But briefly, I can explain that there's a UK Parliament petition about keeping the 10% wear-and-tear tax allowance for childminders, instead of it being removed from April 2026.

This allowance helps cover the extra costs of running childcare from home (like utilities, equipment and fixing general wear & tear such as re-painting scuffed walls, replacing damaged flooring from high floor traffic, spills, etc). Without it, many childminders like me could find it much harder to make childcare financially sustainable.
This change, along with recent changes to funding and the very low funding rate for 3+ year olds needs immediate attention. Unfortunately, we will see even more childminders sadly closing their doors, if we keep being squeezed like this.
In turn, it genuinely affects the availability, choices, and quality of care available to families. 💔

If you’re comfortable with it and have a moment, I’d really appreciate you signing and/or sharing.

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/754843

Thank you for supporting home from home childcare ❤️

Retain the 10% wear and tear allowance for childminders, or introduce an equivalent alternative that reflects the additional household costs of providing regulated childcare from home and helps ensure childminding remains financially sustainable.

19/01/2026

Last week, I mistimed a shopping delivery, so it arrived whilst the children were pottering about.
It turned out to be really fun and led to a bunch of learning through play opportunities!

They were so eager to help with putting the items away, learning the names of new items they probably hadn't handled before (a whole bunch of spring onions isn't usually in the toy basket 🤷‍♀️🤣) and really just to get stuck in... We had:

- Lining up shopping items by size and order (early mathematics)
- Smelling spring onions and chatting about new and familiar smells
- Drawing all over the paper bags (hello mark making!)
- Jumping on the bags like frogs 🐸 (gross motor skills & lots of giggles)
- Picking up items and helping me decide where they should be kept... We did nearly have some toilet roll in the fridge 😂

And yet it wasn't a planned “activity"!

Proof that learning doesn’t need to be fancy or Pinterest perfect, sometimes it’s just a food delivery and curiosity 😊

14/01/2026

We have had a lovely start to 2026 ❤️

We've been revisiting fine motor activities over the last couple of weeks, benchmarking how much 2 weeks off and lots of wrapping paper removal might have helped grow those essential skills!

I've purposely set out games and activities that develop fine motor skills through hands on play. This supports grip strength, coordination and focus. These skills are so important for things like feeding themselves, dressing, and later writing.

I love watching their concentration, problem solving and pride when they master something new 💛

18/12/2025

🎉 Schools out for... Christmas! 🎄

I registered back in January, and it’s hard to believe how much has happened since then. Nearly a whole year spent with these beautiful babies, watching them grow, learn, gain confidence, and become their own little people.

This year has been full of firsts for all of us! I'm feeling really emotional today looking back at how far we’ve all come 🥹

So proud of this little Mama Duck family, and so grateful to the families who’ve trusted me with such a special part of their lives. Watching the children flourish has been such a privilege ❤️

Now it's time to pack some of the toys away and make room for a visit from the big man on 24th 👀 before maybe, just maybe, sitting down for a little rest and finishing a hot drink whilst it's still hot?! 🤣

That’s a wrap on 2025, with love from all at Mama Duck’s! Here’s to everything we’ve built together, and all that’s still to come 🧡🦆

16/12/2025

✨ Christmas Through EYFS Eyes! 🎄

For our under 3s, Christmas decorations are so pretty and interesting... But they're also full of rich learning opportunities!

🎨 Expressive Arts & Design
Exploring colours, textures and sparkles builds imagination and creativity. Our velcro Christmas tree has been a huge hit, little ones have loved decorating it again and again!

🧠 Communication & Language
The festive decor has sparked so much lovely chatter. We’ve had lots of pointing, naming colours and shapes, sharing excitement, and practising those early conversations: “more lights!” "my star!” “where’s train gone?”

🖐️ Physical Development
Handling ribbons and soft ornaments and pressing buttons and switches, opening advent calendar doors and boxes... every day we are seeing lots of activities that strengthen fine-motor skills.
And as for the velcro Christmas tree, all that peeling, sticking, choosing and rearranging is brilliant for hand strength, coordination and early problem-solving skills.

❤️ Personal, Social & Emotional Development
Shared celebrations help children feel connected. Repeating familiar festive activities builds confidence, joy and a sense of belonging.

🔎 Understanding the World
Little ones explore cause and effect (“It sticks!”), notice seasonal changes and begin to understand family traditions.

Christmas offers them a whole world of shiny, soft and crinkly new things to investigate, even if you don't have lots of activities set up. December looks magical, but it’s also doing wonders for their early development. 🎁✨

13/11/2025

This morning, we went train spotting in Sutton Park!

🚂 When we lean into what captures a child’s curiosity, we open the door to deeper engagement, rich conversations, and therefore, active, enthusiastic learning!

By following their interests, children feel seen and valued. They want to talk about their interests, so they're inspired to explore and play when we use them as a focus. ✨

The trains that pass through this park line are freight trains, and the children can remember what colour train went by and how many carriages it had. They heard the horn in real life, and learnt some new words including tunnel, holly and lake ☺️

05/11/2025

🎆 BONFIRE NIGHT 2025

We prepped our toddlers who either haven't seen fireworks, or don't remember last year's festivities, by watching a real firework display on the TV today! We went for a walk just after sunset to get used to the darker evenings, and spot a few early fireworks. We also made some firework art on scratch pads! 🎇

🌟🌟🌟

If you're enjoying the fireworks with your little ones tonight or this weekend, please do so safely. Here's my top tips!

Keep a safe distance: Stay well back from bonfires and fireworks. Toddlers are naturally curious, so hold hands or keep them in a buggy or carrier.

Protect little ears: Fireworks can be loud and scary! Pop on some ear defenders to help them feel safe and calm. Ear muffs or headphones will work in a pinch to take the edge off.

Stay visible: It gets dark early, so add reflective stickers or glow sticks to coats to keep your child easy to spot. We headed up out local beacon this evening and it was very dark, even for adults!

Mind those fingers! — If you’re using sparklers, pop the end into a carrot for your child to hold — it makes a perfect toddler-friendly handle. 🥕✨

21/10/2025

October has flown by!

We are looking forward to a very spooky 👻 themed week next week. In the meantime, look at some of the wonderful Autumn themed activities we've been enjoying!

Lots of outdoor walks and exploration, it's a fab time for it when the UV and pollen causes us all less trouble 😉

We've been using sensory play with pumpkins and slime, as well as some Halloween themed and natural resources we collected on our walks.

You can see lots of playful activities here that have built on coordination and fine motor skills, and we've also incorporated lots of language and number play 💕

30/09/2025

We had a beautiful morning watching the geese and throwing stones and conkers into the stream to see who could make the biggest splash 💦

Even stopped off for a warm drink when it got too chilly 😆☕

25/09/2025

This week we began exploring all things Autumn 🍂

Look at these 3 posing in the park today 😂

💬 Taking a nature walk is a great opportunity to expand little people's vocabulary as well as their knowledge of the world around them. All whilst getting some fresh air, exercise and sensory experiences!

🍁 We talked about the things we could see, hear, smell and feel along the way, as well as how conkers, leaves etc fall from the trees and are often used by animals. We observed plants, insects and logs, comparing their sizes and textures, and climbing or sitting on them if we could.

This week we've collected conkers and other natural treasures (scroll to the last picture to see today's haul!) and played with them in a variety of ways, including sensory, counting and posting games! What would you do with all this treasure? 🍂