Child care professionals share a commitment to improving society by creating dynamic and nurturing care environments for Australia's youngest learners.
Read this month's Child Care Person in the spotlight Miles Smith from Miles of Smiles Quality Family Daycare in Forest Lake, Queensland.
Miles Smith
Miles of Smiles Quality Family Daycare Forest Lake, QLD
C4K: What is your full name?
MS: My name is Miles Smith A.K.A. Momo, Mhuh, MYYAAAAALLLS, Mileses, Dada and on several occasions, Mummy!!! I am officially 41 years old but act, feel and think a lot younger.
C4K: Which centre do you work in? How many staff and children are in the centre?
MS: I am a Family Day Care care provider registered through Brisbane FDC and run/own Miles of Smiles Quality Family Daycare in Forest Lake, Qld.
I have 35 children on my books, 16 of which I see every week, the rest are casual and those waiting for care positions to became available.
As a Family Day Care Provider I work alone but am very lucky to be part of a small energetic, enthusiastic and like minded network of carers who meet up on a regular basis.
C4K: What is your professional background and career experience?
MS: In one word – varied, over the past seven years I have worked in the care industry in many forms. I started as a part time physiotherapy assistant in a large hospital in England working in Orthopedic, Surgical and Care of the Elderly wards as well as running a Hydrotherapy facility.
I also worked with people with physical and intellectual disabilities, primarily the Essex Autistic Society, assisting with adults with severe autism and a group of guys in a community unit with Asperger's. While doing this I also spent two years training as a Therapeutic Massage Therapist and an Aromatherapist.
I moved back to Australia at the end of 2005 and met my partner April in early '06. This is where I was introduced to the world of child care, she and the kids were having so much fun that it was suggested that I get my Blue card and join in the fun.
Very soon I was feeding babies, playing ball with two year olds and assisting on excursions to Sea World and a few months later I did my co-carer course.
I then decided to venture into child care as a career so I joined a child care agency and had some wonderful and not so wonderful experiences working in a wide range of long day care venues including a four month stint in the baby room of one centre (met some great little people there).
In December last year I decided that I wanted to run my own day care, I found myself a suitable house to set up, applied to become a carer with Brisbane Family Day Care and put an ad on www.CareforKids.com.au. Before I opened my doors I had a waiting list!
It was a scary decision to make but one I would never regret in the nine months I have been running.
C4K: What attracted you to a career in child care?
MS: What other job allows you to play with play-dough, finger paint with custard, relive the experience of seeing a snail, ride on a merry-go-round or eat a sandwich for the first time?
There is nothing more amazing than being part of a child's growth, development and character building. Hearing children's thoughts about how a butterfly sleeps, where sea shells come from and how a ten year old plans to build a rocket and launch it into outer space.
I really get a kick out of being their sounding board about a plan or issue and their champion when they have achieved their goal.
One of my most special moments thus far has been when the two year old who had changed centres several times due to being so unhappy, declared with a grin to his parents on his second day of care that he was going to Smiles to see his friends and they couldn't come with him.
C4K: What does a 'normal' day look like for you?
MS: Dare I ask what a normal day is? For me a 'normal' day sort of goes like this:
My day starts before 5:00am when I ready the sleep room and do a quick safety check of each room and receive my first arrival. Followed by second arrivals at 5:30am, 6:30am, 7:00am, then breakfast for all. I run through spelling sheets, check that homework is complete, and check school bags for hats, lunch etc.
I then chase schoolies to get changed for school, brush teeth and hair. Most days I deliver three kids to one local school and pick up two more from the school. We are home by 9:00am to begin our morning's activities which includes art, craft, construction, ride-ons, music, games, dramatic play, gardening, trampolining, bicycling, etc.
As I have between one and three children aged one and younger each day, the planned activities are fairly open ended to allow each age group to participate at their own level. The older under school aged children have an endless range of toys, games and resources at their fingertips for use while I am bottle feeding or tending to nappy and toileting.
At 9:30 the children enjoy a seasonal fruit platter with assorted accompaniments. Lunch is prepared and served at 11:30am followed by tidy up, story time and sleep. During nap time I catch up on paperwork, household and daycare chores and prepare afternoon tea.
At 2:15pm, it is wake up time and nappy change/toileting, then off to school to collect the schoolies. I pick up from two schools and drop one schoolie home on the way back from school. During the school run I play music for the children and we often have another story whilst waiting for the school children.
Some days I meet mothers of the younger children at the school, then pull out excess car safety seats and stow them on the roof rack to make room for the extra schoolies on those days. Back home the school kids get stuck into whatever grabs their attention, sometimes it's the science area, sometimes it's the more advanced construction and sometimes it's a quiet spot in the shade to read or do homework.
