Tiny Nation Educator - Bay of Plenty - Nathalie

About Me

Bonjour, my name is Nathalie. I am originally from France and have been living in New Zealand since 2001. I am the proud mum of Laetitia (18) and Isaac (16) who are both working and still living with me in sunny Papamoa. Between 1997 and 2006, I worked as a teacher-aide in various childcares and Primary school in France and all over New Zealand. In 2016 after being a stay-at-home mum for a few years I decided to become an Homebased Childcare Educator and studied towards my Level 4 Certificate in Early Childhood which provided me with more knowledge about children's development and teaching practices

My Philosophy

As a Homebased Educator, I am passionate about creating positive, respectful, nurturing and responsive relationships with all children in my care and supporting them in becoming secured and confident in their new environment. I strongly believe that a secured attachment is paramount on how well the children will transition, settle, learn and develop. By having routines similar to the ones at home, infants and toddlers will find it easier to settle and will gradually feel a strong sense of belonging to their new environment. I found routines so important in creating a bond between infants/children and myself. By having unhurried, familiar, relaxed and caring routines, infants will develop a positive attitude towards eating sleeping and toileting. They will learn to trust me and this will make minor transitions much easier. Regular routines will also support children in becoming independent and acquiring self-care skills

I believe that parents are the child's first teacher. Developing respectful, trusting positive relationships with the families/whanau is another important aspect of my service. Through communication with families, I like to promote an environment that respect each child's identity, culture, language, beliefs and traditions to support them in feeling empowered and valued. By working in partnership with the families and involving them in their child's learning, I believe that children's wellbeing, learning and development will be enhanced . I also love connecting with families during the day (specially at the start of care) sending them pictures and videos of their children having fun playing, reaching milestones, sleeping....A great way to create a positive, trustful and respectful relationship with the child's whanau.

I also personally strongly believe in the use of positive guidance to enhance children's learning and to support them in acquiring skills to deal with personal challenges such as social skills, toilet training or self regulating emotions. By giving tools to children to behave in a healthy, positive and respectful manner, children will be able to express their opinions, thoughts and feelings to their peers and adults. By understanding children's development and using a gentle and respectful approach to encourage positive behaviours, I will nurture children's emotional wellbeing while helping them in developing an understanding of appropriate behaviours.

My Environment

Every day, I like to set up the area with activities according to the children's interests making it easier for the children to settle during arrivals. Through PLAY children can learn and develop to their full potential in all dimensions of their development. Play has a crucial role in children's holistic development. By setting up a rich and stimulating environment with resources that encourages children to explore, wonder, question and learn at their own pace, I am supporting children in extending their interests, creativity, communication, strengths, culture and giving them opportunities to develop to their full potential in all areas of their development.

I have an outdoor messy play area where children can explore freely without too many restrictions, make mistakes, and get messy through active exploration. The children always seemed so focused and engaged with these type of activities (painting, mud, water, gloop, clay...) The beach is one of our favourite place to visit and explore with so much learning happening from paddling in the giant puddles in summer, to looking for jumping bugs, making fairy gardens, flying kites, climbing and jumping off logs, making volcanoes, blowing bubbles, singing, reading books. I also like to provide activities that encourage curiosity, cognitive development, problem solving and real life skills such as baking, gardening, fixing things, washing the car....and tidying up 😊 And of course lots of reading, music and singing! The best way to bond and connect with children while offering them the opportunity to develop their literary, numeracy and cognitive skills.