Tinker Tree Play/Care started as a daydream. I was a new mom teaching. I loved my career as an author and developer of children’s play curriculum, and I wished as I was leading my circles that my baby was with me. He was in a home-based childcare program and I was grateful to find care on the Upper East Side near my work. I found myself thinking I could do this…I could have both a career in early childhood development and be a stay-at-home mom. I envisioned my home like my grandmothers’ houses, places where you would get fed, loved up, and do interesting things. I was a country kid, now a city mom, and ways to nurture a love of nature and the skills to be at peace is woven through all we do. Caring for children and their families is an  honor, as leading a team of caregivers, who deserve caring and respect for their work to help others do theirs. Tinker Tree has branched out a lot since I opened my home in 2011 as a babysitting hostess to a regulated program to a network of sharing caregivers along the Upper East Side/East Midtown. I am now a mom of two school-aged kids! New York is a city of families, and regardless of the challenges of parenting here, I love it. I welcome you and hope to support your parenting experience, and/or  your teaching experience in this wonderful town.

 – Natalie