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I am a wife, a mom of 2 and a qualified teacher. I enjoy spending time with my family, both indoors and out. We enjoy reading, board games and puzzles as well as going for walks, bicycle rides and exploring new areas.
I have always worked with children, ranging in ages from premature newborns through to pre-teens. Throughout my career in childcare and teaching I have explored many avenues of education including working as a nanny, a pre-school teacher, primary school teacher, home-schooling parent and tutor. This has given me a wide variety of experiences in a multitude of different situations as well as working in teams with other professionals and parents, and expanded my view to different curricula and methods of teaching.
My goal as a teacher is to foster an attitude of inquiry and understanding and create a thirst for life-long learning in my students.
At home I love gardening and always end up including gardening or plants into every classroom and family I work with. I enjoy trying new things and challenging myself in the garden.
I have a drivers license and am a confident driver.
I have always worked with children, ranging in ages from premature newborns through to pre-teens. Throughout my career in childcare and teaching I have explored many avenues of education including working as a nanny, a pre-school teacher, primary school teacher, home-schooling parent and tutor. This has given me a wide variety of experiences in a multitude of different situations as well as working in teams with other professionals and parents, and expanded my view to different curricula and methods of teaching.
My goal as a teacher is to foster an attitude of inquiry and understanding and create a thirst for life-long learning in my students.
At home I love gardening and always end up including gardening or plants into every classroom and family I work with. I enjoy trying new things and challenging myself in the garden.
I have a drivers license and am a confident driver.
A poem I wrote many years ago, and is still valid today:
It’s hard to feel professional… It’s hard to feel professional when you’re lying on the floor, Pretending to be an aeroplane or a worm crawling up the wall. It’s hard to feel professional when you’re barefoot in a stream, Discussing with a 2yr old whether fish and birds can dream. It’s hard to feel professional when your life revolves around play, Or teaching how to tie a shoelace for the fifth time in one day. I have to be well organised and keep things up to date, I don’t try to run my bosses’ lives but it feels like that of late! I keep my wits about me, I have to or else I’ll be outwitted, By a toddler or a 4yr old who is determined and committed. My job’s not all fun and games and whimsical distraction, I deal with illness, bumps and bruises, tantrums and infractions It’s not all tea and cupcakes, although they are a perk sometimes, But my life would not be fun at all without these tribulations It’s hard to feel professional when you’re playing in the sandpit, Should you rather build a tower or dig a tunnel for cars – it’s a critical decision. It’s hard to feel professional when I get to swim all day, And visit museums and parks and aquariums or just play It’s hard to feel professional when I’m twirling around the room Or running through the garden, did you see how fast we zoom?! But in my heart and head I know, that everything I do, The playing, teaching, games and outings, playdates and fun, Is giving these children in my care a valuable foundation; On which to build their lives and hopes and dreams And to ensure a sound basis to their formal education. I consider myself professional; I’ve got experience and education, I apply myself diligently and responsibly and take pride in what I do. Many do not approve or agree with my choice of occupation, But this job is my calling, my vocation, and my career I was born to be a nanny and I LOVE each day ‘my kids’ are near. © Sarah Ashwell 2006 |
“The most important period of life is not the age of university studies, but the first one, the period from birth to the age of six. - Maria Montessori |