Natural Choice Family Day Care

🔴❤️ RED NOSE DAY ❤️🔴

Today at Natural Choice Family Day Care, we are proud to recognise Red Nose Day and support the important work of Red Nose in helping save little lives.

Red Nose Day is a chance to raise awareness about safe sleep, safer pregnancy and reducing the risk of sudden unexpected death in infancy. It is also a reminder of how important it is for all of us to stay informed, follow safe practices and work together to help keep babies and children safe.

At Natural Choice Family Day Care, the safety and wellbeing of every child is always our priority. Today, we stand together with families, educators and our community to support Red Nose and remember that every little life matters. ❤️

Wear red, start the conversation and help raise awareness for safer little lives. 🔴

EarlyChildhoodEducation

🔬🌱 Celebrating Science Week at Terri’s Family Day Care! 🌸🦋

Science Week provides a wonderful opportunity for the children to explore, discover, question and investigate the world around them through fun and meaningful hands-on experiences.

🌸 Flower Colour Experiment
The children were fascinated watching fresh white flowers slowly change colour after being placed into glass vases filled with water and different food colourings. Throughout the morning, they regularly checked the flowers during picnic and playtime, carefully observing the changes in the petals. This sparked lots of conversations about how plants absorb water and nutrients through their stems and how the coloured water was able to travel through the flowers.

🦋 Creating Butterfly-Friendly Seed Pots
The children also created their very own butterfly-friendly seed pots. They carefully filled their pots with soil, added their special seed mix, covered the seeds and watered them. There was so much care and concentration as they planted their seeds, with the children sharing ideas and predictions about what they thought might grow. 🌱 They are now excited to continue caring for their pots and watching closely for those first little signs of germination and growth!

🌿 Exploring Herbs & Cooking Seeds
The children also used their senses to explore a variety of cooking herbs and seeds. They smelled, touched and examined each one, comparing their different scents, textures and appearances. They enjoyed describing what they could smell and see and sharing their ideas about what the different ingredients might be used for in cooking.

Through these experiences, the children were developing their curiosity, observation and questioning skills while learning about plants, seeds, growth and the natural world around them. 🌏💚

A wonderful Science Week filled with little scientists, big questions and plenty of discovery! 🔍✨

LittleScientists ExploringAndDiscovering EarlyLearning

🔐 CHILD SAFETY & ONLINE SHARING

We’re sharing this as an important reminder about the role we all play in keeping children safe — both in person and online.

At first glance, this image may seem completely innocent, but there are a number of small details that could potentially identify the child, their location or other personal information.

It’s a great reminder that child safety extends beyond our physical environments. The photos we take and share can also impact a child’s privacy and safety.

Before posting a photo, take a moment to look closely and ask yourself:

What information could this image reveal about a child?

By building safe and thoughtful digital habits, we can all help protect children’s privacy and wellbeing.

💙 At Natural Choice Family Day Care, child safety is everyone’s responsibility — online and offline.

Can you spot the online oversharing risks we’ve planted in this image?

Educators are the frontline champions of child safety so are nicely positioned to help families spot these hidden risks. By sharing real-world examples, you can empower parents and young people in your care to look at their own personal photos through a trained, safety-first lens.

Thank you to the educators who work tirelessly to keep our children safe through smart, practical digital habits every day.

Share this challenge with your colleagues to see how eagle-eyed they are!

🌿 Early Learning Matters 🌿

We’re so proud to see one of our own educators, Michelle Fulcher, featured in this story about the growth of Family Day Care across the Illawarra. 💚

Michelle’s journey is a wonderful example of how the right support and encouragement can give passionate educators the confidence to take the leap and create something of their own.

Through her Family Day Care, Michelle is providing local children with a safe, nurturing and personalised early learning environment, while giving families another valuable choice for their children’s care and education.

Family Day Care is such a special part of our early childhood sector. It allows educators to build genuine relationships with children and families, while creating learning experiences that are tailored to each child’s individual needs, interests and development.

We’re incredibly proud to have Michelle as part of the Natural Choice Family Day Care community and love seeing her passion making a difference for local families. 🌱💚

Congratulations Michelle! 👏🏼

Wild Meadows Family Daycare - Fairy Meadow

More Illawarra educators supported to start family day care businesses, ease pressure on childcare access | Region Illawarra There's been a boost in family day care operators starting up in the Illawarra as part of a national funding…

💙 A MORNING OUT WITH EMMA MEMMA 💙

Today, Coordinator Britt joined Sam and the children from Sam Bowhay Family Day Care for a morning out at the Emma Memma concert! 🎶

The children loved getting involved with the music, singing along and dancing throughout the show. There were plenty of smiles and lots of excitement as they watched Emma Memma and joined in with the songs.

