Cara
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About Me
Hi my name is Cara and I am married to Richard. We have 3 amazing children, Chloe, Michael and Timmy. We live in Mangatawhiri on just over 2 acres with our 4 miniature schnauzer dogs Poppy, Jess, Belle and Phoebe; our sheep, goat, cow and now alpacas! I have been working in the education and childcare sector for most of my life starting with babysitting and nannying as a teen and while completing my degree. I am a qualified primary school teacher and have worked in several different schools. I also worked in an ECE centre before moving to Home Based Care with Stems from Home in 2013. We moved to Pokeno in 2015 and I nannied for a lovely family with 1 year old twins for some time. Following this I went back into schools and have taught and relieved at many of the local schools for 3 years until Stems decided to expand here in 2020!
We are often out on the farm on the weekends and enjoy being out in nature playing or working with the animals. I breed Miniature Schnauzers and have a separate area for this which has easy access for the children to enjoy spending time with the puppies. The rest of the time I will most likely be reading (often audio books) knitting, sewing or scrapbooking – although I don’t get as much time for these as I would like! I believe in having an inclusive and inviting home where everyone is accepted for who they are. I work with families to support home routines and have a seamless home/care partnership where children can meet their full potential.
Weekly Play Experiences
I love welcoming children into our home which is well set up for children with many different toys. I enjoy helping to nurture and grow them into inquisitive and confident learners by introducing them to varied experiences that help them understand the world we live in and their place in it. By following the children’s interests we engage in pretend play, dressing up, role play, play dough, problem solving toys and sensory play both indoors and out! Reading is one of the things I am very passionate about and I read with the children often throughout the day. We try to have real life experiences along with our play and to get out and about in the community utilising the library groups and events at least once a week.
Stems FROM HOME Programme
Stems FROM HOME run a weekly programme of programmed events, community outings and group experiences. All of our Educators and whānau are welcome to attend. For our Educators based in the Franklin district and beyond this includes weekly Playgym session in Pukekohe, and fortnightly music and movement sessions in Pokeno. We also meet up for Kaititiro Whenua (community explorers) outings and do workshops for the children at Bunnings Takanini. All information is shared in our term flyer.
House Keeping
* First Aid/Civil Defence Kit * Cot/bed * Highchair * Car seats
* Personal linen and hand towels
* A quiet home environment, in which children are able to have really good naps (if needed). If your child has a dummy or security object for sleep time, please send these inside their bag.
* Programme planning and monthly learning stories about your child’s individual learning and development, by using Educa (online portfolios).
* A change of clothes as we like to fully experience everything we do!
* A hat and sunblock in summertime. Please apply sun block to your child in the morning and I will reapply during the day.
* Gumboots and a raincoat for the rainy months
* Sufficient nappies, wipes/cream, bibs, and feeding bottles
* A healthy packed lunchbox and a water bottle
Please remember to bring along your child’s Stems Journal. These
are a useful communication tool for sharing daily entries about your
child’s day, care routines, happenings and up-coming events).
