Debbie M.

Education

Barnard College, Columbia University,
B.A. in Dance (major) and Art History (minor)
09/14-06/16

Professional Childcare Experience

After-School Babysitter
Brooklyn, , 09/18 - Present
Boys, age 4 and 7

Date-night babysitter
Brooklyn, NY, 09/18 - 05/20
One boy age 2

After-School Babysitter
New York, , 09/17 - 06/18
Twins, age 8

Part-Time Nanny
New York, NY, 01/17 - 11/17
One girl, age 21 (diagnosed with Downs Syndrome

Part-Time Babysitter
New York, NY, 09/15 - 08/16
One girl, age 7, and One boy, age 5

Part-Time Babysitter
Brooklyn, NY, 09/11 - 08/13
One girl, age 6

Other Experience

Dance Instructor at Dancewave
Brooklyn, NY, 07/17 - Present

Group Leader at Brooklyn Arts Exchange
Brooklyn, NY, 06/18 - 08/18

Dance Instructor at Kinderdance
Brooklyn, NY, 01/18 - 06/18

Tutor at Bright Kids
New York, NY, 09/17 - 01/18

Dance Teaching Assistant at Mark Morris Dance Center
Brooklyn, NY, 06/15 - 07/17

Residential Assistant at Barnard Pre-College SP
New York, NY, 07/16 - 08/16

Camp Counselor at Sports and Arts in Schools Found
New York, NY, 06/14 - 08/14

About me

As an older sister I was always responsible for looking after my younger brother and his friends. While those early babysitting experiences felt like punishment from my parents, I have since grown to love working with kids as a nanny, tutor, and dance teacher!

Since high school, I've been working with kids of all ages, from toddlers to high school students, in homes, dance studios, summer camps, and after school programs. One of my favorite experiences was working as a Teaching Assistant through Mark Morris Dance Center at the Helen Keller School for preschoolers with visual impairments and physical disabilities. I loved working very closely and hands-on with individual students, and most of all watching them gain more independence and confidence over the course of the school year. In addition to nannying, I currently teach creative movement to 2-5 year olds in public schools, and love to watch them have fun while developing important motor skills. I also coach a young student company of amazing 6-8 year old dancers, creating collaborative dances that they perform at the end of each semester. My passion for childcare comes from my love of creativity and curiosity, which I believe is so important to explore and cultivate in children. My sense of patience and intuition has enabled me to work closely with children with different kinds of needs and abilities.

Since I myself love to move, I enjoy doing movement-based activities with kids such as freeze-dance or dance composition, as well as hands-on activities like crafts or baking. I believe its important to keep kids' minds and bodies active and moving through creative games. I also enjoy board games like Clue and Scrabble, as well as card games, which are great opportunities to teach kids patience and how to plan/strategize. As a tutor, I enjoy helping kids with homework, working with kids individually with writing help, and making up math games to sneak in extra learning!

My most important priority with kids is of course their safety and security. I have lots of experience traveling with kids on public transportation around NYC. In addition, I've been vegetarian for 10 years and have a strong understanding of good nutrition as well as different kinds of food allergies. Above all else, I always encourage kids to treat each other with kindness and to be patient with themselves and others.


I have professional child care experience with...

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    Infants
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    Toddlers
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    Preschoolers
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    School-aged (K-5)
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    Preteen
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    Teenagers
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    Twins
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    Special Needs

In 5 years, I hope to be...

I hope to be working towards a degree as a licensed Dance Movement Therapist (DMT), working with kids with special needs and elderly folks. I also hope to continue teaching dance to kids, performing, and choreographing!

Activities & skills I love to teach & share with children...

Dance, arts and crafts, reading/writing tutoring, baking, crochet!