Ali K. › SmartSitting

Family Application

Click Here To Read My Full Bio!

I was born in Washington D.C., grew up in New Jersey, spent a year at George Washington University and graduated from Oberlin College this past May. I just moved to New York City and am thrilled to begin my post-graduate life in such a vibrant, multi- faceted city! In terms of interests, the anchor in my life has been art. I've created, critiqued, reviewed, researched, and analyzed it. I am a trained oil painter and take commissions. Recently, I helped paint a community mural in Harlem, mostly taking children’s drawings and transforming them into paintings. It was so rewarding to know that these little artists would walk past the mural every day and recognize their own creations. In my free time, I take dance classes. I love to share my knowledge and passion with others and would be thrilled to help facilitate a child’s creativity in whatever form it may take!

I have experience working with kids from elementary to high school. While attending Oberlin College, I co-taught a Spanish course for kindergarteners at the local elementary school, tutored Spanish at the high school, provided homework help for middle school kids, and assisted with a children’s after-school program. At Eastwood Elementary School’s After School Program, I helped with homework when needed, but mostly chatted and played with the kids. I found it extremely refreshing to spend time with them and was often included in their games! I love to work one-on-one with people and see babysitting as an opportunity to participate in a child’s growth and development. I seek to actively engage children, to spark their curiosity in the world. I hope to serve as a positive role model, an older friend to look up to, just like the wonderful babysitters I had growing up.

Education

Oberlin College B.A, graduated 2011

Major: Studio Art
Minor: Art History

George Washington University, attended 2007-2008

Dean's List

Childcare experience:

1 semester: high school tutor, middle school tutor, elementary after school program assistant
1 semester: co-teacher of elementary school Spanish

Availability:

Mon-Fri: 2pm-10pm
Also available for occasional weekend sitting

Long-term availability:

Short-Term

I will be SmartSitting while...

Tutoring, working on painting commissions, and preparing for graduate school.

My childcare expertise lies in working with…

I have experience with kids ranging from elementary to high school.

Activities and skills I love to teach and share with children:

Art, Spanish language, dancing, reading, writing, and visiting museums!

Most memorable childcare experience:

By far my best experience tutoring was with Deb, a sophomore at Oberlin High School. We focused on Spanish. She was very easy to work with and actually interested in the material. We exchanged cell phone numbers and she was responsible enough to call me to confirm our appointments. She caught on quickly and it is clear that she understood what we covered. Her Spanish accent and comprehension improved greatly over the course of the semester. I made sure to correct her pronunciation and to look up all vocabulary she did not know. I told her to keep a list in her notebook so she could refer back to it. It was clear that in class, they did not speak enough and were expected to remember vocabulary the teacher did not cover. We would go through her homework together, but I encouraged her to try each exercise on her own before I stepped in. She would tell me stories about her family, her pets, the German her grandfather taught her. The more I got to know her, the more rewarding the experience became.