Level of education: I received my Bachelors in Social Work with minors in Psychology and Sociology in 2011; I was accepted into DU's School of Social Work in 2012, but ultimately deferred and decided not to attend the program. Certificates in Graphic Design (2016) and Interior Design (2019).

Additional skills or certifications: CPR & First Aid. Fully vaccinated and follow Covid-19 protocols.

Experience: My first consistent babysitting jobs began in high school for a handful of families. While working towards my degree in Social Work at the University of Iowa, I spent a summer as a live-in nanny for twins (aged 9 at the time) and their older sister (13-years-old at the time), and I spent a little over a year working part-time at a wonderful in-home daycare (where I gained a handful of weekend babysitting jobs). I also spent 7 months working part-time as nanny for an infant baby girl whose parents are professors at the University of Iowa. In my senior year of undergrad, I began working at an after school program and summer camp for children living with disabilities. After graduating and moving to Colorado, I took a temporary nannying job with a wonderful 5-year-old girl in Denver while I began looking for work in the Social Work field. I then spent a year working for Adams County in Child and Family Services before I met the family I've been nannying with for the last 7.5 years. I began in their home in December of 2013-- three boys who were 4-, 5-, and 6-years-old and who are now 12-, 13, and 14-years-old! Watching them grow and guiding them along has been such an amazing and crazy experience! I am so fortunate. Aside from taking care of the boys and all that entails (which included *a lot* of mediation with three boys so close in age!), I took on many different duties each day in the household, including the more routine tasks: cooking nightly dinner, dishwashing, laundry, putting clothes away, grocery shopping, sweeping, vacuuming, general pick up, etc. I also spent a lot of time doing the extras: helping with interior design in the home, personal shopping for the home, personal clothes shopping for the boys, packing the boys for vacations and camps, painting projects, cleaning closets, donating old clothes, cleaning turtle cages and fish aquariums, putting up Christmas decorations, taking animals to the vet or to boarding, scheduling a plumber or Geek Squad and meeting them, the list goes on!

Experience with the following age groups: I've worked with infants, preschoolers, elementary aged children, middle schoolers, and high schoolers.

Interests and hobbies:My husband and I bought a home almost two years ago and taking care of the house and slowly making it our own is a huge interest. I'm very interested in a cozy home and love just *being* home with him, our 10-year-old pitbull, and our two cats. I collect vintage clothing and home decor and love to resell online and in-person at markets in Denver and Boulder. Art is important and I feel thankful to live close to some great art museums-- getting to see a Frida Kahlo exhibit, as well as a Keith Haring exhibit in the last year was very exciting to me. Music is also really important in my life, and prior to covid, I really enjoyed taking advantage of getting to see so much talent come through Denver and Boulder. I spend a lot of time hauling my dog on different trails and hikes (one of my favorite hikes is Isabelle Glacier Trail) and I lived 7 years next to the Boulder Creek, which holds a special spot in my heart, I still like to spend free time there walking my dog, reading and relaxing, or tubing once the water settles at the end of the summer. In 2020 my husband got me to pick up tennis and I've recently found that I love playing (and I'm not *that* bad). I played basketball, volleyball, softball, and ran track and cross country in high school, and still enjoy playing all sports for fun. Thanks to my husband, I've turned into a big Denver Nuggets fan over the years and we (pre-covid) loved going to games and feeling comradery with our community.

Describe your childcare style:I would say my style is definitely enthusiastic, fun, warm, patient, and consistent. I am very down-to-earth, but I am able to be firm but loving if/when it's needed. I always follow the parents' style and directions.

What activities do you like to do with children:With babies and toddlers-- lots of talking, lots of giving compliments and letting them know how cute they are, reciting ABCs and practicing numbers, reading, taking walks outside, and playing with age appropriate toys. With younger children (4-10) -- playing more, but it's more fun at this age! Legos, or dolls, pretending we're school teachers or we're deep sea fisherman and our boat crashed and now we're stuck on a deserted island! Baking and pretending we're running a bakery or a restaurant. I loved to play like that when I was a child, and it turns out, it's still fun to play pretend with kids. I'm not the greatest at drawing (but I'm also not really bad) and throughout the years I've always found myself drawing and doodling away with the kids that I work with. Making things, doing crafts, and getting our hands dirty. Trips to the library, running around at parks, riding bikes, and so forth. And definitely more reading (so extremely important), integrating learning into activities, working on homework, etc. With older children (10-14) -- my experience with older children is that they *still* want to play and use their imaginations. I loved taking the boys on hikes and to the Boulder creek where they would pretend to be survivalists. The boys I nannied continued to make up stories with their legos until they were about 12-years-old and we made a lot of silly videos as they got older (they enjoyed being comedians). I really let them take the lead as they got older. We spent a lot of time going to different indoor activity centers, like Progresh and Skyzone. The boys that I nannied also spent a lot of time scootering and I spent a lot of time having to supervise at various skateparks (somehow, in 7.5 years, no one broke a bone). If they're older children like the ones I've worked with, they really like their phones and video games, so I make it a point to know what they're absorbing and making sure it's appropriate. At this age, for a lot of kids and families, children are really busy in different activities, too. So I've spent a lot of time driving kids around and just bonding over conversation (the kids I've worked with love to talk) and getting to know kids at this age is really fun to me.

Why are you interested in working as a Nanny or Babysitter? I'm an innate helper, I love children, and I succeed in helping families run their lives more smoothly and with less stress. I've been doing this for a long time and I've been really happy doing it, so it is my goal to continue. I would ultimately like to find a family that I can connect with and grow with for years to come.

What qualities are important in a Nanny or Babysitter?It's really important that families hire nannies that are mature and emotionally intelligent, someone who can be perceptive to a child's/the family's needs. High communication skills, patience, trustworthiness, compassion, empathy, playfulness, enthusiasm, and humor are extremely important, too.

Additional comments:I appreciate you taking the time to read my profile!