Open Hearts, Open Minds Family Day Care

My name is Rhiannan and I have been running Open Hearts, Open Minds Family Day Care since September 2014. I have been working in the childcare industry for 5 years now. I am currently more than half way through my Bachelor of Education (Early Childhood) and I am a wife and mum of 3 gorgeous children. Noah is almost 4, Emily is almost 3 and my youngest, Riley, is 6 months. My husband Michael will be graduating from his Bachelor of Education (primary) in June and is then excited to begin work as a Primary teacher. Michael has also worked in the childcare industry for the past 4 years and is also extremely passionate about working with and educating children of all ages. Our family also has a pet cat ‘Ollie,’ who does tend to spend most of his time in his own room to have some space from the children.

I have previously worked with all age groups, and have experience with infants, kindergarten children and school aged children. I am coming back to family day care now after the birth of my third child, and I am extremely happy to be working under the Excellence in Care scheme as it provides a high level of support both to myself and the families that I work with.

I love working with children because I believe that the early years provide such a critical foundation for later development. I believe that children need time to play and be, and all education really does need to happen though play. All children in my care are lovingly accepted into our home and family, and I try to provide as much consistency between their own home environment and our home environment as possible to allow comfort and stability for the children. I believe that stability is of vital importance in early childhood and that is why I endeavour to provide a consistent, loving and warm education environment for the children to feel comfortable and safe in.