Valerie V.

Meet Valerie

• Comfortable with pets

I began as a baby-sitter when I was a pre-teen. I always had a knack for children and they gravitated towards me. My grandma was a preschool teacher and I often volunteered at her preschool. I typically watched preschool aged children for friends of my family. I loved it so much I considered making it a career. My grandma was a well of information and working under her guidance as a volunteer teachers aid allowed me to have direct experience in the field and to really see my own skills develop. I really enjoy developing curriculum and I specialize in art, being an artist myself, reading, fun with food, and imaginative play, but mostly I love doing what the children love. I especially enjoy allowing them to challenge themselves, immerse themselves in a particular activity they love and exhaust all my resources to really learn about that one thing they Read more just can't get enough of. For example, building block towers can be fun, but building them outside is even better. Building towers with things besides blocks is really adventurous. The taller they can be the more challenging it is and the more exciting it is for it to fall down. A day of blocks is sometimes exactly what a child needs. Children play to learn and whatever they are playing with are the tools they need to reach that outcome. Practice makes perfect, so over saturation is common and in child development it is ideal. I believe early childhood sets the foundation for the rest of a persons life and by utilizing developmentally appropriate practices I can individualize my care and guidance to allow a child to reach their fullest potential, while having fun. Play appears mundane and useless but it is a child's work, it's how they learn the skills and concepts they need to master in order to thrive. In a supportive and child centered environment a child can explore and play in ways that learning will occur naturally and easily. I studied child development locally at Palomar College and although I hold no certificates I have 19 units in Child Development. I plan to continue my education as soon as possible, but right now I am a stay at home mom of my 10 month old son. Every day is a new adventure for us, I can see first hand that by providing a safe environment for him to explore and play, he is happy, confident and mastering new skills every day. My husband works full time as a preschool teacher and has 4 chdv certificates. In the future, we hope to have our own licensed family child care.

Trust & safety

Experience