Nanny in Thorold, Ontario

Hello, My name is Hew and I am 29 years old. I am a fun, loving, caring, responsible, patient, honest and attentive person. I am a little shy at first but warm up quickly to people. I am a quick learner and self-motivated. I have always tried to be understanding but I also stand my ground when necessary. I have lived in Toronto the majority of my life, but have spent 5 years living in St. Catharines, ON while attending University, and moved back a year ago from Vancouver, BC where I spent 2 years. I love being outside and enjoying nature. As such, some of my hobbies include: hiking with my dog, husband and friends, going for leisure bike rides, going camping, canoeing or kayaking, and jogging. Other hobbies include: reading, arts and crafts, knitting, baking and cooking. I also enjoy learning new things, even if I am no good at it! I am passionate about working with children; this passion grew from raising my younger brothers when I was a child. As I got older, I spent more and more time taking care of children in different environments (especially my niece who was 1 yr old and her parents were working full time), which lead me to pursue my university education with children. I have many experiences and qualifications for working with children; I have worked with and/or cared for children from infants to Gr. 6. The following are summaries of these experiences and qualifications: EDUCATION - Early Childhood Assistance diploma: I had placements in toddler and preschool daycare rooms. Here I took part in caring for children by playing, supervising, feeding, cleaning, changing diapers etc.. I participated and led circle time, outdoor/indoor activities and other routines. - Bachelors of Art in Child and Youth Studies and Bachelors of Education in Primary/Junior grades: I completed two placements in Kindergarten classrooms for Teacher's College. I planned lessons and taught, I lead carpet time, I managed learning centres, I monitored children during play, I helped with snack, lunch and bathroom routines. I also completed a placement in a grade 4 classroom where I taught 80% of the class material for the duration that I was there. As well, I completed a placement in a special needs classroom. WORK - Babysitting: twins who were 10 and helped with their homework, and took them to classes. In the summer I tutored with them, took them to classes, took them out on activities, prepared meals and occasionally cleaned the house. I also babysat two children who were the daughters of my boss when I was working at a cafe. Also, odd babysitting gigs for family, family friends, old employers and referrals. - Nanny: For a year and a half I worked as a Nanny to two amazing two year old b/g twins. I took the kids out to the park, on mini trips around the city, to the museum, aquarium and more. I prepared and fed breakfast, lunch and sometimes dinner. I put them down for naps and sometimes bedtime. I participated in the little boy's speech therapy. I also changed their diapers, did the laundry, load and unloaded the dishes, cleaned their bedroom, playroom, living room, and kitchen. But most of all, I played, I laughed, I cried, I smiled, I laid down the law and I had a blast. - Nanny: For 8 months, I worked as a Nanny to boy twins who were 3 turned 4 years old. Boys were good kids but also had separation anxiety and typically took some time in the mornings to acclimate and snuggle with Mom or Dad. So, I started the day typically by putting away toys, cleaning up the kitchen counter, sink and unloading the dishwasher, sweeping the floors up the living room, kitchen, dining space. I often served a simple breakfast and then Dad went to work and Mom went to do chores etc. We would play games, read, go to the park, have some fun until I made lunch. We would eat and then I would take a 30 min walk with the boys to their preschool. If boys were busy with play, I would also do some laundry. I took the boys to speech therapy, as well as practicing the "homework" from the speech pathologist. I learned a lot working with these two children as they often struggled with anxiety due to many changes before and during my time with the family. They were also easily over stimulated and often had huge outbursts. As a unit with the parents, we all worked together to learn different methods to help them with their struggles, as well as our own to not let ourselves get overloaded. After being together for months though, we were able to reach a happy medium. Outside of the struggles, the boys and I still had many silly and loving moments together. - Mother's Helper: For 6 months I worked with a 2.5 yr old girl and an infant boy from 10 weeks til 8 months. In this position I took care of children together with mom some days, alone with one of two kids most days, and occasionally for short