Mother’s Day is more than just a holiday—it’s a heartfelt reminder to slow down and appreciate the love, energy, and patience moms pour into their families every day. Whether it's a hug after a scraped knee, a bedtime story read for the tenth time, or the magic of always knowing where everything is, moms deserve to be celebrated in ways big and small.

At Early Childhood Academy, we believe in simple, meaningful moments. Here are a few ideas for helping your little ones show mom how much she’s loved:
1. Make a “Mom Book”
Gather drawings, silly quotes, and sweet messages from the kids to create a one-of-a-kind booklet for mom. It doesn’t have to be perfect—it just has to be from the heart.

2. Plan a Mommy-and-Me Date
It could be a picnic at the park, a backyard tea party, or a trip to the library. Giving kids a role in planning the day builds excitement and makes mom feel extra special.

3. Create a Relaxation Station
Help the kids set up a cozy space with mom’s favorite blanket, books, snacks, and maybe even a homemade “do not disturb” sign. Bonus points for quiet time!

4. Breakfast (or snack) Made by Little Hands
With a little help, toddlers and preschoolers can prepare simple treats—think toast with jam, fruit kabobs, or a yogurt parfait.

5. Simply Say Thank You
Encourage kids to say what they love most about their mom. You might be surprised (and amused!) by what they come up with.
Let’s not forget that many children are surrounded by incredible women who take on a mother’s role—grandmas, aunties, guardians, teachers, and more. Mother’s Day is a great opportunity to honor all of them.

From our Early Childhood Academy family to yours: Happy Mother’s Day to every mom and mother figure.
You are seen, loved, and appreciated.

Are you a parent in Minnesota searching for a nurturing, high-quality early childhood education center for your child? Look no further than Early Childhood Academy, with locations in Red Wing, Belle Plaine, and New Prague. This blog post will dive into what makes Early Childhood Academy a top choice for families, while also exploring the broader landscape of early childhood education in Minnesota. Whether you're seeking daycare, preschool, or toddler care, Early Childhood Academy offers a supportive environment for your child’s growth and development.

What is Early Childhood Academy?
Early Childhood Academy is a trusted childcare provider serving families across three Minnesota locations: Red Wing, Belle Plaine, and New Prague. With a mission to provide high-quality, consistent care, the academy creates a welcoming environment that gives parents peace of mind while they’re away from their children. They offer a range of programs, including:

• Daycare: For infants and toddlers, ensuring a safe and stimulating environment.
  
• Preschool: Focused on preparing children for kindergarten through structured learning and play.
  
• Toddler Care: Tailored activities to support early developmental milestones.
  

The academy emphasizes meaningful employment for its staff, fostering a team of dedicated educators who are passionate about early childhood development. They also actively engage with families, building strong partnerships to ensure every child is supported academically, emotionally, and socially. As stated in their mission, they aim to be "an asset to the community by being involved, offering families opportunities to spend quality time together, and being the first choice for early childhood education."

In Red Wing, Early Childhood Academy operates as a licensed child care center with a maximum capacity of 164 children, accepting infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and school-age children.

Why Choose Early Childhood Academy?
Here are some standout features that make Early Childhood Academy a top pick for parents in Minnesota:

• High-Quality Care and Education
  

Early Childhood Academy is committed to delivering consistent, high-quality care. Their programs are designed to nurture children’s growth through love, education, and fun. Parents rave about the supportive staff, with testimonials highlighting the academy’s impact:  
“Our child started attending ECA at 8 weeks old, he is now almost 8 months old and thriving! The staff is amazing and so supportive - we are comforted knowing our child is getting the BEST care each day!” – RP  

“We love it here and our child loves it here! It’s a clean and safe environment full of enriching activities to promote learning.” – AR

Community Involvement
The academy prides itself on being an influential role model in the community. They welcome families, foster partnerships, and provide opportunities for quality family time, making them a cornerstone of early childhood education in Red Wing, Belle Plaine, and New Prague.

