Nanny Notes

I am Nanny K, in my twenties and a full time nanny. I’ve worked with children nearly half my life, going from babysitter, to nanny, to a teaching assistant, to a toy store clerk, to a toddler teacher, and back as a nanny. Every job has been different, but all have taught me many valuable lessons in childcare. With this blog, I intend to share these lessons, and hope that by doing so, a community might grow here.

[thecreativetoyshop]

We are testing out our new paint rollers and foam letters this afternoon 🎨🖌. In the lead up to school beginning we are focusing on letters and our names again. What is everyone else working on in the lead up to school? #learningthroughplay #messyplay #playmatters #literacy #kindergarten #montessori #montessoriathome #unschooling #homeschool #homeschooling #sensoryplay #kidsactivities #kidscrafts #kidsart #nannylife #teacherlife #preschool #totschool #earlychildhood #specialneeds #specialneedskids #specialeducation #notesfromahomeeducator

[nanny-notes]

Nanny Work Agreement Today’s Date: _________________ Date of Employment: _________________ Nanny Employers Name:____________________________ Address:__________________________ Name:____________________________ Name:____________________________ Work Days Hours Sunday ...

Happy Monday and happy New Year! 

Today was a long day, so I didn’t get the chance to post. So I’m being lazy and just linking you to the work agreement I made. Let me know if there’s anything that needs to be fixed, and let me know if anyone finds it useful! 

[itsthenannylifeforme-deactivate]

Hey guys! What winter and holiday crafts have you done or want to do with your littles?

[caslanian1]

We did bird feeder pine cones! This year it’s a little tricky because there’s no snow here yet and the rain has been washing everything off. But you dip pine cones in peanut butter (or sunbutter like what we used) then roll them in birdseed. Then we just tied a ribbon on it and I let the kids put them on the trees and bushes!

[itsthenannylifeforme-deactivate]

That’s so cute!! We have so many pretty birds here I need to do that with the boys

[caslanian1]

You will definitely need to remind them that bird seed is NOT for humans. I don’t know how many times I said it and my kids still ate the seeds! We’re up in Michigan though so it looks gorgeous when there’s snow and the feeders. Unfortunately this rain ick makes it so the seed washes off the cones!

[itsthenannylifeforme-deactivate]

Hahaha I can see the boys eating the seeds 😂 we are in Georgia it’s still semi warm and raining but since there’s no school (which throws everything off!) this will be perfect for next week!

[nanny-notes]

A loves birds, so this is something I've been meaning to do with her. 

[nanny-notes]

Christmas tree shape collage!

Things you'll need

Construction paper

Glue

Scissors

Crayons (optional)

Shapes to trace (optional)

Set up

Cut out the tree and shapes for children to young to use scissors, and let them glue the shapes down like Christmas tree ornaments! They can also color, add stickers, glitter, or confetti. To get the tree shape, cut out three triangles and glue them over each other in a tree shape.

Age appropriate for toddlers and up

Skills to learn

Fine motor skills

Shape recognition

Color recognition

SUBMIT your activities and art projects to Nanny Notes! To see more, go to my ACTIVITIES AND ART PROJECTS tag!

[hazel-vengence]

Needing some nanny advice

I nanny two kids! A 10 year old girl and an 8 year old boy

The girl and I have made a connection and talk to each other about whatever we want so that’s good

The boy however obviously tolerates me and most times keeps time to how long I’ll be there so I can hurry up and leave.

I feel like I’m always on top of him because he’s a child and a bit irresponsible when it comes to homework! So I tend to constantly remind him to finish his homework

What I need help with is finding a way to connect to the boy so he won’t dislike me so much He’s athletic and hyper but sometimes to the point where it’s out of controls He plays video games and watched tv all the time!!!

Any ideas???

[nanny-notes]

Hi there!

I would suggest asking him what he'd be interested in doing with you! Maybe find some age appropriate comics and read with him, or try anything sporty. I would avoid video games altogether or set up a timer so he knows when it's time to turn them off. If he's a hyper kid, outdoor activities are best. I don't know a kid that age who wouldn't love a nerf gun fight in the backyard. 

