Anonymous
06/05/2014 03:08
Subject: please advise
At that age, I do some teaching with my charges. (I am a nanny.)
I like to teach numbers, colors and letters.
We sing songs together which make the learning fun as well as through drawing, coloring and story books.
Teaching them and making it fun at the same time is my ultimate goal of being a nanny for children in this age range.
I don't want to be just responsible for feeding and changing them and making sure they do not stick their fingers in the light sockets.
I want to help them with their learning skills so when they start school they will already be equipped with some skills they have learned from their time at home with me.
I think that is what separates a good nanny from a babysitter who just comes and sits on the couch all day with the T.V. on.
I like to teach numbers, colors and letters.
We sing songs together which make the learning fun as well as through drawing, coloring and story books.
Teaching them and making it fun at the same time is my ultimate goal of being a nanny for children in this age range.
I don't want to be just responsible for feeding and changing them and making sure they do not stick their fingers in the light sockets.
I want to help them with their learning skills so when they start school they will already be equipped with some skills they have learned from their time at home with me.
I think that is what separates a good nanny from a babysitter who just comes and sits on the couch all day with the T.V. on.
Anonymous
06/03/2014 22:12
Subject: please advise
11:25's list sounds great.
Anonymous
06/03/2014 21:05
Subject: Re:please advise
I was a preschool teacher before I became a nanny and I still see myself as a teacher. I have lesson plans, activities and outings scheduled for my charges and teach from the moment I get there until the moment I leave. Today, at the grocery store, we did sets and categories (fruits, vegetables dairy, etc and subsets with categories), then we named all the trees on a walk, then we made a chalk drawing on the sidewalk to make an imaginary path to one of their books and then went in and read the book again...
You get not only what you pay for but also what you want. My employers wanted the kind of teaching I offered and would never think to ask me to do housework unrelated to the children - and I'm well paid.
You get not only what you pay for but also what you want. My employers wanted the kind of teaching I offered and would never think to ask me to do housework unrelated to the children - and I'm well paid.
Anonymous
06/03/2014 19:12
Subject: please advise
My oldest DD is 2.5, the youngest is 13 months. The manny takes them to a different playground each day of the week. He takes them to a few different libraries for story hours (I know on Thursday they're attending a specific library for a zoomobile). She's started ice skating lessons so sometimes he'll take her to the rink for public skating while the younger one naps. He takes them both to the pool regularly when it's warm, in bad weather he'll bake with the older one, sand/water table, during the baby's nap he'll take the older one to the driveway and she'll play with colored chalk with him, bubbles, tricycle, water-color painting, etc.
Anonymous
06/03/2014 17:10
Subject: please advise
Thank you very much for your helpful comments !
Anonymous
06/03/2014 14:01
Subject: please advise
When I have had charges that age, we had a routine of going on an outig every morning. Once a week grocery trip, once a week was errands, once a week was a park or hike, once a week was a museum and once a week was a sort of wildcard day--playdate, concert, etc.
We'd get up and ready, go out, come home for lunch and nap/rest time, then in the afternoon they would either work on a project (bubbles, playdough, art) on days we did an errand or shopping for our outing or they'd "help" me with housework on days they did a kid-centric morning outing. And Friday night they always helped me make dinner.
Late-afternoon, we'd wrap up what we were doing, get the house tidied up, and would get out a few books or other quiet activities to do until the parents got home.
I am another one who thinks that learning through play or through work is better at this age than trying to do a forced intellectual activity.
We would work on skills like one to one correspondence by matching socks as we folded laundry. We would work on colors by going to a art museum and talking about what we saw. We would work on a letter recognition by giving them a list of what we needed to buy at the grocery store and having them help me match the beginning letter of each word to the item as we put it in the cart.
We'd get up and ready, go out, come home for lunch and nap/rest time, then in the afternoon they would either work on a project (bubbles, playdough, art) on days we did an errand or shopping for our outing or they'd "help" me with housework on days they did a kid-centric morning outing. And Friday night they always helped me make dinner.
Late-afternoon, we'd wrap up what we were doing, get the house tidied up, and would get out a few books or other quiet activities to do until the parents got home.
