Whitney Anderson from Gayndah Early Learning Centre revealed as North Burnett’s best childcare worker

We were flooded with entries for our Facebook reader poll in which we asked you to name the North Burnett’s best childcare worker. But there can only be one winner, and here she is:

With 2022 marking a decade of living her childcare dream, the North Burnett’s top childcare educator is looking toward starting her very own business.

Whitney Anderson, who mostly recently worked at Gayndah Early Learning Centre, has been voted by Central and North Burnett Times readers as the region’s best childcare worker for 2022.

The mum of four of her own children said she always loved kids and her choice of career stemmed naturally from that passion.

“I really try to connect with each child and make sure everyone feels included and loved,” she said.

“It’s important they learn that ability to connect with adults and that they feel safe.”

When it comes to the children’s early learning Mrs Anderson has a unique method up her sleeve to help the children remember information while having a great time.

“I’m actually a singer and I find the repetition and rhythm of the music actually helps them learner quicker,” she said.

Beyond music, the eccentric educator loves to inspire the kid’s creative side, adorning herself in bright colours and diving headfirst into imaginative art-based activities - preferably involving buckets of glitter.

Mrs Anderson said one of her favourite parts of the job was getting to watch the kids grown up in front of her eyes.

“You get to see a lot of firsts,” she said.

“Some of them come in at six-weeks-old and we’ve even just had one start walking. We’re there through every milestone.

“So it’s kind of like having a lot of your own kids.”

After a decade in the industry, Mrs Anderson said she was starting to think about starting her own business from her Gayndah home.