Newsletter: January 2025

What’s On This Month

Key Dates

17th January | Kid Inventors Day

22nd - 24th January | Aboriginal Cultural Showcase

26th January | Australia Day

28th January | International Lego Day

Recipe | Sweet Potato & Feta Frittatas

Prep 30 mins | Cook 20-25 mins | Serves 5

Ingredients

  • 1 large, sweet potato, peeled and chopped

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil

  • Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

  • 8 eggs

  • 1 cup milk

  • 120grams ham or pancetta, chopped

  • 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped

  • ½ cup cheddar, grated

  • ½ cup parmesan, grated

  • 80 grams feta, crumbled

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Place the sweet potato on a baking tray lined with baking paper, drizzle with olive oil and season with sea salt and pepper.

  2. Roast for 20 minutes or until golden and cooked.

  3. Meanwhile, place eggs and milk in a large bowl and whisk to combine. Add ham/pancetta, parsley, cheddar, parmesan and feta and gently stir to combine.

  4. Place the cooked sweet potato in the bottom of a lined 20cm x 30cm pie/baking dish. Pour the egg mixture over the top of the sweet potato and bake the frittata for 20-25 minutes or until puffed and golden. 

  5. Allow to cool slightly before cutting into squares to serve.

Source: Image & Recipe ‘My Lovely Lunchbox’

Sustainability Corner

New Year Refresh

Next time you do a cupboard clear out use UPPAREL. Textile waste needs radical intervention now. We need to dramatically extend product life and stop textiles from going to landfill. We need to move mountains, not make more.

So what happens with your unwanted textiles?

Everything is reused, re-purposed or recycled within the Upparel operational eco-system. Nothing gets sent to landfill.

You can go to UPPAREL and book your pickup or drop your unwanted clothes at a participating partners store like H&M or Macpac.

Find out more at upparel.com.au

Send Us Feedback

Want to have your say and improve our services?

Email us at contact@kidsfamilydaycare.com

Noteworthy

Introducing Our Webinars

Get ready for an exciting year of learning, connection, and inspiration with our 2025 Webinar Series! Designed for both families and educators, these engaging sessions will cover a wide range of topics to support your journey in early childhood education and care. From practical tips on fostering children’s development to exploring innovative teaching strategies, navigating regulations, and creating nurturing environments, there’s something for everyone. More information to come shortly.

Health & Safety

Summer Heat

Summers in Australia can be very hot and long. We've put together some tips to keep you and your kids safe and cool over the summer.

How can I stay well during hot weather?

The best way to avoid heat-related illness is to drink water, even if you don’t feel thirsty, because this can prevent you from becoming dehydrated. Avoid alcoholic, hot, or sugary drinks (including tea and coffee) because these can make dehydration worse. If you go outside, carry a bottle of water with you. Keeping as cool as possible can also help you prevent heat-related illness. Some ways to do this include.

A few tips for staying cool

  • Stay out of the sun.

  • Drink cold drinks and eat cold meals, such as salads and fruit.

  • Wear light-coloured and loose-fitting clothes made from natural fibres such as cotton.

  • Take cool showers or baths.

  • Apply sunscreen and wear a hat, if you must go outside.

  • Plan your day around the heat — avoid being outdoors between 11am and 5pm.

  • Minimise physical activity.

Babies and children are more prone to dehydration due to their smaller bodies and fluid volume. They also sweat less, generate more heat while moving around and may not be able to express effectively when they feel hot and distressed. These factors can make it difficult for them to regulate their body temperature, which can lead to heat related illness like heat exhaustion or heatstroke.

Heat exhaustion and heatstroke can have negative impacts on a child’s health. Heat exhaustion can reduce their cognitive abilities, affect their mood and impact their social engagement. Heatstroke results in a child’s body not being able to regulate temperature. It is a medical emergency and can be life-threatening.

Signs and symptoms of dehydration or heat-illness

Mild symptoms include:

  • darker urine and fewer wet nappies

  • dry mouth and skin

  • headaches and nausea in older children

Severe symptoms include:

  • more irritable

  • less alert, confused or increased drowsiness

  • pale skin or skin that feels cold

  • body is floppy or limp

  • no tears when crying

  • refuses to drink or is extremely thirsty

If your baby or child has mild signs and symptoms of dehydration or heat-illness, or you are worried, visit your local doctor or call Health Direct on 1800 022 222. If your baby or child has severe signs and symptoms of dehydration or heat-illness, call triple zero (000).

Our Educator Spaces

Christmas Activity

A fabulous Christmas themed space and activity created by Vishakha from Pakenham, VIC this December. So festive! 🎅

Educator of The Month

Stay Tuned … January’s Educator of the month will be announced in the next newsletter.

Book Recommendations

Our Top Picks

Fun Activities at Home

Jobs Together

Toddlers love to mimic those around them. They learn from watching others and doing what they are doing – most especially they love being like their parents. Give your little one a broom, or a mini-tool and get busy together. Spend some time sweeping the patio, or “fixing” the wooden blocks together. You will be surprised at how involved they become in these activities.

Try washing up

Washing up is a fun activity to do together, there will be water everywhere and dishes may not actually get clean but there it will be fun.

Laundry

Put the washing in the machine and let your child press the buttons and turn the machine on. When it comes to hanging it out why not do that together too. Using pegs is also a great fine motor skill too.

Gardening

Rake the leaves, pull the weeds, hose the garden. There are so many gardening activities you can do with your child they may even invent some of their own.

Making the bed

Yep, even the daily mundane activity of making the bed can be an activity your child will love being a part of. Pull up the sheets together, hide under the sheets, let your child lie under the sheet as you throw the sheet up and they watch it float down.

Preparing dinner

Besides the huge range of benefits preparing meals together have it is also lots of fun.