Nanny in Ottawa, Ontario

I have finished the Early Childhood Education program at Algonquin College, set to have the official graduation in June 2017. I come from a large blended family, where at its height there were seven children living at home, myself being the oldest, so it sort of comes naturally for me. I have spent many mornings before school, many afternoons after school, and many evenings before bed with my younger siblings. Helping with homework, teaching them new songs or new words, and most of all learning from them. After spending simply one year as a nanny for two young boys, I realized that teaching and assisting children’s growth and development is without a doubt the best thing I could possibly do with my future. The next two years only reinforced this feeling. Watching the boys I nannied learn new ideas and concepts was beyond rewarding for me. In my eight years of babysitting, nannying, and volunteering I have rarely met a child I did not enjoy spending time with. That said, I was once hissed at by a girl, who had decided she was a cat, though being a cat lover also, she eventually warmed up to me. I am a child at heart, and I love the excitement and wonder children exude. I love assisting, and joining, in their adventures, whether it be watching an ant explore for food or a trip across the city by public transit for a museum visit. I listen to people all the time talk about their dream job, and what field they want to be working in, and I just feel happiness that I have found a field I love. Enrolling at Algonquin College for the Fall of 2015, Early Childhood Education Program, was this biggest step I have taken towards having an extended full time career in the childcare field. It is in this program that I was introduced to the ELECT document as well, and Iam learning how to use it effectively to assist children’s growth and development. In my observations class I have learned how to effectively observe children, different kinds of observations and when to use each of these. These new observation skills are going to help when tracking the progression of a child’s learning and when using resources, such as the ELECT document, to make a developmentally appropriate curriculum. The program has offered invaluable resources and taught me how to use them, from the very intensive ELECT and How Does Learning Happen documents and the Day Nurseries Act, to books that walk through different methods of observations and books of songs and activities to do with them, among others.