About me

I grew up in Rossville, Georgia, a small town just outside of Chattanooga, Tennessee as the youngest of three children. Growing up in a rural community, I developed a deep love of the outdoors and spent my free time exploring in the woods by my house and creating imaginary worlds with my friends. My parents were both educators, and instilled in me a love of reading, education, and travel. I grew up surrounded by animals, books, art, and a tight-knit community. After high school, I moved to Chicago to pursue a degree and expand my opportunities and worldview. While in Chicago I developed my appreciation for the arts by playing accordion and singing in a folk band, and spent as much time as I could hiking and camping around the Midwest. I graduated from Loyola University Chicago in 2012 with a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology. Throughout high school and college, I worked various babysitting jobs, and began my professional nanny career immediately after graduation from Loyola.

Since 2012, I have nannied for seven families in the Chicago and Baltimore areas. I also worked as one of two lead teachers in the Older Infant Room at For Your Child Preschool in Chicago. I have professional experience working with children between the ages of 6 months and 9 years, with the majority of my experience centering around infant to preschool ages. My first nanny position allowed me to care for an 8 month old baby and his 3 year old sister, where I was responsible for day to day care including feeding/cooking, cleaning, organizing activities and outings, school pickup, and transportation to and from extracurricular activities. After that, I worked as the nanny for an 18 month old where my main responsibility was to teach him English as a third language in addition to maintaining his daily schedule including feedings, participating in swimming lessons, and working with the parents to develop age appropriate activities. Following that position, I cared for two boys who were 3 and 5 when I started. I assisted the parents with school pickup and drop-off, organized play dates, helped care for the family dog, maintained the organization of the children’s rooms and shared spaces, and often ran errands and did grocery shopping for the family. My next position was as a lead teacher at For Your Child Preschool. My co-teacher and I were responsible for the care of up to 9 children between the ages of 6 and 15 months as well as the supervision and delegation of 3 assistant teachers. As a lead teacher, I was in charge of crafting weekly lesson plans and monthly newsletters, writing developmental reports for parents, overseeing individualized therapy sessions, and communication with parents on a daily basis. After leaving FYC Preschool and moving to Baltimore, I began nannying for a family with a 2 and 5 year old. As with other jobs, I was responsible for day to day care that included cooking, laundry, school pickups, organizing outings and playdates, and developing activities to encourage development.

In my most recent roles, I worked short term for a family with one 8 month old child while the parents transitioned from parental leave to daycare. My responsibilities included implementing the transition from bottles to solid foods, developing a daily schedule, creating developmentally appropriate activities, and assisting with housework. My next position was also as a short term nanny for an 8 month old. Other than being responsible for day to day care, I also lived with the family for two weeks when they moved from Baltimore to Pittsburgh in order to aid in the baby’s transition and provide a sense of comfort. Following that job, I have been fortunate to spend the past 2 1/2 years working for a family with 2 children, ages 18 months and 3 years at the start. For the duration of this job, I was responsible for feeding/cooking, household maintenance including cleaning and laundry, scheduling daily activities, school pickup, and organizing and implementing age appropriate activities to aid in proper development. I traveled with the family on vacations for the last 2 summers, and had a large role in caring for the newly adopted family puppy. Having had the opportunity to work with these children longterm was a wonderful experience that allowed me to feel as though I were part of the family. I was able to aid in their language development, impart a love of art and nature, and see them grow into confident and delightful little humans. They both recently started school full time and no longer needed my services, but I have maintained a wonderful relationship with the family. While the needs of every family are different, my varied experience has allowed me to hone my communication and caregiving skills. I feel uniquely qualified in my ability to act effectively as a responsible, reliable and fun caregiver.

Over the years I have supplemented my work experience with various forms of independent education. I have been CPR/First Aid certified since 2015, and have used those skills to tend to everything from normal bumps and scrapes to using the Heimlich maneuver on a choking infant. Additionally, I have obtained certificates in Infant and Toddler Care and Childhood Growth and Development from Howard Community College in Baltimore. The knowledge obtained from these courses allows me to develop age appropriate activities for children, and assess and aid in the achievement of developmental milestones. When caring for children, I place a large emphasis on language usage and development. I am familiar and comfortable with the practice of infant sign language, and have had great success in helping young children learn to communicate with their caregivers. I believe that communication is one of the greatest tools we have as humans, and is often one of the biggest sources of frustration for young children. I focus on helping children put words to their feelings, needs, and wants so that they are able to more confidently navigate the world.

Outside of work, my favorite hobbies are reading, hiking, yoga, and playing/singing music. One of my favorite parts of nannying is helping to foster a love of books, the arts, and the outdoors with the children I care for. With each childcare job I have been lucky enough to have, I have found that my love for children has increased exponentially. Each age brings with it new challenges, new opportunities for fun and learning, and my increased desire to help foster positive growth with future generations. I pride myself on being able to connect with children of any age, allowing them to feel comfortable, safe, and secure, all while having fun and exploring the world around them. I believe that at their core, children want to have their feelings validated and to feel accepted for who they are. Through my years of experience, I have developed the attitude and tools necessary to create a positive and enriching environment in which children feel free to explore their feelings in a safe way. I truly enjoy building relationships with children and their families, and find all of the challenges and excitement of childcare to be wonderfully enriching experiences.