My name is Emma. I am a degree-educated English woman with a French TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) certificate and training in immersive and sensory teaching practices. I have more than 21 years’ experience working with and caring for babies and children.

I have taught in primary schools, delivered singing, reading and craft sessions for babies and children, and helped with school trips and outings when my own children were young. I have also supported young parents and offered advice when needed. I hold Children’s Safeguarding and First Aid certificates from my work in Education and Adult Care and in the Schools’ Library Service in Hull.
As part of my library role, I visited schools to talk about the services we offered children during the holidays and in breakfast and after-school clubs, working with children from the age of three through to their teenage years. I would also wheel my “trolley full of songs and activities” around local nurseries to sing and read to babies and toddlers. In the summer, I took part in the “Healthy Holidays” initiative, which encouraged as many children as possible to take part in outdoor and craft activities during the school holidays.

I have also worked in the “Little Larkeys” tent at the Big Malarkey Festival in Hull, a children’s literature festival where we entertained and inspired babies, toddlers, parents and carers through singing, dancing, reading and play sessions designed to promote a love of reading. I was employed by BookTrust as part of this, and it was a lot of fun!

I love reading and playing educational games with children, such as Match the Pairs, Pictionary and Guess Who, which helps little ones learn to describe people and their features. Lego is always a firm favourite, as is anything to do with cars, trains, buses or diggers! I also enjoy classic games such as Snakes and Ladders, Snap and Happy Families, and for older children, Backgammon. And of course, I love teddies and puppets. Who doesn’t?

I enjoy seasonal and themed crafts, such as Easter bonnets, Halloween costumes, hats and masks, Christmas cards, paper streamers, snowmen and snowflakes. I also love drawing and colouring with children, as it allows them to express themselves, and I often combine this with a story.

My favourite children’s author is Julia Donaldson. Her books always go down well, and the rhyming couplets make them a pleasure to read aloud. My personal favourites are The Smartest Giant in Town, which teaches kindness; A Squash and a Squeeze, which teaches children to be grateful for the good things in life; and Night Monkey, Day Monkey, which shows that we are all different but can come together and make things work.

As a mother of two happy grown-up children and stepmother to three (all now grown up), I have experienced every stage of childhood, from newborn babies to young adults. While I have loved every minute, I also understand the challenges young people face and that not every day is easy for them. I am empathetic, patient, loving and kind, and a great listener.

I love to see children feel at ease and let their imaginations run wild. For me, watching children smile and be happy is one of the most magical things in life, and I would love to share my experience and happiness with the children in my care.