Be part of everyday family life on a welcoming Ontario hobby farm in Peterborough, Canada

Details

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  Description

  Join our active family for a Canadian winter near Peterborough, Ontario! We’re TL and Chris, and we share our 45-acre property with five kids (ages 4–17), two dogs, three cats, and 14 hens.
  
  For the winter months, we’re looking for help with an au pair focus: spending time with the kids, getting creative indoors, heading outside for winter play, and lending a hand with family routines. Simple meal preparation, tidying shared spaces, and occasional animal care are also part of daily life.
  
  You’ll fit in well if you’re warm, reliable, patient, and genuinely enjoy children. Childcare experience is welcome—please tell us about yours! Our home is lively, so being comfortable with a busy household matters.
  
  Help is usually 4–5 hours a day, five days a week, with plenty of free time. We prefer stays of at least two weeks so everyone can settle in and connect.
  
  During your stay, we offer:
  
  A guest bedroom in our house or an apartment in one of the buildings on our property.
  Shared meals and groceries, with vegetarian and vegan options.
  Access to our fully equipped private fitness and martial arts gym, sauna, and cold plunge.
  Wi-Fi and plenty of space to enjoy the outdoors.
  
  We love movement, animals, good conversation, and welcoming people from around the world. We’re LGBTQ-friendly and hope you’ll feel part of the family while you’re here.
  
  Tell us a little about yourself, your experience with kids, and when you’d like to visit. We’d love to hear from you!

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Art Projects

  Help with Eco Projects

  Teaching

  Light gardening

  Creative DIY projects

  Animal Care

  Farmstay help

  Babysitting and creative play

  Creating/ Cooking family meals

  Help around the house

  Light maintenance

  House & pet sitting
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  Interests

  

  Events & social

  

  Languages

  

  Yoga / Wellness

  

  Dancing

  

  Technology

  

  Videography

  

  Vegetarian or vegan

  

  Sustainability

  

  Pets

  

  Culture

  

  Self development

  

  Movies & TV

  

  Farming

  

  Plant care

  

  Music

  

  DIY & crafts

  

  Books

  

  Photography

  

  Cooking & food

  

  Gardening

  

  Animals

  

  Nature

  

  Fitness

  

  Camping

  

  Beach

  

  Winter sports

  

  Water sports

  

  Outdoor activities

  

  Hiking

  

  Adventure sports
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  UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve

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  What's this?
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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  When you’re not helping out, there’s plenty to explore and enjoy:
  
  On the property:
  • Walking/running trails
  • Home gym
  •. Sauna and cold plunge
  • Dirt bike track
  • Evenings around the campfire
  
  Nearby adventures:
  • Lakes and rivers for swimming, kayaking, water skiing
  •. Cycling routes
  • Canada’s largest canoe museum
  • Charming local shops and cafes
  • Scenic hiking spots and forest trails
  • A local university with a focus on sustainability and community learning

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  Au Pair Help

  This host is looking for Au pair help.

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  Projects involving children

  This project could involve children. For more information see our guidelines and tips here.

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  Help

  • Help with indoor and outdoor chores like cooking, cleaning, laundry, and tidying.
  • Spend time with our children in a relaxed, family-style way — helping with simple activities, outdoor play, creative projects, or being an extra supportive presence around the home.
  • Helping our kids with homework or teaching the younger kids about your culture.
  • Take on a light building, repair, or creative project around the property that makes our space beautiful and productive.
  • Assist with light maintenance, organizing, or keeping shared spaces running smoothly.
  • Spend time caring for our dogs, cats, and hens.
  • Try your hand at cooking or help prepare family meals.
  • Participate in, or lead, a fitness session.
  
  There’s plenty of variety depending on your interests, experience, and the season. We keep things flexible, creative, and collaborative, with a mix of family life, practical projects, animals, outdoor space, and shared household rhythms. In the winter months, the motorhome is winterized and most responsibilities will be within the home and four-season outbuildings.

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  Languages spoken

  English: Fluent

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  Accommodation

  You will stay in a spare room in our home or one of our finished outbuildings.
  
  We will take you grocery shopping for the food you want. There will be some shared meals often around a campfire. If you like to cook, we like to eat. There are three vegetarians and four non-vegetarians in our family.

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  What else ...

  We enjoy connecting with people from all over the world, share stories, and give you a real taste of Canadian rural life, with modern comforts and hopefully a lot of laughter.

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  A little more information

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    Internet access

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    Limited internet access

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    We have pets

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    We are smokers

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    Can host families

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  Can host digital nomads

  We have two fully heated/cooled and insulated studios you are welcome to use.

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  More than two

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  My animals / pets

  

  Hens

  We have about 14 egg laying hens.

  

  Lino

  Basic name for a fancy bearded dragon that likes doing nothing all day

  

  Kale'a

  Energetic, enthusiastic and just really loves people.

  

  Kuro (1 year)

  The sweetest

  

  Oreo & Clawsey (2 years)

  Tabby's

  

  L (2 years)

  Cutie. L is engaged to Oreo

  

  Stella

  She's the most mature of the cats

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