06 Aug Professional Development For Nannies — Who said it couldn’t be FUN?
I don’t know about you but when I think about professional development — I think fun! As a teacher I spent many an evening or weekend attending professional development workshops and I gained tonnes of insight into new research based practices.
That was one of the greatest parts of being a teacher — continuously learning and fine tuning my teaching methods… spending time reflecting on my practises both alone and with my team.
Attending professional development for nannies is so important because nannies simply do not have many opportunities to connect with other professionals as closely as workers in other industries do. Sure there are playdates, fantastic Facebook groups where advice and experiences can be shared — but real growth comes from learning from one another in a more structured environment.
We are absolutely delighted that our friends Donna and Angela from Back on Track Early Childhood Consultancy have decided to share a personal story with us about a workshop they attended many moons ago as well as provide us with information on one of their upcoming professional development workshops which is targeted at nannies called “Understanding the value and importance of your role as a professional nanny”. Enjoy!
Donna & Angela
How the Back On Track Team almost got asked to leave a professional development workshop…
As most of you know Donna and I are passionate about professional development. Our business Back On Track Early Childhood Professionals is about educating and empowering parents, educators, nannies and anyone else who is involved or cares for children under the age of 6.
But first let me start by telling you a little funny story about a professional development workshop that Donna and I attended a few years ago.
Donna and I have worked together for over 10 years and occasionally we act like an old married couple, one night we attended a storytelling workshop on Sydney’s Lower North Shore, there were a few different presenters all talking about the techniques they use when telling stories to young children, the room was full of fellow educators.
Donna and I arrived after a very hectic day teaching and we had not had dinner (not a good start!).
The presenter stood at the front of the room and tapped two pebbles together and cheerfully said “Ching Ching” and then proceeded to tell her story.
NOW this is where the story gets interesting Donna and I got the giggles….imagine the room is quiet, we are surrounded by fellow PROFESSIONAL educators and we were GIGGLING like two naughty school girls, tears running down our face, bodies jerking while we try to stifle our giggles, both of us thinking how old are we and trying not to look at each other. This continued for a few minutes and we were both dying of embarrassment…..eventually I had to leave the room and excused myself. When I returned I had to sit away from Donna as I knew I would not be able to control myself.
Donna and I still talk about this and still laugh uncontrollably when we reflect, we have never been able to look at decorative pebbles the same since and occasionally we will get the urge to tap 2 pebbles together and say “Ching Ching” just for laughs but I will say we have never started a story time by “Ching Chinging” pebbles, but the professional development we got from this situation is never sit next to each other during a workshop, always eat before you go and when booking a workshop make sure it is a time when you can focus and in our case act your age.
Now onto the nuts and bolts of my blog…
Why participate in professional development?
Because professional development encourages
• Professional growth
• Opens your mind to new information and experiences
• Is fun
• Builds your professional network
• Extends your interests
• Educational
• Demonstrates to families that you are current and interested in your profession
• May lead to furthering your career
What is the best way to go about participating in professional development?
• Talk to your fellow nannies about what they are planning on doing
• Ask your employer if there are any workshops they would like you to do (they might even pay)
• Google search and see what is coming up for educators and nannies
• Talk to your agency as they will get emails all the time about what is coming up
• If you find a good presenter subscribe to their emails so you can be in the loop
• Social media like Facebook and Instagram, like/follow pages, join nanny groups
• If you are thinking about attending a workshop share the information with others.
Then book a ticket and commit…..it’s that easy!
Event Details:
What: Understanding the value and importance of your role as a professional nanny
When: Saturday, October 15 at 2:30 PM – 4:30 PM
Where: Feel Great Health and Wellbeing – 6 Help Street #2, Chatswood, NSW 2067
Cost: $42.79 per person