[brilliantnannies]

Looking for childcare or looking for a nanny job? We can help: www.brilliantnannies.co.uk Follow us: Instagram + Facebook: Brilliant Nannies - Email: [email protected] #children #childcare #childcarejobs #baby #babies #babysitter #brilliantnannies #parents #jobs #mum #nanny #nannies #nannyjob #nannylife #nannyagency #aupairs #kids #nannyinlondon #nannyhousekeeper #maternitynurse #teddington #richmondnannies #schoolholidays #londonjobs#southwestlondonnannies #londonnannies #richmond #nightnanny

[nanny-notes]

So as a treat for Christmas and as a thank you to any nannies still following me after so long away (thanks! ilu!), here's the link to my nanny binder printouts!

Feel free to download them and use them and send me photos of your awesome binders! And check back in the doc to see if I've added any new ones, since this is an ongoing project! Happy holidays everyone!

[nanny-notes]

I'm back again!

I'm a nanny to a sweet little 16 month old girl, A, and I'm absolutely loving this new job. Three months in and I'm happier here that I was even with AJ!

POSTING SCHEDULE

Mondays: Tips and Resources for nannies

Tuesdays: Activities and Art projects

Wednesdays: Personal Posts

Thursdays: Nanny Confessions

Fridays: Weekly Review

[nanny-notes]

Yeah i saw you're a "regular'' nanny, just found you in the au pair tag lol i've never worked with kids but i love them so i'll try here and see how it goes, in the mean time i'm finding information and paperwork and stuff Where are you from?

Hi there! I know this is from two years ago, but I’m still going to answer it. 

I’m from Washington in the US. I’ve been with my current family for three months now and trying to get back into blogging, so if you’re still interested in asking me questions, I’ll be happy to answer!

[nanny-notes]

Hi, i've been following this blog for a while and it's been a great resource while I was going through some really difficult things at my job. Recently, I got fired from that job. I was caring for a kid from when he was an infant until 3yrs. I went from full time to part time, but mostly full-time. I got pretty attached. His parent always treated me bad, but I stayed around because I was loyal to the kid. Now that i'm fired, I miss him even though I know getting fired was for the best...(CTD)

(CTD)...I got fired over a month ago now, and while i'm not as upset as I was at first (I got fired over asking to be paid for them requiring I stay late one day. basically the parent freaked out that I would "do such a thing") so I know the firing is not my fault, and it was probably for the best since the parent treated me like shit anyways, but I really was attached to that little boy. I was there the first three years of his life and I miss him. How do you get over something like this?

Hey there! I’m so sorry I haven’t logged on in such a long time and left this question hanging. I hope things are going better for you. 

I was off this blog for a while because after I was let go from my job I was too depressed to keep at it at my new one. I just lost that job too, after a year. But now I’m doing amazing at my newest one and I’m so happy.

It really does sound like the best thing for you to have been let go from that job. They sound really toxic and you had absolutely every right to be paid more for staying longer. The laws for paying employees do not change just because you’re a domestic worker, so they were breaking the law when they weren’t paying you for the overtime you worked. 

As for your question: All I can say is, losing someone you love from your life is never easy, even if you were paid to care for him. It takes time to heal. There’s no special solution. From what you told me about his parents, I wouldn’t suggest trying to keep some sort of relationship with the family, it’s best to move on. 

[nanny-notes]

It's always nice to be approached on care.com for a job position. What's not so nice is being offered 100 dollars a day, for four days a week, 11 hours a day, with two children, one of which has special needs. Plus, they want to pay me under the table. /sigh

I just don't know if this job is replaceable. 

[nanny-notes]

How hard would looking after 3 under 3's be?

-Anonymous

Well, mostly it depends on their age ranges. You might be potty training one, feeding one with a spoon and bottle feeding one while one makes a mess using their fingers. Chances are they will all be sleeping on different schedules.