Afternoon tea is served, babies are bottle fed and parents begin arriving. Most have been collected by 5:30pm, however, some days the last child stays for dinner and is collected around 7:00pm. Any cleaning and tidying left at this point is taken care of and it's time for me to attend to my stuff.
C4K: What makes your centre unique?
MS: I have the wonderful opportunity to dedicate most of my home to day care, and as a great advocate for emergent curriculum I have created play zones which the children have pretty much free access to at all times.
In my main play area my toys are stored and displayed in cube units with age appropriate toys positioned at different levels. This allows for a high level of self selection but if you can't reach then it isn't for you. High positioned toys, art supplies, play-dough and books are for supervised play time but still allow the children choice.
I have built a child scale home corner incorporating kitchen with fridge, cooker, sink and work top, dining table and supermarket area with unlimited applications. One of the rooms has been turned into a Monkey Room, a soft room with vinyl blocks, soft matting, sponge balls, soft toys and various purpose made textural shapes where the children can jump, tumble, stack, crawl and roll and generally 'monkey around' in perfect safety.
The ceiling is a mock up of a tree canopy with monkeys, butterflies, snakes and flowers hanging down. It is a wonderful environment that can develop balance, gross and fine motor skills as well as introduce different visual and textural experiences.
Another room is the 'Imaginarium', a dress-up room with hair dressing salon, baby centre, rock guitars, prams and coming soon a space pod! This is a totally child led environment where their imagination rules and three year old boys CAN be fairy princesses!
The schoolies room is primarily for the older children and is the only room where I sometimes restrict access to the younger children. I have provided age appropriate activities such as mini science projects, board games, puzzles, microscope, art materials and Uberstix, a construction toy similar to Knex which is currently an ongoing marble run project (five weeks and counting). The next few months will see a technologies corner where a computer, audio equipment and digital cameras will reside.
I am constantly developing the outdoor area to be as sun safe as possible as well as a fun place to be. I have a large covered pergola which allows outdoor activities; messy art, play-do etc and all weather dining (temperature permitting).
I recently completed the Jungle Deck, a naturally shaded deck surrounded by native plants which the children helped to plant. It has been a boat, a dance stage, a story time area, playgroup lunch venue and a jungle with tigers and crocodiles. It attracts a lot of native birds so is a great place to sit and watch nature in action.
Finally we have the farm, a 20m raised garden filled to over flowing with tomatoes, zucchini, basil, bok choy, snow peas, flowers etc. The children have been very involved in its creation, up keep and harvesting; with the children excited to try and taste food they have grown.
And, as if there isn't enough to do at home, I programme some really great excursions for the children including theme parks, farms, etc
C4K: What are some of the advantages of working in the child care sector?
MS: As a Family Day Care provider I have the opportunity to work from home in an environment to suite my specific needs. I get to work with some of the most exciting, free thinking fun people in the world and see the world through new eyes. I also get to meet their parents and bring together people from many walks of life.
C4K: What are some of the biggest challenges facing the child care sector?
MS: Change and adapting to new ways of thinking and educating and the Early Learning Framework and Emergent Curriculum. These are concepts that actually come from years ago but were lost with the latest ideas and concepts, tick boxes and quota of produced art work.
It's also fear of the QA monster which isn't really a monster; it's simply a set of standards that, we as people in the privileged position of raising, developing and nurturing our future population from its very foundation, should be striving to maintain at the highest level.
C4K: How does the industry need to change to adapt to these challenges?
MS: It needs to totally rethink the way our new carers are trained and taught. Carers need to realise that the service they provide has to be of the highest quality possible, and that their programmes and activities need to meet the developmental and educational needs of a whole range of children.
C4K: What advice would you offer someone thinking about a career or looking for a promotion in child care?
MS: In terms of a promotion…be proactive, do everything in your power to let management know you are keen and wanting to move ahead…and study, study, study everything you can get your hands on related to the job you want.
For someone new to the industry: interview and observe the best of the best in the area of child care which interests you, model yourself on them and ask if they can mentor you whilst you get started. Never be afraid to ask questions, the only silly question is the one never asked. And be prepared for lots of toothless grins, dribbly cuddles and more fun than you can imagine.
As a male in a fairly female dominated industry, I have come to understand the importance of both male and female role models in a child's life. Unfortunately the nuclear family of dad, mum and kids is not the norm anymore so many children are without a strong but gentle male role model.
I take my role very seriously, as the attitudes and behaviours I exhibit greatly impact on all the children I care for, but especially for the boys who have no other male to copy than me. I want them to know and understand that men can be gentle and kind and look after the babies as well as big and strong and fix cars and trucks! And I want the girls to know and understand that men and women can work together in harmony and with great respect for one another.
I have grown to greatly respect the time, passion and energy it takes to be a mum raising children, or other primary carer. Anyone who thinks stay at home mums and child care providers are not working but just playing with the babies has a lot to learn!
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