Jessica K. › SmartSitting

Family Application

Click Here To Read My Full Bio!

I am an educated and interactive nanny seeking a full-time live-out nanny position with a family in Manhattan. I've lived in the San Francisco Bay Area for the last five years, where I attended Saint Mary's College of California and nannied. I have had both full-time and part-time nanny experience with a variety of ages (18 months-12 years of age) in the last 5 years. I have also worked with twins boys (age 5) and children diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome and ADHD. I am CPR certified and can drive. For the last year, I cared for multiple families, equaling 5-9 children and 50+ hours per week. This experience has made me into a very flexible and well-rounded nanny. I'm hoping to find one family to grow with for the next 2-3 years until I decide to go back to school to obtain my Master's in Women's Studies.

As a nanny, I hope to act as a big sister type. I am very affectionate and silly, but I am also firm and can be very strict when needed. I believe that children need consistency, and I am very big on communication with parents and teachers in order to assure that issues and behaviors are being addressed consistently. My job as a nanny is to make your life easier and to help you raise your children to become responsible, independent, and well-adjusted adults. Healthy eating is important to me. I love farmer's markets, and I enjoy cooking and baking. I like to be active and to play, and I like to encourage kids to be active as well. A frequent saying of mine is "if the sun is out, so are we." I am also a former lifeguard and enjoy swimming. I love to get my hands dirty and to play intensively with children, but I also like to set-up situations in which children can play independently and freely. Reading, exploring, coloring, and having dance parties are also frequent activities I like to do with children I babysit.

I would describe myself as down-to-earth and practical. I enjoy the simple things in life, and I value modesty and sincerity. I appreciate directness and honesty—communication is huge for me! I try to live a balanced and healthy lifestyle, and I would love to join a family who practices the same. When I'm not nannying, you can find me in a bookstore or a yoga studio. I'm passionate about women's issues, anthropology, and the environment. I love learning about and exploring the world we live in, and I hope to encourage children I interact with to do the same.

Education

Saint Mary's College of California, expected Dec. 2011

B.A. Socio-cultural Anthropology (focus on Women's Studies)

Childcare experience:

2 years, lifeguard
4 years, volunteer Sunday School teacher
4 years, part-time/full-time nanny

Availability:

Tuesdays and Fridays: 8am - 8pm
Also available for occasional weekend sitting

Long-term availability:

Available until Fall of 2012.

I will be SmartSitting while...

Volunteering for the New York Asian Women's Center and volunteering as a Rape Crisis Advocate. I want to nanny in New York and volunteer with different women's organizations before I head back to school to obtain my Master's in Women's Studies.

My childcare expertise lies in working with…

2-5 year olds. I have a lot of experience with 3 and 5 year old boys, but also have experience with girls. I also have experience with twins (boys, age 5).

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

I love baking, swimming (former lifeguard and swimmer), dancing (took tap and jazz lessons for 10 years), reading, coloring, and am open to sports of all kinds! I also love being outside!

Most memorable childcare experience:

One of my most memorable memories is a day that I spent with two little girls I had the privilege of taking care of, ages 2 and 3.5. We spent 2-3 hours using our imaginations outside. We collected grass, flower petals, rocks, and even dirt and put them all in a bucket filled with water. We found sticks and used them as magic wands and spoons to stir our "magic potion." We even found some glitter to add to our magical potion (which, of course, I explained we could not actually drink, but we pretended to). We spent the day being fairies and witches, running around the backyard, casting spells and pretending to live in castles or caves. Later, we drew pictures of what we had acted out and built a fort made out of pillows. When they went down for naps, the 3.5 year old and I talked about how we would dream of being fairies and live in castles inside flowers.

It is so refreshing and so wonderful to get the chance to live in an imaginative world that kids can dream up! Working with children gives me the opportunity to slow down and to use my brain in a different way than I normally would.

In 5 years, I hope to be...

Working on a college campus at a Women's Resource Center, acting as both a counselor and mentor to young women. Working in such a position would allow me to positively influence students, whether by setting up workshops and events or by coordinating volunteer opportunities. It would give me the chance to be part of a community and to really empower individuals to make the world a better place.