A fun morning out and a great experience for the children to enjoy together! 💙

A great reminder for families 💚

Teaching children about body safety is an important part of keeping them safe and helping them grow with confidence. At Natural Choice Family Day Care, we believe children should learn that their body belongs to them, that they can speak up if something feels wrong, and that trusted adults will listen and help.

These simple body safety messages can support ongoing conversations at home and help children build the language and confidence to communicate about their safety and wellbeing.

Together, families and educators can create environments where children feel safe, respected and heard.

Teaching children empathy and kindness helps build a more caring and respectful world. 💚

At Natural Choice Family Day Care, we believe children learn through the relationships and experiences around them. By modelling kindness, encouraging children to consider others’ feelings and supporting respectful interactions, we help children develop the skills to build positive relationships.

Empathy helps children understand, care for and support one another. These everyday moments of kindness help create safe, inclusive environments where every child feels valued and belongs.

Because small acts of kindness can create a big impact. 🌱

💚 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children’s Day 💚

Today we celebrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children’s Day—a special day to recognise the strength, culture, stories and connections of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children.

At Natural Choice Family Day Care, we believe every child deserves to feel a strong sense of identity, belonging and pride in who they are. We celebrate the rich cultures, histories and traditions that shape our communities and acknowledge the important role we all play in supporting children to learn, respect and connect with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives.

Today is a reminder to listen, learn and celebrate the voices, experiences and dreams of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children.

💚

A very special visitor recently joined the fun at one of our Natural Choice Family Day Care services! 🐐💚

Mable the goat from Nine Little Chickens Farm enjoyed a two-night sleepover, giving the children a wonderful opportunity to build meaningful connections with an animal in a familiar, nurturing environment.

The children eagerly helped bottle-feed Mable, gently patted and cared for her, and shared lots of laughter as she even joined them on the slide! Through these hands-on experiences, the children developed empathy, responsibility and confidence while learning about caring for living things.

At Natural Choice Family Day Care, we value learning through real-life experiences that reflect children’s interests and curiosity. Opportunities like these encourage children to explore, ask questions, build relationships and develop a deeper appreciation for the natural world, all while learning through play.

What a memorable experience for everyone involved – we think Mable had just as much fun as the children! 🐐✨

✨ JULY WRAP-UP | NCFDC ✨

July has been filled with so many wonderful moments of learning, exploring, creating and connecting across our Natural Choice Family Day Care community! 💚

☁️ Cubby Crew FDC enjoyed cloud spotting, observing different cloud formations and noticing their shapes and textures — from fluffy and sheet-like to soft and feathery.

🌈 Sam Boway Family Day Care connected with nature through a colourful nature play experience, searching for bright and beautiful natural resources.

🖤💛❤️ Little Learning Centre proudly celebrated NAIDOC Week through stories, yarning circles, interactive games, creative experiences, sensory play and bush tucker cooking. The children explored Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, the Aboriginal Flag, Australian animals, their local whale totem and traditional tools.

🌿 CJ’s FDC invited children to slow down and explore the garden up close, discovering the natural world through hands-on exploration and messy play.

🦁 Whole Beginnings enjoyed an exciting trip to Wagga Zoo, creating opportunities for the children to connect their real-life experiences with their learning and curiosity.

💙 Mini Moos FDC celebrated PJ Week to raise awareness for children living in foster care. The children explored this important topic through night-sky artwork, stories, caring for baby dolls and designing their own PJs.

🐾 Cuddly Koalas extended their zoo adventure by transforming their play space into a Zoo and Animal Hospital! Through imaginative play, the children cared for animals, explored veterinary roles and developed empathy, communication, cooperation and problem-solving skills.

🎨 Wild Meadows embraced the beauty of process art, slowing down and allowing children the freedom to explore, create and express themselves without judgement. Sometimes the most beautiful creations are the ones we could never have planned.

What a beautiful month of learning, connection and discovery! We are so proud of our incredible educators and the meaningful experiences they create for children every day. 🌿✨