I've never done 3 under 3, but I was a toddler teacher at 7:1. For me, 3 would be absolutely easy simply because of my experience. You need to multi task. You need to be quick and engaging. And mostly you need triple the patients than you would need for an ordinary job.

Though, if one or two of them are infants, you might get a baby that simply sleeps all the time, and that would help. 

Going for the job is really the only way to find out, and gain the experience you need to answer this for yourself next time. Good luck, Anon.

And thanks for the question! 

[nanny-notes]

I'm a terrible Blogger

And I am very sorry for the lack of updates. Life has been thrown into chaos ever since my car broke down at the end of May and I had to buy a new one. From then on, I have been driving AJ everywhere. 

I'm also sad to announce that I've been job searching ever since my employers announced that they put an offer on a house too far for me to drive to and from every day. /big sigh

But, I'm taking college classes online now. It's not from an accredited college, so the certificates I get will only be worth so much (unless I can get a college to accept it-- wish me luck), but I'm working hard and doing what I can with the funds that I have. The best part is, this website is 100% free. If anyone is interested, it's saylor.org. I'm also taking some free child development courses online here. 

I'll try to get some posting done here and there, but I apologize for not being consistent. For now I'll mostly be answering questions in my free time. 

Thanks everyone for sticking with me this far. I hope you're all doing well. 

[nanny-notes]

hey i a new to tumblr would you be interested in spreading the word about my blog

I can do that!  I love doing blog promotions! Welcome to tumblr. (=

[nanny-notes]

so, I'm a nanny for 3 girls, and they frequently pass down clothes. The oldest, K, has no problem with this, but the middle child, R, has thrown extreme tantrums when she sees A (the youngest) wearing something that was formerly hers. These tantrums range from sniffling and whining to full on violently attempting to take the clothes of her sister, which has resulted in A getting hurt a few times. I've tried everything I can think of to calm her down (or stop this behavior altogether) but nothing really works. I've talked to the parents about it, but they're convince it's "just a phase" and won't really address it. I'm truly just at a loss for what to do. Any ideas? 

jealouscakesniffer

I'm assuming the clothes just get sorted to the girl that they fit during laundry when someone realizes they've been out grown. R might just have a tough time letting things go. Perhaps she needs a chance to say goodbye to the clothes first. Give her the chance to wear them one more time. 

You could try letting R give A the clothes herself. You can help her wrap them up like presents and talk about how she's such a big girl and so nice for giving her clothes to her little sister, because it makes A so happy.

You could also make a game out of it. Have them play "Clothing Shop" and give them play money to buy the clothes whenever it comes time to hand things down. It might be best to collect the clothes first before so it's not just one or two shirts. Wait until there's enough for the game. It also gets the clothes out of sight for a bit so she's maybe not quite attached to them anymore. 

I hope my ideas help.

Does anyone else have something to suggest? 

[whatnostopyougoaway-deactivated]

What’s a good pay rate for watching a two/three year old and her little baby brother(going to be three months old when I have him)? Currently I’m just watching the two year old, and I get paid $30 a day when I have her. I’ll be adding her little brother to the schedule come July, and I’m unsure...

[nanny-notes]

I have some resources on my blog that can help. And a link to the care.com nanny pay calculator! 

[nanny-notes]

combating Negative Behavior Part Five:

Over the next few weeks, I will be posting pieces of the essay I wrote on how to handle the negative side of nannying. This is part four. The rest can be found here.

“I Like It!”

Reinforce positive behavior with praise and let your child know you like it! Every time you notice your child doing something good, give them the positive attention they need, so that they don’t look for negative ways to get your attention.

“I like it when you eat all of your peas” can help eliminate your child’s food throwing habit.

“I like it when you put your toys away all by yourself” can teach your child to clean up after themselves.

“I like how you’re playing gently with your friend” can encourage your child to keep their hands to themselves.

“I like your listening ears” when your child does what you ask them to do can keep them wanting to listen.

You can also tell your child when you don’t like something that they are doing. “I don’t like it when you hit me. It makes me sad and it hurts.” Telling them your feelings about their behavior is a great way to teach them about their own emotions.