You are currently browsing the tag archive for the 'grow' tag.
Over the last week , I am sure everyone noticed, I have been a little quieter than usual. I have one sentence, ” As long as there is modern medicine, never say die.” South African’s reading this may think, ‘That sounds like an odd ever-ready battery advert. For the first time in 3 years I was struck down by a kidney issue and, boy it did put the usual day to day schedule into a tizz, everything I normally juggle easily, the mad morning school rush (mom’s and dad’s out there, you know what I am referring to), making what I do seem effortless to the outsider, while behind the scenes working until crazy late hours to orchestrate a business run and inter-dependent on people, which is usually is a feat in itself, nevermind the people. Operating and remembering what is happening with over 400 people everyday, and which client needs what ,when and still tracking progress, marketing and assisting to make a difference everyday in the lives the people we work with.
Then returning to the late afternoon and switching, as if on autopilot, back to mom mode, getting dinner ready , making sure chores are done, bags are packed for school the next day, and spending time with your family. The bed time story and lights out. But not for you ( Gosh, being a child was always healthier when it came to sleeping patterns). Then its some time out, for you, for your partner, for silence, whichever works. Its at about this point I usually end up working late, really late. Its been a problem since I was young, I have this irratating habit of burning the midnight creativity. I think clearly and the silence, well its golden…Sounds well managed , well run and easy enough right?
Well, last week it all came to a crashing halt as I started to take stock and was reminded ,as one often one is, of how, when in pain things can change, drastically, immediately, and you can go into a bit of a disorientated state.
However I find looking for the good in the bad a rule of thumb, until proven otherwise.
I was reminded of how amazingly supportive family can be at a time when you think the walls are tumbling down around you, I know for many this is not the case though, it wasn’t for me at one time. However I am blessed with the world’s most amazing guy, and a daughter,angels must have been watching from the word go! So that was the first highlight of the entire situation and that was the first found happy thought.
Then there is modern medicine, what a joy. How lucky are we to be alive at such an amazing time in history where new developments and new cures are occurring on a daily basis across the globe? Without the invention of antibiotics or at least painkillers, life could be a truly different experience. We have a headache, we take a panado; our child has a fall, we apply antiseptics; we now even have the option of prebiotic foods, we don’t even have to think about it! Isn’t Modern medicine a wonder. Well after the last week I can truly say how wonderfully grateful I am for not having to endure the stone age.
The funny thing is that its been helping other people, that got me through, seeing the best in everything and ensuring I persevered in the last week. Today that thought was what got me back on top, and has been since I have been back home.Well that thought, and the people to think it of, of course. Everyone, including our clients and staff have been amazingly understanding and that has driven me to explore new found enthusiasm for what Sitters4U does and how we do it! Thank you for the support and let’s make this an amazing month ahead, together!
Just an email we received recently that I thought too lovely to not share with you:
Hi Nicole, I just want to say thanks for the interview yesterday. I found your agency much more interested and helpful than previous agencies I have been to. You guys are really great. I look forward to joining your team. Have a great weekend. Siann
Thank you Siann, Welcome to the team and have a fantastic weekend!
Being Nation wide school holidays ( with the exception of a number of schools) I thought its about time for all our readers to know what is hot and happening this week in Cape Town Johannesburg and Pretoria!
Beat the holiday blues away for you and the kids, below is a break down of some of the events happening this coming week, if you want to see what is coming up in the next month, please click here.
Happy Holidays everyone!
Western Cape
| Adventures in the Enchanted Garden with Buggles | R30 per child | Cavendish Square Shopping Centre, Cavendish Street, Cape Town | More information |
| Kids Play Zone-Cooking Class | Entrance is R80pp, w | Durbanville Business Park, off Klipheuwel Road | More information |
| Kids Play Zone-Holiday Programme | From R20 per child a | Durbanville Business Park, off Klipheuwel Road | More information |
| Mysterious Ways | R65 p.p. | Broadway Theatre, 88 Shortmarket Street, Cape Town | More information |
| Numetro Cinemas: Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs | unreleased at time o | All NuMetro Cinemas in the Western Cape | More information |
| Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs | R40 p.p | Central Court, Canal Walk, Century City | More information |
| The Holiday Club | Entrance is R40pp pe | Helderberg Nature Reserve, Verster Avenue, Somerset West | More information |
| Thumberlina | Normal play rates ap | Plinka Plonka Play,171 Buitenkant St, Gardens, Cape Town | More information |
| Vodacom Funny Festival | R120 p.p, Discounts | Baxter Theatre Centre, Main Road, Rondebosch | More information |
Gauteng
| Annie Junior | R60pp for evening sh | Wits Theatre, Johannesburg, South Africa | More information |
| Grand Bird and Reptile Show | Entrance fees: R38 a | Johannesburg Zoo, Upper Park Drive Park town Johannesburg | More information |
| Holiday Programme at Johannesburg Zoo | R55 per child, for c | Johannesburg zoo, Upper Park Drive Park town, Johannesburg | More information |
| Jozi´s Winter Circus | Contact for Cost | Gold Reef City Theme Park | More information |
| Noddy | Special schools perf | People´s Theatre, Johannesburg Civic Theatre Complex, Braamfontein | More information |
| Numetro Cinemas: Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs | Not available at ti | All NuMetro Cinemas in the Gauteng | More information |
| Pippi Longstocking | R60pp | 3 Junction Avenue, Parktown | More information |
| Shepherd´s Fold Stables Pony Camp | R220.00 per day plus | 55 Sunset Drive, Elandsdrift, Muldersdrift, Gauteng | More information |
| Sleeping Beauty | Adults:R 70.00 p.p; | Pretoria Youth Theatre,Gerhard Moerdjik Street, Sunnyside, Pretoria | More information |
This came in from a candidate we interviewed yesterday! Welcome to the team Mia! We are looking forward to finding you the position you are looking for!
