Throughout my years of looking after children, I have held various positions in childcare.  I have gone from a close cousin to a professional nanny learning many lessons along the way.  Although, I am currently continuing my education to include child development and child, youth, and family studies, I believe the best education you can get is hands-on experience.  This epiphany came to me while taking care of a family of three children all under the age of 5.  The mother of the family was kind enough to write the following letter of recommendation for me about my time with their adorable family. (For privacy purposes all testimonies will be left as anonymous authors.)

...Nichole is extremely reliable, and makes an effort to communicate with me at the start of each day, at the end of each day, and often during the day with updates on the children.  Nichole arrives to work promptly, and if there is occasion for her to be late or ill, she always makes the effort to call and let us know.  Though she balances two jobs, she has been flexible with staying later when needed, and has kept the well-being of out children at the forefront of her concerns.

When she transitioned to full time care of our infant daughter (starting at 3 months of age), she took extra time to learn the baby's routine before her first day with the baby.  On her own initiative, she also created a daily communication log, which she consistently used on a daily basis to communicate events, feedings, and miscellaneous notes about the baby's care.  Nichole is always very conscientious about the baby's general health and feedings, and I leave home in the morning confident that it is in capable hands.  Nichole is very attentive to child development.  She makes an effort to narrate her day, and routinely thinks creatively about ways to stimulate the baby in an age-appropriate fashion.

Over her time with our family, I have witnessed wonderful growth in Nichole's skills navigating normal childhood boundary challenges.  She is able to redirect our children and keep her sense of humor during the exchange.  She has become very perceptive, and makes an effort to understand patterns of behavior, as well as the underlying root of a given problem, rather than reacting to the specific behavior, itself.  As such, she has grown proficient in identifying consistent "triggers" (such as fatigue, hunger, etc,), and is often able to head potential problems off before they escalate to misbehavior.

Most importantly, our children adore her.  Nichole has very much become an honorary "aunt" to our three children...She plays and imagines with our children, and has taken it upon herself to enrich their experiences.  On her own planning, she has taken the children on field trips to the local fire station, Oxbow Zoo, holiday exhibits, hikes through Quarry Hill, the Quarry Hill Nature Center, the Olmsted County Fair, the public library, and even to the grocery store for "shopping for an after school snack" as a way to start reading numbers, understand the concept of "how much does it cost," and think in an interactive way about making healthy food choices.

I give Nichole Osterman the highest recommendation, as she transitions into a new career path.  She has been nothing short of outstanding....

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