About me

My name is Marlee and I am originally from Texas, although I love to claim my new status as a New Yorker when I meet new people! I have been keeping children since I was 12, so most of my life, and I absolutely love working with kids! I am expecting my first niece in July, my eldest brothers’ daughter, and I cannot wait to spoil her. In fact, my entire family; myself, my mom, my stepdad, my younger sister, and my two older brothers, is very close-knit. I look forward to spending time with them at every opportunity, especially now that my siblings are having children of their own! I moved to NYC in 2018 to attend the American Musical and Dramatic Academy, and since finishing in February I have been searching for fulltime work as well as spending lots of time with my dog, Athena. I am going back to school online this June to pursue a degree in business and entrepreneurship, which will help me organize myself as a business in childcare.
   
My childcare experience is pretty extensive, starting as a full-time nanny for the summer months between school at just 12 years old! At that point I was already keeping three children, 2, 6, and 8, full time during the summer breaks. In this position I would prep meals and feed the, prep bottles for the baby, play games, help with light housework, and keep consistent correspondences with the mother throughout the day. Since then I have held some type of full time childcare position every summer until I moved to NYC, and acted as a babysitter, tutor, and teaching assistant during the school year. My longest position was ongoing for 5 years. During this time, I was the family’s only sitter, keeping their daughter from 14 months to almost 6 years old, as well as her younger brother when he was born. With the daughter I played games, helped with schoolwork, cooked meals, transported her to after school activities, and overall acted as a big sister to whom she still frequently comes to for advice. I genuinely still consider her to be one of my very best friends, and I am honored that she looks up to me and values my opinion. When her brother was born, I would occasionally keep him for extended periods, 5+ days, while the family went on trips he wasn’t old enough to attend. I made his bottles (breast milk and formula), changed his diapers, read him books, gave him baths, enriched his learning, and put him to sleep at night.
   
My most recent job was a full-time position with two boys, ages 16 months and 2 when I started and 3 and almost 5 when I left. I worked with the family 50+ hours a week, keeping the kids entertained, cooking their meals, taking them on outings, teaching them relevant information, playing outside, taking care of the family dog, and scheduling appointments for the kids. The kids and I frequently went to the local park and waterpark to play during the day, as well as outings to get lunch with the mom and to visit family members. I was very close with the children, even taking care of them overnights and when they were ill. I have held countless babysitting positions with various families, keeping children from infancy to middle school. I briefly worked with a family who had one child, aged 5, who had down-syndrome, autism, and was completely non-verbal. This role was difficult as he could not communicate with me, but we managed to play games, he loved video games, and form a friendship regardless.
   
During the school years when I couldn’t work full-time, I worked as a teaching assistant in a kindergarten classroom and as a tutor. As a teacher’s assistant I would plan lessons, help students with learning disabilities, lead activities and warm-ups, lead crafts, teach lessons, and otherwise assist the teacher with her daily tasks. This position included working very closely with children with various disabilities including ODD, ADHD, and children on the spectrum. I would take personal time every day with these students to assist them in completing their work in a timely manner to the best of their ability or assist in reviewing content they may not have fully grasped. This role was particularly fun as I took over the morning warm-up block, and got to create games, pick books, and teach new concepts like letters every week. As a tutor I worked with middle-school aged students once a week to complete homework, review concepts, and prepare for tests. In this role I had to be very creative in order to help each students’ specific needs, and often created games or activities to teach lessons they had a hard time grasping. One student in particular, aged 12, had a hard time learning at a desk, so we did all of his tutoring sessions outside playing basketball. We would use basketball as a means to remember spelling words and the multiplication table. It is very important to me to create a safe environment around children I see regularly, I want them to view me as a friend and mentor that they can rely on and trust.
   
Aside from being a childcare provider I am an artist at heart. I studied music for 9 years, playing the trumpet in a wind-ensemble, and continue to work on my singing and piano skills to this day. I love to sketch and paint, primarily in watercolor, and spend a lot of my free time in the park with my dog laying in the sun and creating art. I believe this is apparent in my work, as I am always trying to come up with new ways to keep kids entertained productively and inspire them to create themselves. I also really enjoy the outdoors, especially hiking and white-water rafting. I am not afraid to get dirty and play outside, in fact I love it! My approach to childcare reflects these personality traits, as I tend to be very flexible and creative in what I do. I pride myself in truly understanding every child and working to inspire them in whatever it is they enjoy whether it be sports, art, dance, or robotics. I believe that being a nanny is being a part of a team and working with the parents to provide the best life and environment for their child, and to do that you should love the children as if they are your own family. I continue to pursue this work because I genuinely enjoy doing it and have a deep love for watching children grow. I look forward to hearing from your family very soon!