[House] San Francisco Parents of Multiples SFPOM General Discussion forum digest - 12/10/2012

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San Francisco Parents of Multiples SFPOM General Discussion 12/8/2012
10:14 am - 12/10/2012

1. Openings at fantastic preschool (nataliasha2004)
2. Comment: Questions about nanny search (nataliasha2004)

1. Openings at fantastic preschool
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nataliasha2004 - 12/9/2012 1:41 pm

 Our preschool, A La Vanille, has some openings coming
 up, I think in January. It's French immersion, and
 they're located in South San Francisco, but are right
 off freeway, and usually no more than a 12-15 minute
 drive from us (north Bernal.)We heard about them
 through another POM member whose boys were going on to
 kindergarten, and we have been SO happy with them!! 
 There's a nice balance of structured activity and free
 play time, they do a lot of art work, have actual
 lesson topics that they study each month. Our girls
 are singing French songs all the time now (after only 2
 months!) and the classes are small - I think not more
 than 10 kids. The director/teacher is a GEM -
 multilingual herself, tho not a native French speaker,
 and she hires only native French speakers as
 assistants. It's in a home (tho no one actually lives
 there) and a home-cooked, healthy hot lunch and snacks
 are provided daily, along with some guidance on
 manners!! (Seriously - the kids eat better than I
 do.... homemade quiche, potage, crepes, panini... I'm
 kind of jealous.) It's SO nice not having to worry
 about packing a lunch! Our girls are vegetarians, and
 she's been totally accommodating. (And she doesn't
 serve kids juice or other high-sugar items, and is
 really sensitive about kids' allergies, if that's an
 issue.) She also has a soft spot for twins, and has
 been terrific about respecting our girls'
 individuality, and often pairing them up with other
 kids for certain activities.Obviously, I can't say
 enough about this place. I'd be happy to talk to you
 directly, if you might be interested. We LOVE ALV, and
 so do our girls. Some parents drive their kids quite a
 distance to take them there, altho currently, there are
 quite a few SF families. You don't need to speak
 French yourself... and the parents are a fun group as
 well -- from here and all over the world! We scheduled
 a visit while they were in session, and were given a
 free "test-drive" day (actually, it may have been 2
 half-days) which was FANTASTICALLY helpful to us. 
 Even it you're just remotely curious, I recommend you
 check them out, even if just to compare to other
 places.Here's their website, and if you call, please
 tell her I sent you: http://www.alavanille.com/

Send comment to: 
With subject line: "Ref#74593487 - Openings at fantastic preschool"

Email author: nataliasha2004 at yahoo.com
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-------------------------------------------------------------
Topic: Questions about nanny search

 We are about to start a nanny search for our 2.5 month old
 twin girls - we're looking...

Send comment to: 
With subject line: "Ref#74561043 - Questions about nanny search"

 2. nataliasha2004 says...
 --------------------------------------------------------
 12/9/2012 1:26 pm
 
 We had no trouble finding lots of qualified candidates
 for a 3-day a week nanny gig. Lots of nannies out
 there are also in school, or are fine with 2 part-time
 gigs... in fact, some like balancing a twins situation
 with another that's just one kid. We've also never
 paid more than $20/hr, but do offer other perks (PTO,
 lunches, didn't ask them to clean house, various other
 things as needed.) We used care.com initially, but
 honestly did better through Craig's List on subsequent
 searches, and with the help of this book - SERIOUSLY. 
 THIS was the MOST valuable tool for the whole process,
 and it's written by a local nanny-placement person who
 really knows the scene here. It's a quick read,
 includes sample contracts and interview questions, and
 is just SO worth it:"Nannies for Modern Moms" by Alyce
 
 desRosiershttp://www.amazon.com/Nannies-Modern-Moms-Essential-Hiring/dp/098157730XIt's
 really important to be clear about your expectations of
 what you want in a nanny, both the "Must Haves" and the
 "Would be Nice to Have" categories, and to ask the same
 of people you're strongly considering - what their
 expectations and preferences are. If you post a very
 specific, detailed ad containing that info, that helps
 pre-screen potential candidates, and then you can
 follow up by phone with your top picks, and then
 interview in person the ones you really like the most
 from those. For us, seeing how our girls responded to
 them was really important. And - you definitely have
 to go with YOUR gut, too. If there are any red flags,
 or things you're just not comfortable about, you should
 probably keep looking.Searching for a nanny can be
 intimidating at first, but when you find someone good,
 they're worth their weight in gold!! Especially being
 first-time parents, we have learned SO much from our
 nannies over the years. Good ones become like family -
 and they are really important in socializing your
 children, and offering some additional ways of seeing
 the world. Good luck with this process!
 Email author: nataliasha2004 at yahoo.com
 --------------------------------------------------------
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