Motherhood

What’s your favorite thing about working at Big and Tiny?
My favorite thing about working at Big and Tiny is watching little ones grow from diapers/babbling to walking and saying their first words. And as they grow parents watch with tears of joy in their eyes. 

What are your passions and hobbies?
My hobbies are making people laugh/smile, writing poetry, learning/exploring different cultures, dancing, traveling, and making kids become their best free selves! 

You were doing all the Zoom Classes over lockdown, what was the biggest challenge and how did you overcome it?
The biggest challenge over zoom classes during lockdown was keeping everyone’s attention, children and adults alike. I overcame this by keeping my energy high and having everyone engaged verbally and physically. I would have my kiddos introduce their favorite toys and talk about it to their friends. I would also play games that had them interact within their surroundings like a scavenger hunt – find something red in your room and bring it to the camera or instructional physical songs that had everyone get up and dance! 

Describe yourself in two sentences.
I think I would describe myself as gregarious, hard-working, and passionate. I take pride in my ability to cultivate and nurture my personal and professional relationships, and I always try to put my best efforts toward taking care of the people and things that are important to me. 

What brings you the most joy about working with children?
What a difficult question! There are so many beautiful and exciting aspects about working with little ones. I would have to say that the one thing that brings me the greatest pleasure is having the opportunity to witness a child develop any kind of new understanding. This could be anything from grasping a challenging educational concept,  acquiring new social/interpersonal skills, or even accomplishing the seemingly simple task of learning how to tie their own shoes. In a child’s eyes, every new accomplishment, big or small, means the world to them. They are in a state of constant learning and development, and it is an absolute joy for me to witness it.

What is the biggest challenge about working with children?
While working with children is (in my opinion) the best opportunity one could receive, it certainly has its challenges. One of the most heartbreaking things to witness is when a child internalizes a mistake or perceived failure as a personal shortcoming. When they begin to believe that because they can’t accomplish something that is seemingly easy for others to accomplish, or if a classmate tells them that they don’t want to be their friend anymore, it can feel like the end of the whole world to them. So, my fellow educators and I always do our best to help them understand that no matter what, they are wonderful, capable human beings that are cherished and loved without a doubt. 

Describe a typical work day?
I wake up at 5.30 to jog in my neighborhood, I get my exercise out of the way because when I get back my son Atlas wakes up. After breakfast, we head to Big and Tiny at Second Home in Hollywood. Once I drop off Atlas in the Big and Tiny pods, I settle in the courtyard or on the roof at Second Home to check emails and catch-up on any overnight or earlier timezone developments.

At 1pm I go to the Big and Tiny pods and feed Atlas his lunch after he wakes up from his morning nap. I then focus on an afternoon of work before picking up Atlas at 4.30pm and driving home. I love to cook for the family and once Atlas is in bed, I catch up with my partner or we like to watch TV with a glass of wine (we have been watching the shocking the NXIVM documentary on HBO Max).

What would be your tip(s) for any new working parent?
The biggest game-changer for me, especially during the most intense pandemic restrictions, have been to just own the time where you can’t get much done. My partner is an essential worker, so I was at home with our son for the most of each day.

At first, I was trying to work and parent simultaneously during his wake windows. Perhaps others are better at multitasking than I, but I found I wasn’t doing either working or parenting very effectively and it left me feeling down on myself and generally disappointed with how each day was going. I resolved to just be a parent during the time when he needed engagement.

Rather than having the laptop out while he tried to get my attention from the floor, we went on walks and I gave him (mostly) undivided attention. I found the additional work time that was required in the evening or at night did not significantly increase, and I felt much better about the work I was doing and the kind of parent I was able to be.