FAQ

What ages do you work with?

The majority of my work has been with ages 2-6 via my work as a preschool teacher. I also have aftercare supervision experience with children between kindergarten and 5th grade.

I'm open to working with infants above 5 months, but would want to speak more in detail about your needs and routines.

CPR? AED? First Aid? Epi-pen?

Yes to all, I renew my CPR certification regularly. If your child has particular support needs or health risks, I'm happy to talk more about how to best support them.

What are your rates?

I offer sliding scale $32-50, depending on household income.
$5-10 for each additional child.

If you are interested in options for a nanny share, let's speak more directly so I can have an understanding of what you are looking for.

Meals and snacks?

I want to align with whatever meal routines and habits you are already offering in the home. Your tummy, your rules.

School pick ups? Park visits? Etc.

I'm open to work outside of the home environment. We would not leave the household without your authorization beforehand, other than in an emergency situation. When leaving or otherwise not in the home, I'm happy to offer live location sharing.

If you're looking for a morning to just breathe, work, see friends, be an adult, drink coffee before it gets cold, etc. The simplest childcare would be to do a park drop off + supervision; this is a great option for multiple children too.

Approach?

I dig child led learning and play, scaffolded by adult assistance (and/or enrichment) as needed. The child is the captain of creative exploration and I am their research dept (as well as OSHA code enforcement.)

I encourage independence ("it is hard, and you can do hard things") but always with a backdrop of support. Problem solving starts with sitting with your problem. Mistakes are a path to reassessment. Frustration builds our resevoirs of patience and tolerance (not always as quickly as we wish, haha.) Practicing autonomy and responsibility are right up there beside creativity and kindness.

Being kind and respectful doesn't mean not having boundaries or expectations. When dealing with challenging behavior, I use redirection and offer motivational incentives. Not as in...

"If you give me back my car keys, I'll give you an entire chocolate cake..."

but rather...

"Hey, I know you really want to read your new story before bed tonight. I can do that for you, but we are going to need to brush teeth and get jammies on first."

Wow, you are clearly the best childcare provider in the universe. I'm in! What do I do next?

Thank you, that is very kind of you to say! You better stop, or I'll get a big head. Get in touch and let's arrange a consultation. I'm happy to talk on the phone or videochat. I do suggest meeting in person with your child present to ensure their feeling of comfort with someone new.
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Resources:

Oakland Library - Children's Events and Resources // Berkeley Library - Events // BPL Resources // Alameda County Resource List // Oakland Food Banks// Family Support Services (Childcare) // 'Kids Eat Free' Restaurants

FAQ