Level of education: I obtained a Bachelor's degree in Child Development with a child Life emphasis from Texas Woman's University in May of 2012.

Additional skills or certifications: I am able to sign using American Sign Language at a mediocre level. I can speak some Spanish. I have a variety of experience with the early childhood special needs population. I have taken courses on Early Childhood Brain Development, SIDS, and Psychotropic Medication Awareness and Administration from Pathways Youth and Family Services, Inc. I have about four years of lesson planning and creating and about seven years of lesson implementing. I also have training in child development assessment and medical play in a hospital environment.

Experience: I have worked with children from a very young age but began my first job almost ten years ago working in a church nursery where I remained for about five years working with an age range of 0-7 years throughout that time at different periods. During this job, I was assistant teacher and eventually head teacher of a toddler classroom. I created and implemented lesson plans and activities as well as the regular tasks of caregiver. I then began working at an early childhood learning center in the town where I went to college where I remained for about two years working with 0-3 year-olds. I served as assistant teacher and caregiver at this center and my duties included regular caregiving tasks, creating and implementing lessons and activities, and supervising on field trips. I then began my first long term nanny job for a family with two special needs children ages five and two where I remained for about a year and a half. My duties at this job required daily occupational assistance, caregiving tasks, operating medical equipment, and creating activities for the children. My most recent long term nanny job lasted about two years working for a family with three children: age 2, age 5 (special needs; deaf) age 7. My main focus in this position was to help the middle child to learn to communicate using sign language and providing him with stimulation and routine. I also participated in regular care-giving tasks, lesson and activity creating and implementing, transportation, and other household tasks.

Experience with the following age groups: I have approximately 6 years of experience with infants (0-18 months), approximately 8 years working with toddlers (18-36 months), approximately 6 years spent working with 3-year-olds, and about 6 years total working with preschoolers (4-5 years), about two years with 1st-3rd graders, and about two years with 6th graders.

Interests and hobbies: I enjoy most outdoor activities especially hiking and biking. I love music and enjoy singing and playing the piano. I also love to read novels and play with my pups. I especially love to spend time with children!

Describe your childcare style: I have extensive training in child development, which inevitably teaches one to think from a child's perspective. In order to do this, one must have training in the processes of a child's brain development and the most beneficial ways to nurture that development. I do not participate in any kind of physical punishment but employ more of an age appropriate discipline that likely includes redirecting, modeling, or explaining using age-appropriate methods. Most importantly, I will want to learn and align with the parents' childcare methods. As far as learning methods, I align more closely with hands-on outlines such as the Waldorf or Montessori method. I prefer to teach children by doing not just speaking and recognize the importance of providing a healthy energy output to keep children moving.

What activities do you like to do with children: Anything that has learning value or a positive goal I will love doing with the children! I especially like to utilize the outdoors for learning experiences and activities. I also enjoy teaching healthy nutrition through fun cooking experiments. Music, arts, and crafts are all fun too!

Why are you interested in working as a Nanny or Babysitter? I have worked with children from a variety of angles over the past 9 years and 4 of those years were spent as a nanny. I have come to learn that it is my favorite role to fill when working with children and one that seems to line up best with my skills while allowing me to focus my attention on a few children at a time.

What qualities are important in a Nanny or Babysitter? I have come to discover that there are certain qualities a nanny must obtain in order to be successful. Among those, I believe, are patience, understanding, honesty, consistency, respect, creativity, kindness, organization, and effective communication. Most importantly, a successful nanny must be able to 'think like a kid'.

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