Tess

I love working with children because they remind us as adults to slow down, be ourselves, prioritise our basic human needs and to look at the world with fresh eyes that see the wonder, awe and beauty that can be found by simply being alive. I also completely understand the flip side of childhood, which is one of the most vulnerable times in a person's life where total dependence is placed on trusted adults to care for their basic needs, and I get it; for you as parents, the worries you have for the safety and well-being of your children can feel endless in the fast evolution of the modern world. That's where I come into the picture. I am beyond passionate about preserving children's right to a childhood where they are given patience, presence, time to grow at their own pace and attentive care that anticipates their needs. I see this industry as my work in this world, to carry some of the childcare load for you, to be a reliable member of your families 'village'. My name is Tess, I'm a qualified Nanny since 2018 and I completed my Level 4 ECE Home Educator training in 2019, I'm experienced with infants, toddlers, young children, including twin households and a range of families from diverse cultural backgrounds, with differing neurodiversity needs, as well as personally, I have a lot of recent experience supporting my husbands family with our niece who has a rare developmental condition that requires a higher level of understanding and adaptive support. I believe that no one knows your child better than YOU, but I can offer a second set of hands to give you a break to focus on your work in the world and I am genuinely interested in the quality of care your child receives to ensure they have the best foundation from which to grow into healthy, secure, thriving adults.

My husband Matt and I have owned our home in Halswell since 2019. Our house is within walking distance to Westlake park where there is a playground with swings, slides and play equipment, a lot of open grassy areas for running around, lakes with a bush area to walk around and lots of wildlife nearby. We have a small grassy outdoor space and a fully fenced section with a mix of garden area with concrete which can be used for activities like water play, messy play, chalk painting, riding on tricycles. I aim to put together the garden space over time to have more and more fun activities outside and I will use a range of toy rotations to keep the play exciting and new for your children every week. We have pets in our home: two cats and two dogs. Your children will have ample opportunity to benefit from the wonderful affection that can be enjoyed as part of interaction with our pet friends in the home, but I can reassure you that the pets have their zones in the house where they can be separated from the children via gates both inside and outside, so everyone can co-exist without interrupting each others flow and play, it will also be a good learning resource to practice pet interactions for children learning to interact safely with animals. My house will be your child's cosy home-away-from-home where there are lots of different spaces both for quiet time, sleep time and meal times, to play time of various modalities.

I play guitar and sing, so you can trust there will be music and dancing. As a hobby as well as a learning tool, I love to get stuck into a good book, so you can expect your children will enjoy being read aloud to for story time as an important part of every single day; it's so good for their learning, vocabulary, imagination building, sense of calm, sleepiness and comfort of routine. I see so much value in getting outside in nature as much as possible, any kind of weather, to the beach or park, or in the garden, which we can do regularly together whether it's to feel the warmth of the sun or to splash in the puddles. I am currently building a portfolio of really cool resources to plan toy rotations for your children, anything from messy play with water, mud, sand, bubbles, paints, chalk, drawing, sensory play, tons of books, tricycles, cars, dolls, a comfy cosy quiet time reading area, homemade play dough, baking, storytelling baskets, little kitchen or grocery play areas, dolls, trucks as well as seasonal activities to learn about the world and culture - whatever your child's interest is, there will be a Pinterest post that I'm going to find, recreate, make or source for them to create something they can play with to extend their imagination and learning. I don't have children of my own in the house yet, but I've been collecting my favourite children's books, toys and learning resources for years, and will continue to seek out the best kids books (resources) I can find!

We get stuck into anything from story time at the library to play groups in the community, local farms, museums, playgrounds, the beach. I'm open to you as the parents, to suggest activities based on your child's specific needs and preferences.

My childcare philosophy is built from understanding of by the work of famous physician Gabor Mate in his reflections on childhood, Janet Lansbury of Respectful Parenting, Nathan Wallis on the first 1000 days/brain development, Pikler/RIE methodology/Magda Gerber. I'm inspired by gentle reinforcement of behaviours we want to cultivate, understanding what is being communicated underneath the less desirable behaviours, supporting children with their physical and emotional regulation needs, providing children with space for self-directed learning through play, supporting children’s routines daily with consistency as this is what will give them the most energy to explore the world with curiosity and curiosity is at the key to deepening understanding. I’m all about home-based childcare as one of the best ways for under 5s to learn through play as the environment is calm, consistent and warm which naturally keeps the nervous system and therefore the brain and body in a regulatory state. I stand behind the benefits of home-based care of being able to grow up simulating their home environment, having consistent primary caregivers, reducing the over stimulation that occurs in modern child care centres as well as reducing children's exposure to illnesses while still strengthening immunity.

Tess has been thoroughly safety screened by the service. Screening includes identity checks, police vetting, children's worker interview, referee checking and more. The service is confident is Tess's ability to work independently with young children.
Tess holds both the Level 3 and 4 NZ Certificates in ECE.