Melissa Dreger, 31, has been named the regional winner for Ballarat and Central Highlands in the 2016 Excellence in Family Day Care Awards.
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She has worked in long day care for nine years and family day care for nearly three.
“I love my job. I get never-ending hugs and told ‘I love you’ all the time, but the children also challenge me and make me laugh,” Ms Dreger said.
“In family day care I can give more one-on-one attention and really extend them beyond what is expected in a developmental sense.”
Ms Dreger said with the amount of talented educators in the area she was surprised by the win, and being nominated by the children’s families made her feel valued and appreciated.
“Just reading some of the nominations brought tears to my eyes. It’s one thing to be told but to actually see the effort and the detail that’s gone into the nominations is really special.”
Ms Dreger is now in the running for the state award, which will be announced on October 24.