I am another one who thinks that learning through play or through work is better at this age than trying to do a forced intellectual activity.
We would work on skills like one to one correspondence by matching socks as we folded laundry. We would work on colors by going to a art museum and talking about what we saw. We would work on a letter recognition by giving them a list of what we needed to buy at the grocery store and having them help me match the beginning letter of each word to the item as we put it in the cart.
Anonymous
06/03/2014 12:48
Subject: Re:please advise
My charges are 3 1/2 and then 18 month old twins. We have free play in the morning, outside play during snack time, reading time before naps and then usually craft time after naps/late afternoon. We also have 1-2 fun trips a week to the playground, zoo or aquarium but we do go on a walk pretty much every day as long as the weather is nice.
Anonymous
06/03/2014 12:39
Subject: please advise
Anonymous wrote:Mother of 2.5 yr old twins here.
I don't really worry about "TEACHING" happening with my kids. They'll go to preschool and school eventually and will get plenty of organized instruction there. I expect our nanny to keep our kids active, entertained, challenged, clean, well-fed and safe.
The teaching I care about, happens as a result of play and daily activities. Our nanny is teaching them to clean up after themselves, to have decent table manners, to take turns, to not run into the road, to put their laundry in the basket, to clean up spills, to sweep, etc... For fun she takes them on excursions, has playdates w/ other nannies and kids in the area, plays music and sings/dances with them, plays w/ crayons/playdough/bubbles/blocks/etc...
I want my kids to have fun, to be exposed to new things, and to learn basic rules of behavior and interaction. I'm not worried about them having any sort of scheduled learning time at this stage.
I have a hunch I might fall more towards the laid-back approach on the spectrum of concern about these issues so you might have a different level of expectation.
I am a nanny of 2.5 y/o twins and I fit this description to a tee.
The important thing is that your nanny is able to carry out and supportive of your parenting preferences, not so much what other parents do.
Anonymous
06/03/2014 12:23
Subject: please advise
Mother of 2.5 yr old twins here.
I don't really worry about "TEACHING" happening with my kids. They'll go to preschool and school eventually and will get plenty of organized instruction there. I expect our nanny to keep our kids active, entertained, challenged, clean, well-fed and safe.
The teaching I care about, happens as a result of play and daily activities. Our nanny is teaching them to clean up after themselves, to have decent table manners, to take turns, to not run into the road, to put their laundry in the basket, to clean up spills, to sweep, etc... For fun she takes them on excursions, has playdates w/ other nannies and kids in the area, plays music and sings/dances with them, plays w/ crayons/playdough/bubbles/blocks/etc...
I want my kids to have fun, to be exposed to new things, and to learn basic rules of behavior and interaction. I'm not worried about them having any sort of scheduled learning time at this stage.
I have a hunch I might fall more towards the laid-back approach on the spectrum of concern about these issues so you might have a different level of expectation.
The important thing is that your nanny is able to carry out and supportive of your parenting preferences, not so much what other parents do.
I don't really worry about "TEACHING" happening with my kids. They'll go to preschool and school eventually and will get plenty of organized instruction there. I expect our nanny to keep our kids active, entertained, challenged, clean, well-fed and safe.
The teaching I care about, happens as a result of play and daily activities. Our nanny is teaching them to clean up after themselves, to have decent table manners, to take turns, to not run into the road, to put their laundry in the basket, to clean up spills, to sweep, etc... For fun she takes them on excursions, has playdates w/ other nannies and kids in the area, plays music and sings/dances with them, plays w/ crayons/playdough/bubbles/blocks/etc...
I want my kids to have fun, to be exposed to new things, and to learn basic rules of behavior and interaction. I'm not worried about them having any sort of scheduled learning time at this stage.
I have a hunch I might fall more towards the laid-back approach on the spectrum of concern about these issues so you might have a different level of expectation.
The important thing is that your nanny is able to carry out and supportive of your parenting preferences, not so much what other parents do.
Anonymous
06/03/2014 12:19
Subject: please advise
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:You hired a babysitter, not a nanny. You have to leave daily instructions. Maybe she'll follow them.
Where did you find her?
