Nanny Job in Huntsville, Ontario

We are relocating to Huntsville summer 2016 to a forested acreage on Mary Lake. We're about 10 minutes from the center of Huntsville, maybe 25 from Bracebridge. We are looking for a kind, capable, and enthusiastic person to help our family in our new home. We love spending time with kids ourselves (so you can't do only that - sorry!), though we also have to work. Most of the time we can work from home, but one of us may be away for a night or two here and there. So this is a combination of some child care along with being a 'family helper': Light housekeeping, some shopping, cooking, whatever it takes to keep a busy home rolling. We believe it's important for kids to take responsibility too, so you'd want to be comfortable expecting their 'help' as they make their beds, set/clear the table etc. For them you are a patient guide, a family friend, and a reliable helper - but never a servant :) Summer/Short Term: Over the summer, there may be up to six kids if there are young friends visiting, ages from 5 to 12. We are close to the water, so swimming ability and water safety is a must. There are canoes/kayaks around for them and for you, so experience with kids and water at a camp or cottage is needed. While there may be some time away at summer camps, most of the time all the kids will be around home, so summer will be the busiest time with the most hours. We're guessing it would be full-time most weeks over the summer (40 hours). Winter/Long Term: Starting in September, all the kids will be in school. We expect our main need will be from end of school to dinner time, or bed time (3.30 to 6.30, or 3.30 to 9pm). This could include homework, helping us discover activities (skating, hockey, music, indoor soccer? if you can downhill ski at least a bit that is a big winter bonus) and driving them there or back, so safe winter driving experience is needed, and a clean driver's license is an absolute must. You may be able to use our car sometimes, maybe lots of times, but we're a five-minute drive off highway 11 (a good walk!) so realistically you may want your own independent transport. We expect it might be around 20 hours a week, depending on what all is included and what works best for you a d us. Because our work schedule and the kids' needs are hard to predict, flexibility will be important. We can commit to a base number of hours, and a basic schedule. But kids get sick, work emergencies crop up, and your own life will have unexpected demands too, so we'd like to work with you to accommodate our needs as they arise, and your needs too. It is not an absolute requirement, but we'd also like someone who could look after all the kids and home for a few weekends a year, and maybe a week or longer once a year. We've never got away yet, but we keep dreaming it might be possible :) We probably prefer live-out, but we would consider live-in (even with live-out, there might be occasional overnights needed). As our house may not be completely finished when we move, while you would have your own room with forest or lake view, you might not have your own bathroom (and the bathroom might not be on the same floor as your room). Any guests would be joining with the whole family - there isn't really separate living space. There are no overnight guests, and pursuit of 'significant others' would need to happen elsewhere. You don't have to have a lot of official paid work experience, but you will have lots of experience working with kids, some experience with shopping, basic cooking, and looking after a home. You'll be able to explain to us how all your experience would enable you to help our family. We imagine probably the best experience would be from working at summer camps, youth groups or community organizations. We are not set on any particular age range, but we guess that to have the experience and confidence you are late teens if not twenties - or maybe you are quite a bit older, have done all this already, and are looking for more! You probably have some post-secondary education (or you are good at using Google to answer questions like how bugs fly, or why gravity is invisible :) We are open to anyone of any faith background - or of no faith background! Our family is Christian, so you'd want to be OK with giving thanks at meals, having kids pray, sometimes being at church or related activities when needed etc. You'd also need to be comfortable supporting our family values, even if yours are a little (or a lot!) different. Because you'd be more like a family member than anything else, it's also important that we are able to provide what *you* want. You'll probably be actively looking for something with kids, you'll be comfortable being part of a busy family, and you love the idea of forest walks, swimming or cross-country skiing from your front door. You'll have thought about what you want, and you'll be able to tell us what is important to you, and what you think you'd need so you were happy and successful in this role. Does the thought of busy kids running in a forest or jumping off a dock excite you? Can you imagine helping a new family settle into life in Muskoka? Are you kind-hearted, enthusiastic, and patient? Open to a bit of a crazy household? Please get in touch!