Yicel (25 / 女士 ), 美国人, 儿童护理员生活在美国寻找互惠生 & 家庭教师在意大利的工作，时长为1-3 月

For my winter break 2019-2020 I was an au pair for a lovely family in Spain. The kids were 6 (a girl) & 8 (a boy) I grew to adore the kids for the short time I was there. I learned that the daughter loved to dance and we would exchange music. I bonded with the boy over our love for Pokemon, he seemed to be amazed at my knowledge about the topic. I was there to speak English with them and I could only hope that my time with them helped. I know it helped me in a lot of aspects.

Then in 2021 I au paired again in Turkey (Istanbul). It was just one child, a boy (age 9). The learning setting had to be very different than a classroom. All the lessons were done in the format of a game. We exchanged music, played football (soccer), and would even stay up watching the Champions League.

For the entire summer of 2018, I worked at an after school program that is open during the summer. My co-worker and me were in charge of the 1st and 2nd graders. There were about 9 kids and we would take them to the pool every day, after the pool, they would eat. Then after eating, we would have them complete an assignment and once that assignment was done we would take them to the playground that was in the next block.

We had a total of two field trips and for both field trips, we took public transportation so I know how to handle a big group of kids in a public setting. One field trip was to a park and the other field trip was to the zoo.

My other experience was working with teenagers. I was a history teacher assistant at the high school I graduated from. I don't have an exact age group since we got all the grade so the students were between the ages of 16 - 18. I built a really close relationship with some of the students and now I have some of them on Facebook.

In both these jobs, I was put in some stressful situations, the 2nd-grade girls would sometimes give me sass and the high schoolers would refuse to do their schoolwork. But at both jobs, I handled situations pretty good.
With the au pair the kids did push my buttons but thankfully the parents did the disciplining so if they took it too far I didn't do anything since the parents were there, also I didn't think it was my place to discipline. Another skill I picked up was calming kids down, the kids would often fight and a parent would separate them. I remember one incident in particular where the dad took the daughter while I was in charge of the older brother. I sat him down and talked about how what he was doing was wrong. I brought up my experience as a little sister to an older brother and he seemed to calm down.

From 2021 to 2023 I worked as an English and Spanish reading tutor at an elementary school in Chicago. With kids from ages 6 to 10. Where the focus was on where they were struggling the most.

I like being an au pair because it obviously has awesome perks. However, building a good relationship with kids, regardless of age, is important to me. I think about the kids from Madrid and I told the parents to let me know if they ever find themselves in Chicago to reach out. I still have the drawings the kids at the after school program gave me and I'd be lying if I said I didn't grow a soft spot for them. With the high schoolers, it was easier to keep in touch with them and I have a huge soft spot for them, I check in with all of them from time to time and in a way I'm a role model for them. I made it my purpose to show them that college is possible and that where you come from should not determine what you do in life.

I also think about the adults who had a positive impact on me growing up and even though I've never told them I'm thankful that they cared for me a little bit more extra than the usual adult.

Another reason why I'd like being an au pair is because of my older sister. My older sister is my role model although we sometimes fight because well we're siblings I know I can go to her for anything. It breaks my heart when I see sisters with a bad relationship. I want to be that older sister for someone even if we aren't blood-related.

As of right now I am a substitute teacher for schools in Chicago