Early Childhood Educators Day – how are you going to say thanks?

Early Childhood Educators Day is on the way, being celebrated on 4 September. Approved providers, managers, leaders and organisations all around Australia are being encouraged to consider how they will say “thank you” to the hard working educators who make such a tremendous difference in the lives of children and families. 

To prepare for this special occasion, the Australian Childcare Alliance has offered the following tips and tricks, to ensure educators are recognised and celebrated: 

• Tell families, and educators, that educators day is on the way. A variety of posters are freely available to display within the centre, and these can also be included in e-newsletters, and on social media. 

• Share posts about the day via your social media channels, or reshare posts from the Facebook, Twitter or Instagram accounts set up especially for the occasion. 

• Encourage children and their families to say “thank you” in their own special way. Children may like to use their time at home to make a card, prepare a gift, pick some flowers from the garden, or bake something to give to their educator.

• Organise something special in your service such as an appreciation wall or a thank you tree, using the templates available. A giant “thank you” card could be made available for families to write in, or services could organise a morning/afternoon tea with home baked treats provided by families. 

• Post photos on social media to win prizes! Use the hashtag #EarlyChildhoodEducatorsDay on  Facebook, Twitter or Instagram for the chance to win gift boxes from Educational Experience, and incursions from Happy Feet Fitness (metro Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth only)  

With one in five early childhood educators planning to leave the profession, it’s vitally important to show educators that they are appreciated and valued members of the community – and what better time than Early Childhood Educators Day?