periods, I had both. I learned a lot about taking care of infants during this time. The baby had difficulties napping and sleeping at night. During the day, Mom and I would take turns carrying the baby in a sling anywhere from 30 mins to 3 hours at a time, as it was the only way the baby would nap. Sleep deprivation on everyone in the family (mom, dad, baby, girl) lead to mom calling in a professional sleep trainer. Assisting Mom and Dad following the sleep trainer's schedule, we were able to successfully help the baby to sleep in his bed on a schedule. In addition, I helped to transition the baby from breast milk to solids. At times, it was difficult to entertain the baby, especially when he did not sleep well and was cranky but I loved every bit of watching him grow and change and being a part of it. The 2.5 yr old girl was a ball of fun, enthusiasm, and curiosity! My major challenge with her was helping her to accept the baby and understand that the baby did not mean that she would not get any attention from her parents. Although she still struggles, she now likes to be silly to make the baby smile and laugh; give him hugs, kisses and hold him; and will often share her toys with him! I'm really proud of how far she has come to accepting her role as a big sister. - Nanny: For 6 months, I worked with a baby boy starting at 10 months old. With this family, I learned, watched and facilitated his growth from crawling to walking/running, purees to solids, no words to a few words, two naps to one nap. The baby started with two naps but would often skip his second nap, which lead to him being super cranky by 4pm. After monitoring and adjusting his naps for weeks, I came to the conclusion that it would be better to stretch his morning longer and just have one nap. I also learned some basic baby sign language and modeled it along with the correct words to help him express please, thank you, more, all done. The family also had a 4 year old french bulldog, who I cared for as well. I would let him out for bathroom breaks and often took him on 30 minute walks with the baby and I. Teaching the baby to interact appropriately with the dog was also important. The baby learned to give the dog his chew toys and not to take them from him, he also learned to not poke, pinch or hit the dog but instead cuddle and play with the dog. I took the baby to play gym when the weather was rainy and he loved it! There was so much room for him to crawl, then walk, then walk/run! He also shared toys with all the other kids! My proud moment was when I left the family, they were transitioning him into FT daycare and I was told he had no problems adjusting and that my care for him was paramount in helping him since he was out and about interacting with new adults and kids daily! - Nanny: For the past 8 months, I worked part-time with a 1 yr old boy. When I started with him, mom had just started back at work full-time and Dad had been with him full-time the past few weeks but now had to go back to work part-time. At first, he seemed fine when parents left for work both after a few weeks, his separation anxiety kicked in and mornings became difficulty. After some trial and error, we figured out that having his parents say goodbye and then I would take him to look for squirrels or cats out the window or getting him dressed and ready to go out with parents and splitting ways afterwards helped curb his anxiety. Eventually, we were able to wave goodbye from the window without tears! During our time together, we spent quite a lot of mornings rotating through different EarlyON programs in the area. We also frequented many of the local parks. In addition, we often went to the library for baby/toddler time and to borrow new books to read at home. Here we met same age twin girls (and their nanny) who lived down the street from the boy. We often arranged play dates for the three kids to get together. They quickly became friends and the boy could recognize their names and would be very excited to go play with the girls. Occasionally we also met with his cousin (a year older) and grandma at a local park. Through his varied activities with varying aged children, he learned to follow routines, share, take turns and invite others to join him by gesturing. VOLUNTEER - Co-op in High School: I had two co-op placements 1 year in a JK/SK classroom and another year in a gr. 1/2 split. - Classroom Aid: I have helped out in many JK/SK classrooms and a gr. 2/3 spit classroom - Big Brother Big Sister: I was a big sister to a grade 4 student who lived in a home and struggled with maintaining friendships. - After-school program: Participated in reading program to help children 6 years and older to improve their reading comprehension. If you feel that I would be a good candidate, send me a message. Hope to talk to you soon, Hew.