About me

Hello families! My name is Mariel and I grew up in the suburbs of Philadelphia and I have two older siblings, a sister and a brother, so I know what it's like to be the youngest child! Although I grew up in the Philadelphia area, I've spent time all over the world. I've lived in Pittsburgh where I attended the University of Pittsburgh and received my anthropology degree, Paris where I taught English, and Manchester (UK) where I obtained my master's in visual anthropology. Since graduating, I balance my creative interests, such as filmmaking and screenwriting, with my passion for childcare.

I have been working with children since I was a child myself (around 12 years old). I started off working as a camp counselor, lifeguard, and neighborhood babysitter. My mother is a preschool teacher so I like to say that working with children is in my blood. In college, I worked at the University's daycare center, where I watched kids ages 2-4. After college, I flew to Paris, France where I was an English language teaching assistant for kids ages 6 to 13. I helped come up with language lessons and kept the students engaged in learning! During this time, I was also a babysitter for an 8-year-old French girl. This was a fun challenge because I had to speak French the entire time! I even provided her with swim lessons. It was fun and educational for us both. In September of 2020, I started working as a nanny for two 8-year-old boys. I worked with them for the entire school year. I made sure they listened during class, helped with their homework, and came up with engaging activities for breaks in their day as well as their days off. Most recently, this past summer I worked as a camp unit leader for Camp Kaleidescope at the JCC Boston. In this position, I managed around 30 camp counselors and aided them in behavior management.

A little bit about myself: I am empathetic, kind, patient, and a good listener. I like to create a warm, nurturing, and open environment for kids to be themselves. I also like to use my background in the arts and filmmaking to come up with exciting activities! I believe my background and experiences greatly inform my childcare work.