Having worked with children for most of my life, I’m a highly qualified childcare provider.

I started taking care of my younger sister when I was 7, feeding, bathing, changing, and supporting her throughout most of her young life. I started babysitting at the age of 14, and would often take care of very young children during these times. I’ve been actively babysitting since then.

I volunteered as a tutor for struggling or disadvantaged students, helping kids of all ages who fell behind with schoolwork, needed extra attention, or had learning/attention difficulties (ADHD, autism, and developmental delay included).

At the age of 18 I started running a daycare centre, taking care of multiple children (up to 10 at once) between the ages of 0-7 at a time. My duties for this position included all admin, stocking, cleaning, teaching/age-appropriate stimulation, facilitating nap times, potty training/diaper changes, cooking and feeding/facilitating meal breaks, ensuring safe and stimulating playtimes, communication with families regarding progress, observations, concerns, occurrences, etc.

I worked as an au pair in Seattle between 2021-2023 (aged 19-22), where I took care of two girls (aged 2 and 7 when I got there). The youngest had gross motor skill delay, so I had a big role to play in helping her catch up and continue to improve. My duties here included facilitating morning routines of the kids (waking, dressing, breakfast, grooming, and getting to school/daycare), ensuring the kids had clean laundry, that their rooms were clean, and that their areas were neat. School pick-ups, helping with homework/assignments and age-appropriate learning activities, and cooking dinner. Bedtime routines (bath/showers, grooming, getting everything ready for the next day), putting to bed. I also arranged most of the kids’ extracurricular activities (scouts, lemonade stands, meetups/playdates, and planning and facilitating birthdays and other special events.) I would also often babysit in the for a night or more if the parents had events/work/dates.

After being in the U.S. for two years, I returned to South Africa, where I au paired for 6 months. I looked after two kiddos here, a girl of 9 and a boy of 7. Duties included school prep and drop-offs/pick-ups, homework assistance, arranging and taking the kids to extracurricular activities, dinner prep, taking care of the kids when the father left for work trips, and light house chores such as laundry.

Finally, I’m spending a year in the Netherlands (from 09/2024 - current) as an au pair for a family with two kids (boy of 5, girl of 3). Duties include breakfast prep and facilitation, making school lunches, school/daycare drop-offs (except on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays when the 3yo stays home with me all day), light house chores, age-appropriate stimulation, lunch facilitation, potty training, school/daycare pick-ups, dinner prep and facilitation, planning and facilitating extracurriculars (play dates, library visits, day trips, etc.), and oftentimes evening babysitting.

I’ve taken numerous childcare courses, from Early Childhood Development to Learn Through Play, First Aid, reaching and analysing milestones and appropriate progress (potty training, reading, language use, recognition, memory, motor skills, and more), communication with families and teachers, recognising potential problems (anxiety, learning disabilities, delays in areas of development, physical health issues, etc., and dealing with these as they come up.

I became certified to teach children between birth and 5th grade (Certified through UNICEF, Cotlands, The LEGO Foundation, PLAY, and the Department of Basic Education of South Africa)

I took the following courses through Cox Campus:

TALK With Me Baby
TALK With Me
Read with me (Parts 1+2)
Rhyme With Me
Build My Brain
Transforming Story time
The Power of Language for Infants and Toddlers
The Power of Language
Supporting Dual Language Learners Right from the Start

Course 1: Instructional Coaching for Change in Children’s Futures
Assessing Our Students

I took the following through Texas A&M AgriLife Extension:

Poison Prevention and Safety in Childcare Programs (Year2)
Establishing Positive Relationships with Families (Year2)
Strategies for Caring for Preschool and School-aged Children with Challenging Behaviors (Year2)
Routines and Environments that Support Social Emotional Development in Infants and Toddlers (Year2)
Diapering and Toilet Learning in Inclusive Infant-Toddler Care (Year2)
Understanding Infant and Toddler Development (Year2)
Abusive Head Trauma (Shaken Baby Syndrome): A Guide for Childcare Providers (Year2)

Other:

I took courses in Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
I received my A1 German certificate through the Goethe-Institut.
I am American Red Cross certified in Infant, Toddler and Adult First Aid, CPR and AED.