Katerina Or Katie

About Me

Only two more children can join my setting from January 2025.

As a quilified teacher and a mom of two, setting up as a childminder has been my dream for a while and I hope that you will consider me to provide a home from home environment when looking after your child. I can promise that they will be treated, as if they were my own children :) with all the love and care I can give them.

I have decided to call my setting "Katie's Babygarden". Katie is a short version of Katerna and Babygarden because I believe that all babies are like plants and they need the right environment, care and nurturing to grow and develop their full potential.

Some information about me and why I hope that you will choose me to look after your child:
- fully qualified teacher since 2008. Honors Bachelor Degree in teaching and preschool education;
- mother of two daughters born in 2017 and 2021;
- separate play area for the children in my house;
- big garden to play in;
- a lot of free play, singing, dancing and having fun on a daily basis;
- a lot of adult led activities for the children to develop key areas of focus (individual to each child and their development stage);
- our pets are fish, so no jumping or licking, but fun to look at;
- spoken English, French, Bulgarian and some Russian;
- preferred child age up to 3 years old. I will do my best to get your child to be ready for nursery and I do believe that by the age of 3 they tend to be ready to go to nursery, where they will continue to develop and grow;
- small group (babies and toddlers), so that they can have my full attention;
- plenty of walks, play in the park, playgroups and interactions, to help them adapt to new environments;
- caring and friendly personality;

If this sounds like a good fit for what you are looking for, I would love to hear from you.

In more details
I am a qualified Preschool and Elementary teacher, who has been around children for a while. When I was looking for someone to look after my girls, so I can go back to work, I realised that I would like to be the person who organises their day, full of activities and learning opportunities, reading stories and teaching them to be independent. I have been doing it for the last 7 years and quickly realised that I love working with children on a more personal level and they love spending time with me. And after being asked few times by parents in the park if I can look after their children too, I got inspired to open my doors to more children.
I am registering with Ofstead and on my registration visit, the inspectors words were "I am recommending you for an Outstanding grade for your grading inspection in about 30 months time", which was a great compliment after 4 hours of constantly answering questions. :)
I have DBS check, First Aid training, Safeguarding training, EYFS training, etc (just to name a few of the most recent ones).
The playroom is very cosy and homely and a very sunny and spacious place, with loads of opportunities to learn, explore and play.
I am in the process of creating a Fairy garden which will provide even more learning and development opportunities, with a possibility to do gardening and outdoor play.
If you are looking for someone to look after your child, as their mom-teacher and teach them everything from the everyday life, while singing and playing and having fun, get in touch.
We have a fishtank with fish and no other pets, which children love looking at and feeding in the morning.

I plan my day around Riverbridge school, in Staines, where I drop off and pick up my girls. I enjoy spending time in nature, as much as possible. You can expect trips to various local parks for treasure hunts, nature materials collection and a bit of free play, as well as gardening, playing in the garden, playing and learning outdoors.

I am available during school holidays too, however I have most of my holidays for the year booked in advance, so I can spend some quality time with my family.