Babysitter Available in Portland, OR: Sofia F.

$16 - $18/hr

10+ years of paid experience

A little bit about me

Hey there! My name is Sofia, I just graduated from Bard College with a degree in Theater & Performance with a focus on childcare. I have spent 10+ years of my life working with littles, I think they are truly the coolest! I use a kid-first approach and make a point to tailor my care to the needs of the child and their family. I think the most important thing a care-provider can do is respect and engage with the unique individual they are looking after. I have a lot of experience in nature-based care and imaginative play. I also have experience as an Inclusion Specialist and activities coordinator. I am full of energy and compassion, and ready to have a rewarding summer with you and your's!

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Looking For

Availability

Start: TBD

Full-time

Part-time

Occasional work

Live-in

Age Groups

Infants

Toddlers

Preschoolers

Grade-schoolers

How often do you need a babysitter?

Full-Time Part-Time

Qualifications

Certifications

Driver’s License

CPR

First Aid

Other

Car

Light housekeeping

Meal prep

Special needs

Work Experience

10+ years of experience caring for:

Infants (0-11 months)

Toddlers (1-3 years)

Preschoolers (4-9 years)

Grade-schoolers (10-12 years)

More About Me

Relevant experience where I also cared for children were...

I have worked with kids in so many different capacities! Most recently, I was the co-lead teacher at a nature based preschool in Austin, TX for 18-24 month olds for about 4 years. I am originally from Upstate New York so nature has always been a huge part of my childcare practice. While attending college in the Hudson Valley, NY I worked as a full-time nanny to a 12 month old and a 3 year old. In addition to working with toddlers, I spent my first 10 years in the workforce working as a counselor, arts specialist, division leader and inclusion specialist at sleep-away and day camps near my hometown in Upstate New York. In these roles I worked with campers ages 5 through 13. As a counselor I adapted to a variety of specialty programs for visual arts, theater, gaming technology and robotics. Both of these camps were Inclusion camps, where I ultimately served as an Inclusion specialist, devising individualized plans and strategies to help make summer successful for every camper.

Activities I enjoy doing with children...

I love finding creative ways to tailor my activities to the unique interests of my kiddos! I think supportive, celebratory engagement is so important. I specifically love nature based fun, and sustainable creative projects. I think it is crucial to foster curiosity and a love of learning in children. I have found a lot of creative ways to integrate developmentally appropriate skill-growth into super fun games and projects. I want every activity to bolster the child's confidence, and empower them to be a thoughtful, kind, and self-assured participant in their world. I think it's really important to let the kid "lead the day" - I want my littles to trust themselves and take charge. It's my job to adapt my approach to how they want to engage with any given activity so as not to limit their creativity and to model flexibility for them.

The most important part about being a nanny...

As a child, Mary Poppins was my favorite movie I watched it whenever I was sad (as a big-feelings-kid this was pretty often). I think my love for this movie has really informed my childcare practice. Mary Poppins has her "magic bag" of activities, tricks, books, and techniques. She has a set of skills developed over years of experience. But before she even opens that "bag" she looks around her. Mary sees who the children are, and what their behaviors and words tell her about what they need. Then she uses her personal toolkit to meet those needs. She meets the children where they are at with respect and care. She provides her children with tools for empowerment, and then let's them lead - so that by the end of the film, they don't need her anymore. I think a nanny's role is to help the kids in their care practice navigating their world in a supportive and warm way.

My experience with special needs children...

As an Inclusion Camp Counselor & Specialist, I've worked with children managing PTSD, anxiety, and all across the autism spectrum. In these roles it's my goal to make summer camp successful for every, single child. I learned at an early age the importance of adjusting my plans as a care-provider to the needs of each individual kid. I have a lot of experience specifically working with children on the spectrum ages 6 to 12. I've served as a one-on-one aid, I've devised individualized need-informed plans to help support campers & their counselors. I've trained counselors on trauma-informed, psychologically-sensitive behavior management & group care. My approach to childcare has always been "psychology-forward" - a kid who might be considered "challenging" in the traditional childcare sense is a kid who's needs are not being met - as the childcare provider it's my job to figure out what those needs are & find a way to effectively support the kiddo.

The most important part about being a nanny...

As an Inclusion Specialist I worked one on one with Theo, an 8 year old with Aspergers who thought summer camp was "brain washing" and hated everything about it and had frequent sometimes very physical meltdowns about having to be at camp. We became friends through our mutual love of Star Wars. We would sit together and talk about which counselor was like Luke Skywalker, or if the main field was big enough to land the Millennium Falcon. By the end of the summer through patience, empathy and Star Wars Theo was loving camp - so much so that on his final "Thrilling Thursday" (a weekly dress up day) myself, Theo, his fellow campers and his favorite counselors all dressed as Star Wars characters - with Theo being the tiniest, happiest Darth Vader I have ever seen. It meant so much to help Theo love camp in his own way, to help him feel seen.