Here’s the email:
Hi Nicole,
Thank you for a very positive service. I wish I had discovered sitters4u before I went to other agencies.
The interview really made my day!
Regards
Mia Steenkamp
…thank you for the email, it certainly made my day! It doesnt matter if you are a client or a candidate, either way Great service is our middle name!
Change…Are you ready for it? I certainly am, whilst most people spent their Easter weekend away with family, my family went to Saldanha, visiting family and can you believe it, working. Whilst my daughter had lots to do, my partner and I packed in an incredible amount of time into Sitters4U’s new website? Why? I have been so excited about our new launch and it looks like its finally here!We are about 6 hours work away!
Its got a new look and feel, its going to be extremely easy to navigate, all services are now accessible from the website, so a client need never download forms, fax or email a form, its now all accessible online.
To add to the current forms online, which include au pairs, babysitters and house sitters, New service forms previously only downloadable, include:
On the child care side we have Drivers, Tutors and Nannies;
Home care now includes online requests for Domestics.
and Frail care Services can now be requested online, include: Nurses, Paramedics, Care givers, Companions, Medical Administration Staff, other medical services, Treat a Senior options and Home Management services which include everything from gardeners and electricians to plumbers and more.
To make it even more incredible we now have online staff applications for each and every service, obviously as a candidate you will still need to come and see us but at least it makes processing your applications alot easier, meaning faster processing of applications as well!
Okay but that’s not all I have up my sleeve! We have also just launched a new child care course in Cape Town for Nannies, domestics and Au pairs. As far as I know it also happens to be the most well priced course at a rate of only R 500 per person ( the next course up starts at R 1500)! Very exciting stuff, covering:
• Basic Childcare
• Etiquette in Employers homes
• Communication between Employer and Employee
• Communication between Child minder and Children
• Safety
• Health and Nutrition
• Child Development, month to month
• Age Appropriate activities from newborn to Preschool
and with ongoing support and a monthly newsletter, this course is well worth it!
So watch out for the new website, launching in the next few days! Looking forward to the new challenges, clients and staff we will be assisting.
We have a new team member in Cape Town, an administrative genius in the making, Nicole Butcher is now assisting with our team admin in Cape Town. Welcome aboard Nicole!
What a star, she started on Wednesday and got straight into the swing of things, I’m already seeing the difference! Very impressive, keep it up!
Exclusive books has really gone out of its way to make the month of March, a month focused on children under the age of 12! It’s the Exclusive Books Children’s Festival, created especially for readers under 12. The bookshops will be filled with mountains of books to read and Saturdays will be jam-packed with amazing interactive events. Access to the events are free but space is limited so booking is essential and if you are an exclusive books member you also earn 100 bonus points for any children’s book bought in March.
Two fantastic events I have been informed of thus far are:
DATE: Saturday, 7 March 2009
VENUE: Exclusive Books, Cavendish
TIME: 10.30am
RSVP: Exclusive Books on 021 674 3030 or cavendish@exclusivebooks.co.za
This will be a fun event involving making something out of paper as well as an article reading from the latest issue of National Geographic Kids Magazine. Spot prizes will be handed out and a copy of the magazine will be given to each child. Suits boys and girls aged 5-10.
The Gruffalo Party
DATE: Saturday, 7 March 2009
VENUE: Exclusive Books, Somerset Mall
TIME: 12 noon
RSVP: Exclusive Books on 021 851 0248 or somersetmall@exclusivebooks.co.za
Celebrate the 10th anniversary of The Gruffalo, written by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler, with colouring-in activities, party packs and prize giveaways. Suits boys and girls aged 4-9.
This weekend I was reminded of why we are so lucky to be staying in South Africa! Not only do we have so many National treasures in the terrain,wild life and people, but our cities are also definitely something to be proud of! South Africa really is the most beautiful countries in the world! I was lucky enough to be reminded of this, over the weekend and thought its a trip to share with all of you…
This last Saturday my family and I decided it was definitely time for a visit to the top, the top of table mountain that is, Cape Town is gorgeous! It was just such a beautiful day and I couldn’t resist. It was my daughters first trip up.
