Preschool and ES Nannying, what does that look like?

[Anonymous]

We are debating hiring a nanny to watch our now 18 month old full time, as well as help a 4yo and 6yo in varying degrees (FT during what is left of summer, PT after school if we have school, something in between if our private prk/1st grade is DL or in a hybrid model-they have a fairly fully schedule but with lots of breaks between the live zoom classes).

I’ve only ever used FT daycare and school with aftercare, and I am having a hard time imagining what a nanny does with this age of kids, which makes it hard to think about what qualities I should even look for. With our babies, we wanted someplace that loved them and had lots of play opportunities. But we were lucky that the daycares we have worked with over the years spent time planning lessons for the little ones that kept them engaged. Most people I know with nannies for then younger ones also send their kids to some sort of part time programming once they hit two, but with the pandemic I’m guessing that might not happen. For other families who use a nanny for kids this age and older, what are some important qualities to look for in a person who may be with your younger one (without any other programming) until pre-K and with your older kids as well?

I know we are very lucky to be healthy enough to be in this situation and be able to afford this option-I know we will have to pay more for this type of help (3 kids is a lot and we expect to have to pay well).

Really appreciate any advice from folks who have done something like this.

[Anonymous]

You need a retired or former teacher. Although we aren’t in your position, I don’t doubt for a second that someone like our nanny could engage three kids of various ages and schoolwork.

[Anonymous]

It can be done but you’re looking to pay about $30hr. That’s what we pay our nanny but she is college educated and a former teacher with over ten years of experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It can be done but you’re looking to pay about $30hr. That’s what we pay our nanny but she is college educated and a former teacher with over ten years of experience.

Thanks - can you tell me any more about the qualities that I should look for in this situation and/or where you advertised or if you used a service to find your nanny?

[Anonymous]

I am a nanny. I don’t have a college degree or teaching background, although I did attend some college. I’ve nannied for over a decade. I could do this job.

Traits to look for:

1) in-depth knowledge of child development (ask questions like “What educational goals do you think we should have for a kindergartener? For a first-grader?” “How would you go about building a curriculum for each child?” “What educational philosophy or pedagogy do you adhere to most?”

2) Self-starter (“What would you do on a typical hot summer day with kids the ages of our kids? What about a rainy day? How would you juggle having such different ages when it came to homeschooling?”)

3) Experienced (only look at candidates who have juggled AT LEAST 3 kids before, working full-time, preferably with a homeschool background).

4) Realistic (“What would a typical school-day schedule look like with 3 kids these ages?” “Can you give me examples of a curriculum or unit you might do?” “What resources do you think you would need to homeschool successfully?”)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It can be done but you’re looking to pay about $30hr. That’s what we pay our nanny but she is college educated and a former teacher with over ten years of experience.

Thanks - can you tell me any more about the qualities that I should look for in this situation and/or where you advertised or if you used a service to find your nanny?

PP here. We found our former teacher nanny on care.com. We totally lucked out! The agencies we called just didn’t have the teacher/nanny type we wanted.

But care.com is truly gruesome. You can post absolute deal breakers and you still get unqualified responses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am a nanny. I don’t have a college degree or teaching background, although I did attend some college. I’ve nannied for over a decade. I could do this job.

Traits to look for:

1) in-depth knowledge of child development (ask questions like “What educational goals do you think we should have for a kindergartener? For a first-grader?” “How would you go about building a curriculum for each child?” “What educational philosophy or pedagogy do you adhere to most?”

2) Self-starter (“What would you do on a typical hot summer day with kids the ages of our kids? What about a rainy day? How would you juggle having such different ages when it came to homeschooling?”)

3) Experienced (only look at candidates who have juggled AT LEAST 3 kids before, working full-time, preferably with a homeschool background).

4) Realistic (“What would a typical school-day schedule look like with 3 kids these ages?” “Can you give me examples of a curriculum or unit you might do?” “What resources do you think you would need to homeschool successfully?”)

Agreed. Look for tutoring, teaching or homeschooling experience. You want someone who has juggled groups of three or more kids, but you NEED to make sure at least one of the children was a toddler. It’s very, very different to compare homeschooling kids who are old enough to do it versus also entertaining a toddler.

[Anonymous]

This is super helpful. Any suggestions besides care.com on how to find a nanny like this?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is super helpful. Any suggestions besides care.com on how to find a nanny like this?

Agency
Dcum
Neighborhood listserv

[Anonymous]

When you say expect to pay $30/hour, do you mean before or after taxes?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When you say expect to pay $30/hour, do you mean before or after taxes?

Always gross.

[Anonymous]

Do you have an email address OP? I exceeded your requirements and would like to speak further.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do you have an email address OP? I exceeded your requirements and would like to speak further.

What does that mean?