MB here - not sure this is the most helpful reply.
Some nannies do need more guidance re the kinds of activities you want them to do with your kids. Having a written contract with clearly set out expectations can help with this, but I would also recommend providing some books that give ideas for crafts etc such as the Toddler's Busy Book, as well as making sure that there are crafts and educational materials available. You could give your nanny some money to go with your DC to the store to buy some craft supplies. You can also ask her to explore what programmes are available locally, or you can choose some that you want her to take your DC to. We had a nanny who was great with managing the kids' behaviour and had many other positive attributes but she rarely took the initiative to do crafts or take them to new activities unless I pushed it. Different nannies emphasise different things - some may be more helpful with running the household, cooking great meals for the kids, some may focus more on child development ... it's hard to have it all.
Sorry, what I meant was that the PP reply wasn't too helpful. Not that I thought my reply wasn't helpful. Argh!
Anonymous
06/03/2014 12:18
Subject: please advise
Anonymous wrote:You hired a babysitter, not a nanny. You have to leave daily instructions. Maybe she'll follow them.
Where did you find her?
MB here - not sure this is the most helpful reply.
Some nannies do need more guidance re the kinds of activities you want them to do with your kids. Having a written contract with clearly set out expectations can help with this, but I would also recommend providing some books that give ideas for crafts etc such as the Toddler's Busy Book, as well as making sure that there are crafts and educational materials available. You could give your nanny some money to go with your DC to the store to buy some craft supplies. You can also ask her to explore what programmes are available locally, or you can choose some that you want her to take your DC to. We had a nanny who was great with managing the kids' behaviour and had many other positive attributes but she rarely took the initiative to do crafts or take them to new activities unless I pushed it. Different nannies emphasise different things - some may be more helpful with running the household, cooking great meals for the kids, some may focus more on child development ... it's hard to have it all.
Anonymous
06/03/2014 11:29
Subject: please advise
You hired a babysitter, not a nanny. You have to leave daily instructions. Maybe she'll follow them.
Where did you find her?
Where did you find her?
Anonymous
06/03/2014 11:25
Subject: please advise
Every day with my charges includes some reading, some music, some physical activity and time outside, some self care task or chore, and an educational activity.
By self care or chore I mean they may help me fold laundry, make lunch, practice washing hands, cleaning their room, or dressing themselves. I don't expect it all every day, but we do work toward those skills all the time.
We take a morning walk daily where we talk about the trees and flowers and bugs. We have a weekly outing to a museum, art gallery, zoo, or puppet show. We also go to story time each week.
As far as educational activities, I weave things like that into our daily conversations and walks, but we have dedicated time where we may work on shapes, colors, animals, etc. with a craft, a song, drawing on the chalkboard, puzzles, etc. this is maybe 30 minutes max or until they are bored. We aren't sitting and doing flash cards or workbooks all day. I prefer to teach them by being out and living life.
By self care or chore I mean they may help me fold laundry, make lunch, practice washing hands, cleaning their room, or dressing themselves. I don't expect it all every day, but we do work toward those skills all the time.
We take a morning walk daily where we talk about the trees and flowers and bugs. We have a weekly outing to a museum, art gallery, zoo, or puppet show. We also go to story time each week.
As far as educational activities, I weave things like that into our daily conversations and walks, but we have dedicated time where we may work on shapes, colors, animals, etc. with a craft, a song, drawing on the chalkboard, puzzles, etc. this is maybe 30 minutes max or until they are bored. We aren't sitting and doing flash cards or workbooks all day. I prefer to teach them by being out and living life.
Anonymous
06/03/2014 11:14
Subject: please advise
Moms,
What do you expect from nannies to do with your 2-3 year old kids? What kind of activities during the day? Is "teaching" part of their job?
Nannies, what do you do with toddlers every day? Except some trips to a park or zoo.
I have an impression that our nanny is not creative enough.
Thanks for your time !
What do you expect from nannies to do with your 2-3 year old kids? What kind of activities during the day? Is "teaching" part of their job?
Nannies, what do you do with toddlers every day? Except some trips to a park or zoo.
I have an impression that our nanny is not creative enough.
Thanks for your time !