Little Panda's in Guelph daycare openings, reviews and ratings

Daycare description / philosophy

Little Panda's Home Daycare

Little Panda's Daycare is located near Exhibition Park in downtown Guelph, Ontario. We are close to St. Joseph's, and Victory Public School, as well as the Guelph Public Library Downtown Branch, and the Children's Art Factory.

Our facility has a backyard with a garden, deck, and lots of trees and pathways. We really focus on planting and growing food with the kids, and even experiment with composting and vermiculture (if they're interested). There are bikes, tricycles, cars, slides, and a castle. In nice weather we like to have snack outside.

Our Panda Playroom has two full walls of windows that fill the room with natural light. We try to purchase mostly wooden and eco-friendly toys, and focus on quality rather than quantity. We have a large resource room in the basement, so are able to swap out toys and arrange the space depending on the kid's interest. We have several centres in the playroom, like the school area (carpet for circle time, easel, learning centres), construction zone (building toys like blocks and straws and connectors, and lego for the bigger kids), dramatic play (dress up, big play kitchen full of wooden food), train table, and library. We are building new shelves currently to streamline the look of the room and make everything more organized, while still allowing the children plenty of space to run and play when we have more active games. The children are encouraged to play together cooperatively, and to tidy up each activity when they're done before moving on to the next thing.

The daycare has a dedicated washroom with a diaper sprayer (for cloth diapers), and change table. This home daycare is smoke free, and is equipped with baby gates for safety.

We have a beautiful custom made table that seats all the kids together. We have toddler and preschool sized 'school chairs', and an extensive collection of arts and crafts supplies. Our meals are usually vegan or vegetarian, with all of the food homemade. We buy local and organic wherever possible, and most of our snacks consist of raw fruits and veggies. Our crafts are often child initiated, and exhibit what the children are most interested in.

Altogether the Little Panda's Daycare is a fun, bright, and interesting place to play and learn, and we're always trying to add, rearrange, and build to make it better.

Early Childhood education is the primary focus, with language immersion and introduction (English, French, and ASL (Sign language)), arts and craft time, circle time in the morning where we teach concepts around our theme or focus, flash cards, name games, daily calendar routine, early math learning tools, early literacy tools, and many educational programs and toys. The centres and main toys are all labeled with pictures and words to create a print rich environment. We even have a 'School Wall' for daily lessons with the children. We follow developmentally appropriate guidelines for all the children individually when planning curriculum, taking their abilities and needs into account with our theme based activities.

Nutritional food and a healthy green environment are also major focuses in this program. We wash everything in chemical-free cleaners, and believe in a green home environment. We use recyclables for craft supplies, post environmental inspirations and reminders around the classroom, and have switched over 90% of our toys and furniture to wood for the health and environmental benefits. We now serve breakfast, lunch, and two snacks daily, and are willing and capable of accommodating any dietary restrictions (allergies, vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, etc.). The children also plant and take care of flowers and veggies in our indoor and outdoor garden during the warm months.

We send home reports and newsletters on what your child is working on, achievements they have made, and our plans for the coming months. This keeps you updated on what and how your child is learning and developing, and lets you know about the individual programs devised to focus on your child's needs, as well as providing tips for how you can support this learning at home. We even send home learning materials for you to use with your child that supplement the learning at daycare, free of charge.

We have criminal record checks, Early Childhood Education diploma, First aid and CPR training, immunization record, and are working on French and ASL fluency certification. We have worked in French Immersion JK/SK classrooms, and have learned a lot of French class songs and games that continue in the daycare environment. We are also currently studying CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy) and can show patience and compassion to high needs children as well.

If you don't want your child sat in front of a television all day, care about a chemical-free green environment, and want your child to receive the best education in a homey atmosphere, this is the place.

The educational program runs from 9 am until 5 pm. We are available by request 24 hours 7 days a week to accommodate any shift you need us (date nights, random occasions, swing shift, etc.). We know how difficult it can be to find quality all hours care, so we pride ourselves in providing it for affordable rates.

Birth to 8 years is the specialty of this program, however we do have older after school babysitting programs available upon request. We can help with homework, and extend what is being taught at school. We also offer tutoring.

The fees are:

$40 per day for full time ($200 per week)

$35 per day for two or more children full time ($150 per week, per sibling)

Part time sppts are available for evenings or weekends, for negotiable rates.
Please contact for further details, more pictures, and for a tour of the facility, or for a free trial visit for your child. You won't regret this call. 226-978-0172

Thank you for your time, and I look forward to meeting you and your little one!