Developmental Support
Early Childhood Academy offers guidance on developmental milestones. For example, they share insights on what 3-year-olds should be achieving, such as asking “who, what, where, and why” questions, joining other children to play, drawing simple shapes, and dressing themselves. They also provide resources like CDC milestone checklists to help parents track progress. [Ref web ID: 2]

Family Engagement
The academy keeps parents connected through regular updates, such as messages and photos, which provide peace of mind. Parents appreciate this transparency, with one noting, “The message and picture updates of our son give us so much peace of mind throughout the day!” – JZ

Career Opportunities
For those passionate about working with children, Early Childhood Academy is hiring talented educators and support staff at all three locations. This commitment to meaningful employment ensures a dedicated and skilled team for your child’s care.

Early Childhood Education in Minnesota: A Broader Perspective
Minnesota is a leader in early childhood education, with a strong emphasis on preparing children for kindergarten and lifelong learning. Here’s how Early Childhood Academy fits into the state’s broader educational landscape:

Statewide Support for Early Learning
The Minnesota Department of Education supports initiatives like Early Childhood Family Education (ECFE), School Readiness, and Head Start, which provide programming for children from birth to age 5. These programs align with Minnesota’s vision that all children are prepared for kindergarten and third-grade reading. Early Childhood Academy complements these efforts by offering high-quality preschool and daycare services that align with state standards.

Developmental Standards
Minnesota’s Early Childhood Indicators of Progress (ECIPs) set developmentally appropriate expectations for children from birth to kindergarten. Early Childhood Academy incorporates these standards by focusing on milestones like language development, social skills, and early literacy, ensuring children are ready for the next steps in their education.

Access to Scholarships
Minnesota offers Early Learning Scholarships to help families access high-quality childcare. These scholarships can be used at Parent Aware-rated programs, which include many centers like Early Childhood Academy, ensuring affordability for families in Red Wing, Belle Plaine, and New Prague.

Screening and Special Education
Minnesota requires Early Childhood Screening before kindergarten to identify potential health or developmental concerns. Early Childhood Academy supports this process by fostering an inclusive environment and collaborating with families to address individual needs. Additionally, centers like Colvill Family Center in Red Wing provide early childhood special education services, which complement the academy’s offerings.

Focus on Literacy and Social Skills
Programs like SEEDS of Literacy, offered through New Prague Area Schools, emphasize literacy-rich environments and social-emotional development. Early Childhood Academy aligns with this focus by creating engaging, play-based learning opportunities that prepare children for kindergarten.

Tips for Parents Considering Early Childhood Academy
Choosing the right daycare or preschool is a big decision. Here are some prompts to help you evaluate if Early Childhood Academy is the right fit for your family:

• What do I want for my child’s care? Consider if you prioritize a nurturing environment, structured learning, or community involvement—all of which Early Childhood Academy offers.
  
• What is my top hope for my child’s experience? Reflect on whether you want your child to gain social skills, independence, or a love for learning, which the academy fosters through its programs.
  
• What am I excited for my child to experience? Think about the joy of your child making new friends, participating in enriching activities, or enjoying a clean, safe environment—hallmarks of Early Childhood Academy.
  

Visit Early Childhood Academy Today
If you’re in Red Wing, Belle Plaine, or New Prague, Early Childhood Academy is a fantastic option for your child’s early education. Their commitment to high-quality care, family engagement, and community involvement sets them apart as a leader in Minnesota’s early childhood education landscape.

For parents seeking a daycare or preschool that combines education, care, and community, Early Childhood Academy is a shining choice in Minnesota. Give your child the best start—explore Early Childhood Academy today!

Learning to read is a major milestone in your child’s life. Building early literacy and language skills early in life make learning to read easier and more enjoyable for your child later on. At Early Childhood Academy, we work on these skills daily to prepare your child for a lifetime of reading.

Vocabulary is a major predictor of reading success in children. The more words your child knows, the greater their ability to comprehend text. Building early literacy and a large vocabulary starts young. A study of 18-month-olds found that children who are surrounded by adults who speak with them have a vocabulary that is 185 words larger than their peers who have not been exposed to verbal interactions.

