A warm hello! My name is Rae. I am trained as an AMI Montessori guide for children ages three to six. I have four years of professional nanny experience with infants and children ranging from 18 months to ten years. I am a non-traditional student at Marylhurst University, meaning I’m 26, not straight out of high school. I majored at Texas A&M University in Art Education, trained at the Montessori Institute Northwest in Portland, OR, and am currently attending Marylhurst as I work on my portfolio for art and craft school.

• AMI Montessori trained as a Primary Guide for ages 3-6.
• CPR/First Aid certified with the American Red Cross for infants, children and adults.
• 3 Years of professional experience

Please allow me to encourage the emergence of your child’s true self through facilitation of imitative play and functional independence, the preparation of healthy seasonal-local-organic meals, modeling desired behavior, spending quality time in the natural world. I feel hopeful and excited about practicing attachment-style nannying and teaching homesteading and naturalist skills. I look forward to relieving some of your duties such as children’s laundry, grocery shopping and light cleaning. I am a licensed driver with an excellent driving record and have reliable transportation. I am a devoted biker; I don't own a car so in the past I have used the family car to pick children up from school and take children to OMSI, play dates and other adventures.

At your leisure, read further for my work history and a detailed description of my responsibilities with each family.


Work Experience and Education

As an adolescent, I began caring for children, babysitting my sisters, neighborhood children and family friends. I spent the summer of my junior year of high school as a full time nanny to Trey and Sarah Heath who were four and six (respectively) at the time. I consistently worked in the nursery, Sunday school, vacation Bible school, and summer programs at the church from high school age through college.

From May 2006- September 2007, I worked as a lifeguard at Curry Village Pool in Yosemite National Park, California.

I devoted the academic year of 2008-2009 to studies at the Montessori Institute Northwest on Portland, OR. I did my six month observation and practice teaching at Providence Montessori School.

In October of the same year, I began work part-time with the Spencer family. Days with Sydney (7) and Spencer (2 ½) began when I picked them up from day care and school. Each day, we leisurely walked home through the neighborhood, examining plants, rescuing earthworms in peril and socializing with the neighbors. When we arrived at their home, I prepared a healthy snack, making myself available to Sydney for help with homework and keeping a watchful eye on Spencer as he safely explored and played in the kitchen.
After Sydney finished homework, I reminded her to practice piano and then we played. On fair days, we went outside for exploration; on rainy days, we sometimes stayed indoors. On those days, I facilitated imitative play, created art and craft projects with recycled materials from SCRAP for Sydney, instigated impromptu dance parties, led Yoga and Tai Chi, and led fun clean-up songs to encourage functional independence.
Occasionally, Amanda and Jaime Spencer engaged me for overnights. During these times, I performed all of the functions of a parent including cooking healthy and delicious meals, bathing Spencer, assisting with personal hygiene and putting the lulling the children to sleep with songs and stories. The morning routine would closely mirror the night routine: helping Spencer dress, making a hearty breakfast and playing inside or outside with the two.
I accepted full time work from the Spencers during the summer of 2009. The engagement was temporary as Jaime would begin staying home with Sydney and Spencer in the autumn.

In the spring and early summer of 2010, I temporarily cared for Aero (18 months). With him, I spent full days (9-5) four days a week and occasional nights. On the days we spent together I fed him, went to the park for walks and play, read stories and sang songs. We also went through flashcards when he showed interest and focus.

In spring 2010 I also worked at Tracker’s Northwest as a counselor to four through six year olds. I facilitated outdoor play in Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge, imaginative role playing, matching games and food & medicine preparation. I acted to maintain order and a sense of wonder in a group of 5-10 children through exciting stories, songs and craft projects.

In July, 2010 I was a camp counselor at the Mother Earth School day camps. We followed a Waldorf-inspired curriculum as we led children in unstructured play time in the forest of Tryon Creek State Park. I prepared handcrafts for the children to imitate, created imaginative stories and songs with interwoven analogies of human relationship to Nature and gratefully shared healthy snacks.

I presently work two days a week with Gabby Mansfield (16 months). We like to eat together, put on music and dance, read books while she turns the pages, take walks and look at the “tees”, go through language flashcards and are working on shifting into a secure routine together.

Best wishes in your search! I am happy to provide references upon request.