Maria, au pair in Plymouth PL4

Dear Family,

My interest in working with children arose when I was myself very young; my mother being a primary school teacher meant that I grew up with someone who spent most of her time interacting with children, and this passion rubbed off on me. Once I became old enough, I started volunteering at the school where she works for a few weeks at a time, acting as a teaching assistant, and I also began babysitting, regularly taking care of a four-year old girl for a couple of years before going to university last October. Last summer, I was a live-in nanny (au pair) in Italy, looking after two lovely children aged 2 and 10. Working in Italy was greatly facilitated by the fact that I am bilingual; I am fluent in English and Spanish, and have studied French to GCSE standard.

I have just finished my first year at university and would really like to be a nanny again during the summer. I am currently at Durham University reading Ancient History and Archaeology but my intellectual interests extend further than academia, and I enjoy combining learning and play. I studied classical piano when I was younger, and maintain an active interest in music even though I no longer play, and I love the arts as well, having attended arts school weekly and completed an A-Level in Fine arts. Moreover, growing up near Dartmoor taught me to love the outdoors and as a result, I enjoy outdoor activities and swimming.

Being at university has made me a very independent and responsible individual, and I believe my personal and academic interests, as well as my experience, make me well suited to take care of active and curious children. I’m also enthusiastic in the kitchen and eat a very healthy diet, having quite recently gone vegetarian (although this is not something I would at all impose on anybody else)