Kindly Provided by Host Family to needu Handbook For.!!! Family Photo Attached Address: Home phone: Mobile: About us in general We are pretty normal really! Mum (xxxx) is a teacher at a girls high school, xxx, teaching Economics and Mathematics to senior students full time. Dad (xxx) doesn t live with us anymore (separated xxx 201x) but has the children every other weekend from Friday to Sunday night. He has his own. business. He lives with his parents currently, about xx minutes away from us. Child 1 and Child 2 go to. School in. (about 15 minute drive) every week-day from 8.30am until 3pm. Child 3 attends each week day from 8.30 until 12.50pm.
We live in., about 10 minutes away from Fremantle and half an hour from Perth city. It is about 2km from gorgeous beaches, 10 minute walk to the river, with lots more within a half hours drive. Fremantle itself is a great little town, with lots of backpacker hangouts and friendly places to have coffee or a beer! I believe the Newport on the main drag in Fremantle is one of the most popular amongst students and backpackers lots of music, cheap food and beer deals etc. We hope you ll enjoy your time here, and are very happy for you to socialise and get to know other au pairs and backpackers. There is quite a large au pair network our previous girls used via Facebook etc. I spent 7 years travelling myself, so know it s a great scene to be involved in and a fantastic way to travel and get to know an area. The house has 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a lounge room and kitchen/living room area. There is a small lawn outside and a pool. Child 2 shares with Child 3, and Child 1 has his own room and you will also have your own room. You and I will share a shower room as the shower in the bathroom is broken at the moment. During term-time, our routine varies day to day but is the same most weeks. Your duties for the first few weeks will mainly involve looking after Child 3 after her earlier pickup and school runs. Some drop offs to after-school activities also required. Regular hours sum to around 25, then I may ask you to do a couple of hours babysitting here and there when it suits or light housework. I will (almost) always be here for dinner/bath/bed time (which all starts with dinner at 5pm). I am here pretty much every morning until 7.30 when you will need to take over getting them ready for school. Their lunches will already be packed, so it s usually a case of finishing getting dressed then in the car and off! As the school is right next to a beach, you can head down there if you re ready early. We hope you will find some friends in and around the area and I am happy if occasionally it is easier for them to stay here rather than taxi home late alone. If you do the same, I would appreciate a quick text so I know you re not coming home but are safe.
Child 1 Kid Photo Attached XXX was born on July XX 20XX, so is XX. She is very friendly, outgoing and can be fairly demanding of attention, though we re working on that. Her school teaches the students how to be independent so we try to support that philosophy at home as much as possible. She is especially keen on doing things with adults. She is a good swimmer so enjoys the pool and going to the river. She also LOVES gymnastics and dance, training 5-6 times per week. Any gym practice, music or dancing you do with her will go down VERY well! All the kids like craft and painting so if you organise these type of activities, it always works well! TV is not allowed except on the odd occasions when I really need it if I m trying to get dinner done, and a movie night every couple of weeks. They will pester sometimes to watch it, just be consistent and say no. Wawwy is her comfort blanket but this stays in her room. Child 2 Kid Photo Attached
XXX was born on May XX 20XX, so is XX. He is a lively, friendly little man but is sensitive and emotional, having a quick temper and is working on how to control his behaviour. He is quick to shout and say he hates you, and may call you an idiot. This is VERY MUCH against the rules, and I m really trying to get this under control. Strategies are varied and we ll discuss these when you get here. The most important thing is that it is NOT ABOUT YOU. He does this with everyone, including me. One main trick is not to favour Child 3 too much in front of him, he sees her as everyone s favourite, and feels hard done by a lot of the time. Pay him lots of one-on-one attention when possible, and particularly when the girls are around. He loves Child 1 and Child 3 and they play generally, very well together. He is obsessed with lego, trucks, trains anything with wheels that he can fiddle with. He also likes you to read stories to him, and books about how things work. He s only just learning to read now, so recognising letters in the book you re reading will help. Child 3 Kid Photo Attached XXX is delightful. She is a happy toddler who is easy to entertain. She knows what she wants and is getting lots of words. Really the only time she gets cross is if she s hungry, thirsty or tired so keep her fed and watered and usually she s fine! She cannot swim so needs constant close attention in the pool. If you can get in with her as much as possible, I really would like to see her begin to learn to swim. She is slightly nervous so needs lots of patience and encouragement.
She is keen to do what Child 1 and Child 2 do and is very capable, so I give her lots of freedom to explore and play at the park so long as I can see her.
Routine Most days start the same. They wake around 6.30 but must stay in their rooms until 7am. I will be here getting their lunches and breakfast until around 7.30 when you will need to takeover. They have breakfast together about 7.30. Cereal or porridge, sometimes with fruit. Child 1 and Child 2 and Child 3 have to be at school at 8.30am. After this, you re free to do whatever you like until Child 3 s pick up. Dinner is early, about 5.30pm, because they go to bed early. They eat most things, though I will cook up pasta sauces, cottage pie, fish pie etc and stock the freezer when I can. There will be occasions when you need to get their dinner organised, but there will always be something in the freezer that can go with rice or pasta. If you re out and about with the children I m happy for them to have healthy treats now and again frozen yoghurt, an icy pole, a babycino. This is not the norm though and if you re out for the day, please take lunch with you they re happy with fruit, sandwiches etc. They will play for a short time after dinner then have a bath together, into pyjamas, and stories. All to bed around 7pm. I have found that if it s much later than this they re hard work the next day! Weekends are a bit more flexible, we ll just play it by ear. They all like and respond to routine though so generally, we try to stick to it. Child 2 s favourite day is just staying at home playing, whereas the girls need to get out. All a balance. Your bedroom is a good size, so you will have a Queen bed, lots of storage room, wardrobe. You will have limited internet access (do you have a laptop that you re bringing?). You are most welcome to have friends over, both day or night. We have a nice outdoor area with a BBQ. If it s an evening, with a day or so notice, I have friends locally, so would be happy to go out and leave you here! The kids don t wake up once they re in bed, so it s just a case of one of us being here.
Other Duties Cleaning is all our responsibility. You must feel free to use the kitchen etc whenever you like. If you enjoy cooking, by all means, feel free to cook. We can talk about that when you get here. We will all eat together around 5.30pm when you re here in the evenings. Helping with the washing up and cleaning down after meals is part of living here. If there is anything other than just normal tidying of kitchen, living area and kids bedrooms to do, I will put on the whiteboard. Car I only have one car but also have a battery-operated bike which is great.. This means you may have limited access to the car when you re not on duty, but public transport is good. Extra Cash If you re looking to find some extra spending money, there is a great call for babysitters around here, so if you re looking for a few extra hours I can ask around and say you re available. You can have use of the car if I m not using it. Going rate is about $15 per hour. If you wanted to do any cleaning for people, I think $20 per hour is a reasonable rate to ask.