From birth to age 5, children acquire new words at a faster rate than at any time of their lives. Kindergarteners have mastered three-fifths of all the vocabulary they will ever acquire. This means your child’s time with us is a precious opportunity to build a large vocabulary that prepares them for reading success throughout their lives.

Every activity at the Academy is an opportunity to build your child’s vocabulary. On any given day, we may discuss the sizes, colors, and shapes of objects your child is playing with, or of objects in the room. We may point out the position of objects using location words (on, off, in, out, behind, on top of, over, under, etc.). This gives your child the language to describe the world around them.

Did you know how to handle a book is an early literacy skill? At the Academy, we include book etiquette as part of our early literacy and language curriculum. We teach children how to hold a book right-side-up and start reading at the front of the book. We show them how to turn pages one at a time and treat books with care. We also help your child understand that books live in a special place, and that we need to put them back when we are finished reading. 

Critical thinking is your child’s ability to evaluate a situation. This may be a real-world situation or something they encounter as they read or learn. Critical thinking questions encourage higher-order thinking that builds your child’s ability to think abstractly, make connections between two concepts, and solve problems. Higher-order thinking is what helps your child be a creative, evaluative, and innovative learner throughout their lives.

Developing higher-order thinking skills starts in early literacy. Here are some of the questions we ask our young readers during and after story times:

• What do you see in the pictures?
  
• Why do you think that character is acting that way?
• What will happen next?
• What was your favorite part?
• Which character would you want to be?
• How would you change the ending?
  

Finally, our teachers understand that developing your child’s early literacy and language skills is a joint effort. We encourage you to spend at least 20 minutes every day reading with your children. Reading at home is an enjoyable way to connect with your child, expand their knowledge of the world, and help them process strong emotions. 

Here’s how you can build early literacy and language skills at home with your kiddos:

• Choose stories or topics that interest your child.
• Find books with words that will expand their spoken language.
  
• Include informational books, such as books on animals, nature, trucks, space, etc.
• Ask your child to identify the letters they know and teach them the sounds those letters make.
• Use your finger to track the words as you read.
• Ask your child the critical thinking questions we use at the Academy.

At Early Childhood Academy, our teachers are committed to building your child’s early literacy and language skills throughout their time with us, from infancy to preschool. To learn more about our literacy curriculum or to schedule a tour of one of our location, get in touch with us today!

We are committed to providing high quality early childhood education to the community. We believe that all children deserve the opportunity to reach their full potential, and we are dedicated to providing them with the tools and support they need to succeed.

If you are looking for a high-quality early childhood education program for your child, we encourage you to contact us today. We would be happy to answer any questions you may have and schedule a tour of our academy.

Keeping your young kiddos healthy and helping them avoid getting sick can be challenging, especially over the winter, when we spend more time indoors. Here are some proactive tips you can model and use with your children as we head into the busy holiday season and colder months.

Hand washing is a regular part of your child’s day at Early Childhood Academy. We reinforce good hand washing habits at the academy by having children wash their hands before eating, after using the bathroom, and after playing outside.

At home, you can use songs or a timer to make handwashing time fun and make sure they wash their hands for at least 20 seconds. The choruses to “Let It Go,” “Baby Shark,” and “Happy Birthday” all last about 20 seconds.  

A balanced diet full of colorful fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins gives your child the vitamins and minerals their body needs to build a strong immune system and fight off bugs. If getting your kids to eat fruits and veggies is difficult, try including them in the preparation of their food, experiment with the size of the food you offer (ex: offer a whole green bean instead of cut up pieces), or offer fruits and veggies in a smoothie.

Good sleep contributes to a strong immune system. The CDC recommends infants get 12 to 16 hours of sleep every 24 hours (including naps), while toddlers should get 11 to 14 hours. Preschool-aged children should get 10 to 13 hours of sleep every 24 hours.

Getting enough sleep helps your child get sick less often, reduces stress, and improves their mood. A consistent bedtime routine can help your child fall asleep and stay asleep, ensuring they get the recommended hours of rest.

