Hola Amigos!

I was invited to attend the FDC conference organised by Campbelltown City Council with a number of other Western Sydney council FDC services in attendance. I didn’t hesitate to say YES! One of my good networking critical friends works in the region and I knew I would see her there so that was a sweetener! But also the fact that the event was going to be small and a good entry point for me managing markets on my own! I’d always had my business partner to do events with me.

I loved meeting people who have been following my business on social media. To be honest, it almost feels like I’m famous! I loved hearing that products people had purchased from us four years ago, are still standing the test of time! I do pride myself after all in providing my customers with durable educational toys and educational resources. I know it sounds like a spiel - but its true. 

I loved hearing the feedback that all our resources were beautiful! I think they are as well but I am completely biased as I chose them all! We try to balance our collection so it appeals to a broad range of customers. It was great to see that people loved our strawberry felt fairy houses as much as I do.

So a HUGE thank you to the wonderful organisers of the event - everything was amazing - the presenters covered some fabulous topics such as STEM in early childhood and School Readiness and I was able to listen in. Honestly, the presenters were the support managers for the schemes and it was honestly wonderful to hear such knowledgable presentations covering authentic learning through play. I’ve been to quite a few FDC professional development events before, and the quality of the presentations today was simply just amazing. What a bunch of lucky educators.

I honestly love the concept of Family Day Care. In the current political climate, FDC schemes and educators are being so unfairly treated and maligned. There are rule breakers in every sector and industry, yet FDC is being targeted by the federal government in a way that is entirely undermining early education in Australia. Not cool guys, not cool.

I have some wonderful friends in FDC who blow my mind away with their services and practices and teaching. They do early childhood proud and I love being able to support educators first hand. I don’t attend events to make my fortunes. I attend FDC events to connect with educators who may or may not be customers. I attend so that they can have an opportunity to see my products and add to their resource collections. I do it so that I am giving back and supporting the people who support me. Hearing that my products are still going strong 4 years later is just amazing!

I finished the day with a treat - a burger at a new take-away called Vegan Island. They only opened on the 28th of September and as I was leaving the conference I thought to myself - Do I really want to make myself dinner tonight? So instead I had myself a very early dinner at just after 3pm and OMG - it was divine! I had the the cheeze burger with facon and pineapple! I’ve been a vegetarian for 15 years and this burger was simply just amazing! If you're keen to try them for yourself - check them out on Facebook here!

I headed home, brought the dogs inside just as the storm was finishing it’s final brew. I switched everything electrical and enjoyed the storm as much as one can with a somewhat hysterical Am-Staff-X rescue dog who suffers anxiety! We were so very lucky that the storm held off until after the conference had finished and I am sure most people were able to make their way home safely.

Anyway, I should really head to bed, but I just wanted to write this before the feelings and words left me! I get so easily distracted and I have been neglecting my blog since forever - and one of my business goals is to make sure I fit my writing in!

Again, thank you for inviting me. It was such a pleasure to meet everyone.

Stay Awesome,

Gaby

The Sticks & Stones Chick