We arrived at the cable car and thanks to the J&B MET and with so many people taking the opportunity to visit the beach instead, we found parking near the cable car station quite easily, which generally never happens..
We made our way to the cable car station ( the pricing by the way is made for tourists, they should seriously think about providing a discount to South African citizens) and my daughter was amazed with not only the speed at which we elevated and the view but above all else, the rotating floor.
On reaching the top of the mountain we took a trip to the self serve restaurant, they offer a variety of options, from warm cooked food to a full salad bar and everything from coffee to a full selection of wine and beer. It was definitely a unique experience.
After enjoying a relaxing meal our adventure began, my daughter couldn’t stop asking questions and we took more than one go at the binoculars provided by the National Park ( at R 5 a shot, if you are planning a trip up there be sure to take a few R 5 coins with you, its a big help). We walked around admiring the view, reading the interesting informational boards ( that covered every subject from Dassies to Robben island history and the weather 6 million years ago) for a further 2 hours. We also had a few very interesting chats about Fynbos which my daughter found hard to understand, “How can Fynbos only grow in the Western Cape and no where else in the world?”, was the question of the day, a very difficult question to answer to a 7 year old (particularly considering she doesn’t understand weather patterns and climate at this stage). We spent the rest of the afternoon checking out the flowers and searching for fairies and Dassies (Did you know they are related to the elephant?)( I think they were hiding from the heat) and then we ran into a lizard or two. They were actually quite funny to watch, part of the pleasure of having children is that you can remember and even partake in activities such as simply watching little creatures with fascination for up to 10 minutes at a time.
Going down was almost as much fun as going up! What an awesome day! It really allowed me to appreciate the uniqueness of the Mother City and gave me some much needed “out time” with the people I love most in the world!
Its been a long holiday and finally the big day has arrived! Across the Western Cape learners returned to school and many are now enjoying their first day!
For my daughter it was a momentous occasion. Looking adorable in her uniform, dress hanging way below the knees I have never seen anything so cute! Having finished Gr.1 at a Montessori environment last year and in fact having always been in that environment, we finally took a leap of faith to mainstream! I have always been a great fan of the Montessori system and it has done my daughter the world of good! The way they are allowed to decide what to learn and the mixed age group of her last class ( Gr.1, 2 and 3) has allowed her to develop to a point where she is the one reading me the bedtime stories, not bad for a 7 year old.However there comes a time when you really need to take a look at your child’s needs and how they are developing in order to decide what type of school system is going to work for them. The options vary from Public to Private, from Montessori to Waldorf, so knowing what the school offers is of the utmost importance!
With my daughter, although she progressed rapidly academically speaking, she is fiercely independent, social and loves sport and while her acedmic and independence needs were being met with Montessori, the rest of her her needs were just not being met by the 18 children in her class and lack of sport… it was time to move on!
The point I am trying to make here is that different schools and learning systems suit different children. Some children like my daughter need the discipline, large numbers of children and sport to thrive, whilst others may well prefer the small social circle and artistic and creative approach. So when you see that a school isn’t working for your child, ask yourself why, from your child’s perspective, what needs are not being met? If you find the answer to be the style of teaching or the classroom set up or the activities offered, look around for a school that will suit your child’s needs a bit more. Each child is an individual and not all systems work will work for your child. So take your time, make an informed decision and reap the benefits!I wish all the new and old learners the best for 2009!
PS. If you are looking for information on the different schools and teaching styles available in SA take a look at these websites:
http://www.privateschooling.co.za/
http://www.saprivateschools.co.za/
So there I was! Working up a storm as usual, the clock had just struck midnight. I thought, why am I working this late?
Today reminded me of what makes Sitters4U different. We started because I could never find the reliable help I needed, when I needed it for my daughter… We started so that when a mother needs to go to her graduation she doesn’t need to worry about whether or not her child will be in safe reliable hands( this happened today, she sounded so nervous yet ecstatic and thanked me for the service). We started because there are 1000’s of candidates out there! Some are people you would never want in your home, some are so over qualified they deserve to have work on a regular basis and can bring the help needed by so many moms and dads out there, we started because this is our Country, our Beautiful country and I believe that any positive contribution to that, whether it is in the form of jobs or growth of other kinds is something we should all be doing!
So today I look at the delicate balance I have created between my daughter, my partner, my clients and the candidates I have met and helped, and I am grateful for the late hours, I am happy to have the luxury so many parents do not, time with their child, I am happy to be able to help other parents get the most out of time they have with their children and I am happy to be helping so many wonderful people find work and jobs they deserve to have and are dedicated to having…Helping feels good! I know I wont always work these long hours but i also know that by putting these values and time into this business that it will flourish….
I firmly believe it, you should do too….Help those that will help themselves and you help so many more!
