Childcare Floater

Thriving Wildflowers is hiring an experienced childcare assistant to join us as a closing floater.

About Thriving Wildflowers:

Thriving Wildflowers is a multi-generational, in-home childcare founded, owned, and operated by a mother and daughter team and a small, wonderful staff. We are here to be a key component of the modern child raising village. We are a play-based, nature-inspired childcare community – not a school. Everything we do is rooted in respect for children, for each other, and for our environment (inside and out). We passionately protect children's right to an unhurried childhood full of curiosity, exploration, autonomy, and play.

Position Details:

Schedule: This position is for a full-time closing shift working Monday through Thursday 9am-6pm, and Friday 2pm-6pm.

Compensation: $23.50/hr with annual raises based on both performance and cost of living adjustments.

Location: Thriving Wildflowers is a single location, certified in-home childcare and preschool in the SE Woodstock neighborhood of Portland, Oregon. We are also a Multnomah County Preschool for All provider.

What does this position do?

The floater is a dynamic position that will work with all ages from the youngest toddlers (12 months) to the oldest preschoolers (5 years) every day. In this position you will move between all spaces of the program supervising small groups of children alone, acting as an assistant to other teaching staff when supervising larger groups of children, giving breaks, helping children move between spaces (e.g. coming in from outside for the potty), completing daily side work including cleaning tasks, yard/garden maintenance and basic food prep (usually snack, possibly lunch), and interacting with families during drop off and pick up.

You may love this role if:

• You value a smaller, home-based environment over a traditional childcare center, appreciate the natural rhythm of flexible routines, and see the value in a mixed-age setting.
• You are a collaborative person who believes it truly takes a village to raise a child and are enthusiastic about building relationships with both children and their families as part of our community.
• You thrive on variety and physical activity throughout your day.
• You find working in a highly stimulating environment energizing rather than draining.
• You don't mind getting messy and take satisfaction in completing straightforward tasks with clear results (like a freshly cleaned area even though you know it won't stay clean for long).
• You have some basic handiness and gardening skills and enjoy accomplishing hands-on-tasks.
• You are passionate (or at least highly curious) about respectful, child-led and play-based early childhood education approaches.
• You see caregiving routines as rich opportunities for connection and learning.

You will excel in this role if:

• You love being outdoors, especially with children. You are happy spending up to 75% of a typical shift outdoors rain or shine.
• You enjoy singing silly songs, dancing, and telling stories enthusiastically.
• You are comfortable spending most of your day at children's level—on the floor, at low tables, and out in the yard.
• You are organized, timely, and self-driven. As the floater you will spend your day moving between spaces, age groups, and needing to balance requests for help from multiple teaching staff while staying on track with your regular shift duties. Timeliness is a key skill for this role.
• You are highly adaptable and enjoy variety in your day to day routine. While the daily schedule is consistent there are a lot of moving parts that will change. For example, children's moods and interests, weather, and staffing (e.g. someone on vacation/out sick) will change what is needed from the floater on any given day.
• You are not afraid of getting messy. This position includes a lot of messy tasks like outdoor mud play, art projects, food prep, dishes, diaper changing, cleaning the bathroom and taking out the garbage. You will regularly use cleaning materials including bleach water, and wash your hands countless times throughout the day.
• You are comfortable working in a noisy and stimulating environment. Children playing gets loud. There are usually many overlapping conversations going on at once in the same spaces, multiple games and activities happening in different areas, and constant movement of both children and adults.
• You can stay calm, grounded, and emotionally available, even when the environment gets loud or hectic (especially when children are having big feelings).
• You are comfortable guiding children in learning to interact respectfully with others, our equipment, the environment, and our community as a whole by modeling the behavior you expect and consistently enforcing firm, yet compassionate boundaries.
• You enjoy helping with projects around the property. We're always working on some sort of maintenance or improvement project to create the best possible space we can including a lot of outdoor garden and yard projects.

To qualify, you must:

• Have experience working with and genuinely enjoy exploring the world with children ages 1-5 years old. You must have a solid understanding of the varied safety considerations for the entire age range and be comfortable frequently helping children with diapering and potty training.
• Be able to successfully communicate in English, both written and verbal. Multilingual abilities are also valued and appreciated.
• Be able to understand and respond to a variety of non-verbal and pre-verbal communication styles.
• Meet Assistant level requirements as defined by the Oregon Department of Early Learning and Care prior to beginning work;
• Be at least 18 years of age;
• Be currently registered with the Central Background Registry;
• Be a Step 4+ in ORO (Oregon Registry Online) or be able to achieve Step 4+ within 2 years of being hired.
• Be current on the following certifications or able to be obtain them within 30 days of beginning work:
  • First Aid and infant and child CPR
  • Food handler certification approved by the Oregon Health Authority of DELC (Department of Early Learning and Care);
  • Training on child abuse and neglect; health and safety; foundations of learning, and safe sleep approved by the DELC (Department of Early Learning and Care).

Benefits:

• Paid lunch breaks
• Paid Time Off (for sick days and vacation)
• Additional paid time off during program closures
• Annual performance based raises
• Employer-paid required training including First Aid/CPR
• Employer-paid continuing education to meet annual professional development license requirements
• Access to additional professional learning opportunities including a robust lending library to support your long-term career growth
• Paid Leave Oregon for short term disability and parental leave
• Roth IRA offered through OregonSaves

How to Apply: You may submit an application including a resume through job boards when available, or by visiting thrivingwildflowers.com and navigating to our career page.

Thriving Wildflowers is an equal opportunity employer dedicated to creating an inclusive and welcoming work environment regardless of age, sex, race, color, creed, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, citizenship, disability, marital status, military or veteran status, or any other legally recognized protected basis under applicable federal, state or local laws, regulations or ordinances.