Your pediatrician will recommend an appropriate vaccination schedule for your child, including flu shots and COVID shots. Staying up to date on vaccinations not only protects your child against severe illness, it also helps protect those around them.

If your child or a family member is sick, consider keeping them home and avoiding contact with others. This helps prevent the spread of illness. At Early Childhood Academy, we ask families to notify the program within 24 hours, exclusive of weekends and holidays, when a child is diagnosed by a child’s source of medical or dental care as having a contagious disease.

At ECA, we teach your kiddos to cough and sneeze into their elbows. This helps prevent the spread of germs and keeps germs off of your kids’ hands when they do cough or sneeze. We also encourage kids to wash their hands after coughing and sneezing.

Winter is cold and dry, which means you and your children need to drink more water to stay hydrated. Proper hydration flushes out toxins and supports immune health. Just be sure to avoid sugary drinks, which do the opposite!

Moving regularly can boost immune system health, too. Minnesotans know all too well that there’s no such thing as bad weather, just poor preparation. At the academy, we will continue to go outside daily until the temperatures drop below -0 Fahrenheit. Be sure to send your child to school with a coat, hat, snow pants, boots, and gloves. When it is bitter cold or snowing outside, you can increase indoor activity at home with an obstacle course, dance party, or visiting an indoor playground.

Antibiotics are important drugs that can be literal lifesavers that protect against bacterial infections. However, they do nothing for viral infections. If you suspect your child requires antibiotics, speak with your pediatrician and follow their instructions carefully.

Regularly sanitize and wipe down doorknobs, countertops, play structures, and other toys to stop the spread of germs, especially if your household is recovering from illness. At the academy, we follow a strict cleaning protocol that includes a 3-step Step Surface Cleaning Process.

Your child’s health is our priority, especially during the winter months when cold and flu are prevalent. To learn more about how we keep your kiddos healthy at school or to schedule a tour of one of our locations, please get in touch with us.

Last month, we celebrated our Red Wing location’s first birthday! We are so grateful for the trust our Red Wing families have put in us last year. We look forward to supporting you and your kiddos for years to come!  

On May 17, we threw a party to celebrate our first year of operations. We invited our amazing families to join us for an evening of fun. We had a bounce house, temporary tattoos, a prize wheel, yard games, and lots of cupcakes, lemonade, and other treats. You can check out all the fun we had on our Facebook page. Thank you to everyone who joined us on the 17th!

Our first year of operations in Red Wing was full of fun, family, and growth. Our team of 35 employees, including 5 who have earned or are working on their child development associate credential, served 247 children last year. Here’s what we got up to.

We kicked off the fun at ECA–Red Wing by participating in our first-ever Red Wing River City Days. We had a blast meeting the community and getting the word out about our academy. This year, we’re thrilled to support the event as a lifeboat sponsor.

The fun continued at our center when the firetrucks stopped by in October. Santa made a visit to the academy in December, and in February, our preschoolers started a pen pals program with our academies in Belle Plaine and New Prague. We held our first Easter event in March and got our school pictures taken in April. May was a month of celebrations, including pre-K graduation, teacher appreciation week, and our first birthday party.
This summer, we’re hosting our first Camp Academy for our School agers, with summer fun events that include special guests from a landscaping company, a garbage truck, and the Teddy Bear Band. Want to participate in the fun? Schedule your tour today!

Family is at the heart of what we do at Early Childhood Academy. That’s why we try to involve you and your family at our event throughout the year. In the last year, we hosted grandparents for a special grandparents’ day in September and treated moms to muffins for Mother’s Day. Dads got donuts for Father’s Day in June. We look forward to having you visit your child at the academy this year!

We are so grateful for the families who made our first year successful. With your support, we were able to achieve many milestones that will help us serve you for years to come. We are very proud to have started the process of becoming Parent Aware certified in January and look forward to sharing the results of that process with you soon.

