Nanny in London, Ontario

Teaching is a way of life for me. My mother had a home day care, and growing up I found myself always involved with the children in our home. I started to teach children more formally at the age of 13 and working with them is an absolute pleasure for me. I learned early on that if I invest time in developing skills and tools for working with children, they actually thrive and change under my leadership. I have endless energy for designing newer and better ways of teaching as I have a great sense of the value of what I am doing. In a society where children are surrounded by negative influences I feel a sense of calling to be a positive one. When I teach, I know that I am doing something very important for the world, and the response of the children confirms the fact that I should be a teacher. I am a highly structured and organized person and I work very well in a group setting. I have also found that I gravitate to creating environments that promote consistent learning. I love innovating in the classroom and find an endless amount of energy for creating an excellent learning environment. I am committed to being a lifelong learner and this naturally translates into, not only my becoming a teacher, but inspiring the younger generations to embrace excellence as well. I am looking for full-time employment over the summer, however will be returning to school part-time in the fall, but am very keen to continue working full-time hours. I have excellent references and a resume that further expands in more detail my work-related experiences. I look forward to hearing of possible opportunities to work with families in the London area and hope that a suitable match will work out! :) From 2000 until present, I have worked with school-aged children at Chippewa, St. Catherine of Siena, Westmount, St. Michael’s, St. Francis, Jack Chambers, Queen Elizabeth, Cobden and Holy Cross elementary schools directing and planning before and after school programs, summer and holiday camps and running clubs. I am very familiar with the daily operations of a school and how a classroom looks, as I have spent countless hours teaching children in a school setting. Currently, I am volunteering Jeanne Sauvé French Immersion once a week and working directly with the LST to help students from grade 1 to 6. I encourage these students in math, reading, and language skills. I not only have opportunities to observe classroom teachers, but to also practice hands-on teaching lessons and leading small groups of children. For the past 3 years I have been a Behaviour Specialist at a day camp geared to low-income families. I facilitated the healthy integration of high needs children into the camp program. I was also responsible for supporting and teaching the other staff specific behaviour management strategies. I modified and designed large group games and activities that encouraged children to practice life skill values, such as: honesty, caring, respect, and responsibility. Prior to this, I designed and led Sport Stacking clubs with over 20 children in each. Planning lessons that interest children at different and levels is something that I continuously did during this time. I developed a monthly e-mail newsletter to increase ongoing communication with parents and informing them of coming events. From 1996 to 2006 I taught karate to children from ages 3 to 18 for an average of 20 hours a week. I created and directed a summer camp for children in karate and developed the entire program. I was responsible for the overall operation of camp, including planning of games, crafts, and special events. I selected, trained and led a group of junior leaders for this camp, and inspired them to become better leaders of children. During this time, I also was a camp counsellor for 12 years at day and overnight camps and spend many hours teaching boating, swimming, sports and camp craft skills to children ages 5 to 12. In between college and university I worked full-time for the Children’s Aid Society as a Child and Youth Worker and tutored two grade 5 students with OCD and ADHD and motivated them to complete schoolwork. I learned to manage aggressive outbursts children and to diffuse crisis situations on a daily basis, while working in tandem with the LST and principal. I was very effective in engaging these boys to perform and they positively responded to my leading. Prior to this, I also found the energy and time to work with young children in daycare settings, such as with the YMCA and Goodlife. I worked for VON as a respite care worker for two families whose children have autism, and we regularly participated in fun community activities and events. I also volunteered with children and youth at a large church, teaching and leading large and small groups, even in an after-school musical program. After high school, I coached badminton to grade 9 and 10 students at Lucas Secondary . While enrolled in the Child and Youth Worker program at Fanshawe College, my placement at Jack Chambers elementary provided me with practical teaching experiences, such as leading small groups in math lessons, teaching a grade 4 history lesson, running a badminton unit for the grade 5 students, and mentoring children who struggled with OCD, autism, and learning disabilities. During high school I was Sports Director for a kids club that ranged from JK to grade 5 and completed a co-op placement in a special needs classroom for grades 1 to 8 at Queen Elizabeth elementary. I was given lots of creative freedom to design original educational tools, such as: a kinesthetic time-telling games for primary students and a classroom ‘store’ for practicing counting money. All of these experiences made me realize the overlap with teaching; I regularly led large groups of people, in an organized fashion, and motivated them each class. I followed a curriculum and executed it in a predictable fashion. I communicated with staff, students and parents, learning to approach and navigate sometimes, difficult issues. I also routinely enrolled in Professional Development courses offered through the YMCA or other community organizations. These courses gave me more knowledge about such things as: ADHD, autism, behaviour management techniques, and program planning ideas. The breadth and depth of my experiences working with children in schools over the past 15 years have been nothing but relevant to teaching, and throughout this time have become a highly skilled, disciplined and passionate teacher.