Nanny in Toronto, Ontario

Dear families, My name is Thordis and I was born in 1972 in Reykjavik, Iceland. I am currently living in Toronto with my family while my husband completes his MFA degree at Ryerson. I am an English teacher at a Junior College in Reykjavik and will return to my position there in the fall of 2016. I have always loved children and when I was 12 years old I put an advertisement in a local newspaper where I said I was willing to babysit for free over the summer holiday. That summer I worked for a family with a one year old daughter and two school aged children. I woke up every day at 7 o’clock to be at their house in time to walk the two older children to swimming lessons. After that I spent most of the day playing outside with the little girl and returned home late in the afternoon. My responsibilities were many and I learned at this early age to change diapers, put to sleep, comfort and encourage the children I was in charge of. I was thrilled with my job, although I was not getting paid for it, and happily fell asleep every evening after a long day. Since that time I have babysat numerous children and I still enjoy their curiosity, energy, creativity and kindness. When I met my husband at College I told him early on that I wanted a big family and luckily he shared my dream. Today we have four children, one daughter who is 19 years old and is studying in Denmark and three boys, one 17 year old who moved with us to Toronto but recently moved back to Iceland to live with his grandmother and continue his studies, one son who is almost 8 years old and goes to Clinton Street Elementary School and the youngest who just turned 6 and is starting the first grade at the same school in the fall. I love travelling and have traveled quite a bit in my life. I was only 19 years old when I married and that year me and my husband moved to Paris. We were young and romantic so the idea of Paris seemed natural. My husband wanted to study photography and I got a permission to complete my Junior College degree abroad as long as I came home to take the final exams. After one semester in Paris we had learned a lot about movies and coffee, how to cook a cheap but tasty meal, and a little bit in French. We had also realised that an English speaking country would suit us better, so after completing my degree in Iceland we moved to New York where we lived for six years. In New York I studied literature at City College and throughout my years in college I babysat children in and around our neighborhood of East Village. The family I worked for the longest had a nine month old son when I started being their part time nanny and the last time I met him was a month ago. The little boy I used to bring to Tompkins Square Park and play soccer and baseball with, now meets me at a café across the park and tells me about his travels and studies. I think there are few jobs that can fill one with such pride and happiness as being a teacher and a nanny. I am extremely lucky to have spent most of my life working with children and teenagers. My job as a teacher for 16 to 19 years old students is something that I am truly looking forward to returning to. Running around with my energetic 7 and 6 year old boys here in Toronto is also wonderful and rewarding. I want to enjoy this year by spending it with my family as much as possible and therefore I am looking for a daytime job that I can do well without it taking too much time from my family. At this point my ideal nanny position would be for a family who has a baby or a young child and needs part time babysitting during the week. It has been a while now since I took care of a little baby and my daughter teases me that I will have to wait a long time before becoming a grandmother so I should use the opportunity now. Three full days a week would suit me well or five half days. I would prefer to be able to walk or bike to work and not have to use a car at the job. I love being outdoors and I am physically active and energetic. Hopefully this letter is the first step in bringing a new child to love and care for into my life. I have taken care of numerous children from the time I was 12 years old. For years I worked as a part time nanny in New York city for children of all ages and as such my duties included meal preparations, bathing, putting to sleep, playing with, potty training, diaper changing etc. I have a teacher's degree and I have worked at kindergartens in Reykjavik, Iceland and in New York, USA. Lastly and most importantly, I have gained experience through being a mother of four children who are now 19, 17, 7 and 6 years old.