DC at school all day - how do nannies fill their time?

[WanttogotoDisney]

My DC start reception in September and we are thrilled that our nanny has decided to stay. We had previously discussed her leaving after Christmas once the DC have settled at school, but we don't want her to leave and she wanted to stay so she will be with us indefinitely. We will continue to need a full time nanny to cover school holidays, sickness etc. so it does not make sense for us to switch to an after school nanny.

She will be home from drop off by 9am until she leaves for pickup around 2.45pm and we are both trying to figure out what she can do all day. She will of course do all the DC's cleaning, laundry and cooking but she does most of that already and it will only fill a couple of hours a day. I wouldn't ask her to do non-DC related housework (we have a cleaner). I don't mind her having most of the day off and I am more concerned that she will get bored after a few months and decide to move on.

We have volunteered her to school for trips etc. as she is CRB checked.

If there are any nannies on here that solely look after school age children, how do you fill your days?

If she wanted to she could volunteer in the school one day / two morning/ afternoons a week? Schools are always looking for helpers to listen to reading / prepare arts and crafts / assist with projects etc?

I did it for a few years, and left to have my own child, I used to batch cook so we always had stuff and could be used by parents at weekends, Take cars for service, mot and for wash and valeting etc. Food shopping for family, birthday present buying, Christmas shopping, baking for the endless cake sales, clothes labelling, clothes sorting i.e too small things put away for next child or to charity. Buying new clothes, shoes, school uniform. Watching the children's sporting activities,plays etc. Sorting of toys/playroom/bedrooms. Oversee and arrange for builders, workmen they had major building work going on at times. Arrange school holiday and after school activities book swimming, golf tennis lessons. Organise uniform, school bags, for the next day. Do a weekly time table of who was where when, as well as all the usual misery duties. Also time to have a quiet cuppa, meet a friend for coffee or gym which my bosses were totally happy for me to do.

Forgot about going to dry clean cleaners, post office, packing for weekends away and holidays, occasionally helping out other mums with childcare issues.

Yes I agree, I didn't take on more housework but kinda PA jobs like collecting parcels & dry cleaning, getting washing machine serviced, waiting in for tradesmen, arranged the roof to be re-done...
If a nanny is really enthusiastic then the work never ends: you can organise the kids books into alphabetical order and put all their scribbles ever into chronological scrap books, create a database of all the Lego, but I think it's better to assume she will have free time and maybe go to the gym or do some further training etc

Don't forget making sodding costumes for World Book Day....

Yep I'm sat here at the moment with a cuppa feet up ........... Crocheting together squares which will go on youngest charges bed as a bedspread :)

I seem to be busier than when they children were at home. !

Further training, making photo books of the child's day, planning activities for next few weeks...it's a long time to fill really, maybe pay for a few days, and have the rest off. Is it 5 days a week?

I do a lot of PA type jobs, I have a toddler to care for but if Mum's home I do housekeeping, running things to the post office, popping to the shop, etc. I think I've been nominated for sewing name tags into school uniform before they go back to school too!

Our nanny does all that PA stuff listed above plus she is in charge of our cleaner & gardener. She does all the laundry for the whole family (cleaner does the ironing), all our grocery shopping, cooks for the whole family, arranges play dates etc. She has 3 mornings off a week where she doesn't start until 1.30.

My mb was happy for me to get a small part time job at a local preschool. She still paid me for the hours and the preschool were aware if the children were of school/ill etc they were my first priority. I worked full time as a nanny during the holidays but the preschool just stopped me getting bored during the day.