Caring for children and introducing them to new skills and life experiences is what motivates Tracey Mitchell to be the best family day care educator she can and judging on her recent award nomination the parents she deals with are more than happy with her efforts.
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The Aberdeen woman is a family day care educator registered with the Upper Hunter Shire Council’s Family Day Care program.
She operates Tracey’s Upper Hunter Family Day Care in Aberdeen where she cares for six children, ranging in age from six-months-old to eight, each day from Monday to Friday.
Tracey’s clients come from Aberdeen, Scone and Muswellbrook and the parents are obviously pleased with her service as they have nominated her for an Australian Family Early Education and Care Award.
The enthusiastic educator is nominated in the Educator of the Year category of the awards which will be rigorously judged by a panel of professionals from the early childhood sector, searching for individuals who best reflect the highest of quality in their everyday work with young children.
Tracey has been operating her service for almost four years and has been nominated twice for a Family Day Care Australia Educator of the Year Award in the past.
She is one of 16 Upper Hunter Family Day Care educators across the Upper Hunter and Muswellbrook Shires, including one in-home educator who cares for children in their own home.
Tracey said some of the highlights of her role are the interaction with the children and watching them grow, as well as teaching them new experiences.
“I know my children well and strive to provide educational experiences to bring out their best by scaffolding on what they are already capable of doing, and providing challenges and supporting them throughout their learning.
“To provide a quality service to children I believe that consistent professional development is a must to keep abreast of current requirements and trends of delivering education and care, and I am always motivated to improve my skills in the field.”
Tracey said she really enjoys her job, and it is very exciting and a great honour to be nominated for the award.
“It is nice to know parents are pleased with my service and I also get a lot of really good feedback through letters and messages, which is lovely,” she said.
Upper Hunter Shire Council children and youth services coordinator Kim Hartmann said Tracey is very dedicated in what she does for the children as she is always introducing new fun things for them to learn.
“We are really proud to have Tracey registered as part of our scheme, as she is an outstanding representative of family day care,” Ms Hartmann said.
“The passion she has shown and the way she has grown and developed as an educator is just amazing.
“We’re also lucky as Tracey is now helping to train other educators as well.”