About me

Hello, I’m Sophia. I grew up near the Rocky Mountains of Canada as an older sister. After graduating with a Bachelor's degree I lived and studied in Germany for one year, then earned a Ph.D. in Philosophy at Columbia University. After teaching for 14 years, I observed that college students are deeply impacted by their experiences in early childhood. I decided to pursue my joy in playing with young children while helping them learn foundational habits that will serve them well throughout their lives.

My first long-term babysitting job was with a 3 month old infant. Duties included diapering, feeding, taking him to the park and to the library, helping him establish a regular nap, and potty training. I was honored to care for this kiddo until he was 3 years old and started attending daycare at his parents’ workplace. I worked as a behavior therapist for a 4 year old boy on the autism spectrum in a preschool, and for a 7 year old boy in a school for the gifted. A highlight was supporting a German-speaking 6 year old boy with special needs in his first grade classroom at a bilingual German school.

For one year I was an after-school nanny for a family with a 9-year old girl, 7 year-old girl and a 3-year-old boy with special needs. This job included picking up the girls from school, examining plants and flowers while walking home with them, providing healthy snacks, supervising homework, diapering the 3-year old, giving him a daily bath, and potty training him. I was thrilled to watch him learn to climb stairs, throw and catch a ball, and progress from speaking single words to putting together complete sentences.

I sing in a choir, commute via Citibike, and enjoy powerlifting. I believe that children learn well when they have the freedom to explore their interests within a daily routine that offers a consistent structure and firm boundaries established by adults. Each child grows up with a different mix of gifts and talents. For me this is the wonderful part of working with children!