Educator Spotlight - February 2025

Something you’ll know if you’ve been around our service for any great length of time is that we LOVE celebrating our team and highlighting the amazing work they do with children and families throughout South Australia and Victoria. Today we’ve asked five of our fantastic Educators to share a little bit about their programmes and what they’ve been up to lately so you can get to know them better.

Angela is based in Pascoe Vale, Victoria, and has been with Foundations since 2016, making her one of our longest serving Educators. She writes:

“During the summer holiday period, the children have enjoyed walks to the park. On the way, we do a nature scavenger hunt, as well as road safety practice and learning about the different road signs. The children look forward to taking care of our worm farm. Each day they add food scraps or dry leaves, water it, and collect Worm tea. We have been using our worm tea to water our garden. It seems to be flourishing now with tomatoes, purple beans, and basil. These will be shared with the children and families. The children have enjoyed playing group games with their favourite being the Farm game, where they need to get all the animals inside before it rains. They have been working in teams and taking turns. We have been counting in Italian after rolling dice during games. The children have also enjoyed drawing using a variety of media like textas, crayons and paint.”

Angela does not currently have any vacancies, however you can join our Victorian waitlist here.

Daniel joined us in the middle of last year. He hails from Roxby Downs, SA, and is incredibly dedicated to his local community. He writes:

"Daniel Jackson's Roxby Downs Family Day Care is operated in my Roxby Downs home, where my wife and children live and join in during care times. I have designed their home to be used entirely for Family Day Care, including the backyard, to make children in care feel like they are at home. I take the children regularly to local parks and community events to keep the children involved in the community. I provide free food, water, uniforms, and hats to maximise children’s safety and enjoyment. I am a highly qualified and experienced Educator with a Bachelor of Psychology and qualifications in fitness, swimming and lifeguarding to pair with my Certificate 3 in Early Childhood Education and Care qualification to offer a broad range of skills to the children in care."

Daniel currently has select vacancies. Click here to enrol your children with Daniel today!

Michelle, from Blackwood, SA, has been with us since 2023, and works closely with our other team members in her area. She writes:

“We are in the middle of ‘butterfly season’ here at Blackwood Family Day Care. This is the third year that the children have been learning about the life cycle of butterflies and the success has been fantastic this year. The children helped me to plant swan weed and buddleias to attract the Monarch butterfly to the garden and now excitedly and expertly seek out the tiny white eggs on the leaves that the butterflies have laid. Every morning the children hunt for caterpillars that we can take off the swan weed and move onto the milkweed that is in our enclosure. To date, this year, we have successfully raised and released over 30 butterflies and have a further 108 caterpillars on our plants and 34 chrysalis waiting to emerge, not to mention the currently laying butterflies. Not only are the children learning about the life cycle, but area also aware that they are helping to prevent the Monarch from becoming extinct.”

Michelle currently has select vacancies. Click here to enrol your children with Michelle today!

Sumi has been with us since the very start of last year. She is based in Salisbury North, SA, and loves sharing her culture and heritage with children and families. She writes:

“At Sumi’s Tiny Treasures, we start each day with a warm and welcoming group time. We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the land, greet our friends, and check in on how everyone is feeling. Through songs and interactive cards, we explore the day, month, and season, making learning fun and engaging! Our little learners love expressing their creativity with arts and crafts which follow their interests and are sometimes designed around special events. On warm days, water play brings endless joy, while visits to local playgroups and playgrounds help us stay active and connected to our community. Every day is an adventure in learning, laughter, and friendship!”

Sumi currently has select vacancies. Click here to enrol your children with Sumi today!

Lily, from Port Pirie, SA, is brand new to our service, and we are thrilled to have her! She cares deeply about providing Family Day Care in her local community, which is an area of childcare drought. She writes:

“My first child in care has just turned 3. She has attended my service for three days so far. I thought that I had only acted like her playmate for the whole time, still building a trusting and secure attachment with her. I had hoped I was teaching her things along the way but wasn’t sure if she was ready to learn from me yet. On day three, when I coughed briefly from my water going down the wrong way, she asked me with her sweet little voice, "Are you okay?" It was then that I realised that children are mirrors of ourselves, and they learn from us constantly, even when we don’t think they are watching how we treat them.”

Lily currently has vacancies, but we are expecting them to fill quickly. Click here to enrol your children with Lily today!