In addition to this major endeavor, we also installed new mulch on the playgrounds, trimmed the trees, and updated our HVAC system to keep your kiddos safe and comfortable at the academy. We spruced up our entryway to make it more welcoming for families, including a TV with pictures and announcements to keep you informed of everything that’s going on at ECA. We also created a lactation/mother’s room for staff and families to use while at the academy.

The entire team at Early Childhood Academy–Red Wing thanks you for your support and confidence in us. It is a privilege to care for your children. We look forward to another year of fun, family, and growth with you! For more information about ECA or to schedule your tour, please get in touch with us.

The summer transition is coming. Is your family ready? Transitioning to a summer schedule can be challenging for families. With some planning and consistency, you can help your kids adjust as smoothly as possible. Whether you’ve got school-aged kids who are impatiently awaiting the end of the school year or your family is switching to a more relaxed summer childcare schedule, Early Childhood Academy is here to help.

Children of all ages thrive on routine. Big, sudden changes to your family’s daily routine is what makes the summer transition difficult for little kids and big kids alike. Take a moment to write down your family’s current routine, including wake times, meal times, and when your children play, rest, and go to bed. Which activities are non-negotiable, and which ones offer some flexibility? We suggest using your current wake times, nap/rest times, bedtimes, and meals/snacks as your anchors for the day and add flexibility around these anchors.

Keeping your child’s sleep routine consistent can help make the transition to summer easier. But sometimes, your summer schedule requires changes to bedtime and wake time. Your school-aged kiddos could be looking forward to later bedtimes and lazy summer mornings. Or, you may need to get them up early for camp or a full day of fun at Early Childhood Academy. If you want or need to adjust your child’s sleep schedule, start one to two weeks before the transition occurs. Shift bedtime or wake-up time by 15 to 30 minutes every few days until you’re on your desired schedule.

Whether you decide to change your child’s sleep times or not, keep your bedtime rituals in place. Continue to offer a snack, read books, take a bath, or anything else that’s part of your family’s bedtime routine.  

Physical activity can help kids adjust to the summer transition. Movement helps kids (and parents!) reduce stress and anxiety. It also improves sleep. Get your kids outside and moving as much as possible during the day. You could take them to a playground, arrange a play date, run around in your yard, enroll them in sports, visit a park or nature center, or take a walk or bike ride around your neighborhood.

If you’re stressing about the summer transition, chances are high that your kids are, too. Children look to us for how to mentally and emotionally process change. If they sense we are stressed, they will think that is how they should react. So, fake it until you make it, don’t let them see you sweat, and model healthy habits by sticking with your routine, keeping to your own sleep schedule, and moving your body.

No matter how much planning and preparation you do, the summer transition can still be stressful for some kids. Be patient with them and yourself during this time. Offer reassurance and support to anxious kids. Be kind to yourself when things don’t go as planned. Once the transition is done, summer fun awaits!
Making the transition to your summer routine can be stressful. The Early Childhood Academy team is here to help our families make the change to a summer schedule go more smoothly. Not part of the Academy’s family yet? Schedule your tour today.

Earlier this summer, Early Childhood Academy in Red Wing had some very special visitors. Ambassadors and other members from the Red Wing Chamber of Commerce visited our 12th Street location for an official ribbon cutting! Our educators, staff members, and a few of our families were there to mark the occasion and show the chamber members around our new space.

At Red Wing Chamber Visits Early Childhood Academy in Red Wing, our talented team of early childhood educators and staff members create a safe and inclusive space that nurtures your child’s curiosity and creativity as they learn and grow. Our Red Wing classrooms are bright and cheerful, and our updated building features interactive play areas that engage young minds and encourage your little one to explore, discover, and flourish.

If you’re looking for a safe, nurturing care facility for your infant, toddler, preschooler, or school-aged child, we would love to give you a tour of our Red Wing location. Contact Us Today or Call Us at Red Wing 651-388-8905. Please Stay Connected With Us Through Our Social Media Channels for the Latest Updates, Tips, and Special Offers on Facebook and Instagram, Check Our Google Map Location.