Join our friendly, laid-back family in Liverpool, UK

Details

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  Description

  We are Mary and Paul, both 45 years old. We have 4 children - Frank (15), Florence (13) and William (11), and Max (6). We also have a small dog, an axolotl, 2 gerbils and 9 rats.
  
  I am a lawyer and work 3 days week. I studied Spanish and Arabic at university before doing postgraduate law. I love spending time with my 4 beautiful children, and finding exciting ways to play with them and make them feel loved and happy. I took up sewing during lockdown and like to make clothes for family and friends. I also started chilly dipping in the sea at a local beach and try to go for a dip at least once every couple of weeks.
  
  Paul is a self-employed architect and works part-time. He currently works 2 days a week as a university lecturer. He likes listening to music and he likes to play guitar although he doesn't play much anymore. He loves to potter about doing jobs in the garden.
  
  Max is 6 years old and is happy and curious. He is a very active and inquisitive little boy and is into everything. He wants to play with whatever his brothers and sisters are playing with. He loves reading , Lego, playing pretending games (especially fighting games!), playing on the trampoline, building dens and free running.
  
  William is 11 years old and is affectionate and kind, and always on the move. He loves playing with his brothers and sister, free-running, playing on the trampoline, computer games, Magic: The Gathering, Dungeons and Dragons, and dancing to music. He also loves chess, board games and card games, reading and maths.
  
  Florence is 13 years old and is very creative with a wonderful imagination. She likes to play with her brothers, but also appreciates having time to herself. She loves painting and crafts, baking, Dungeons and Dragons, Roblox, skateboarding and writing stories and comics. She is obsessed with crochet, and makes little crochet creatures most days. She likes to learn things for herself and soaks up information like a sponge. She enjoys acting and has recently performed in Macbeth in the Shakespeare North Playhouse. She is also a Majortim.space young ambassador and regularly interviews famous scientists as part of this.
  
  William and Flo are both very self-sufficient so don't require hands-on care, but they love having people around to hang out and play with.
  
  Max, William and Florence are all home-educated, so do not attend school. We have different activities booked throughout the week including weekly home education meetups, chess club, forest school, free running, scouts, and drama.
  
  Frank is 15 years old, and is a happy and active young man with a big brain full of information and ideas which he will be glad to share with you. He likes learning new things, experimenting, computer games, Magic: The Gathering, Dungeons and Dragons, circus skills, reading, and his growing collection of animals. He is very intelligent, independent, confident and assertive. He has recently been diagnosed with autism, which in him can manifest as sensitivity to certain noises and textures, and sometimes as rigidity of thinking. He goes to school 9am-4pm Mon-Fri. He is very self-sufficient.
  
  They all love playing together, helping in the kitchen, trampolining, and playing with our little dog, Coco.
  
  They all absolutely adore having new people to engage with in the house.
  
  I love spending time with my children, and finding exciting ways to play with them and make them feel loved and happy. I try my best to always be a gentle parent and try not to shout. I like to lead by example and model the behaviour I expect from them.
  
  Paul, Will and myself all have asthma, and would not be able to have a smoker in the house.
  
  I was diagnosed with ADHD and ASD last year and Frank has ASD. We believe most of us are probably neurodiverse, but have not pursued assessments for anyone else just yet. We manage our household and our life to make sure everyone's needs are accommodated as best we can.
  
  We eat meat, but are happy to accept vegetarians or vegans so long as you make your own meals. If you have any allergies or unusual eating habits, please let us know in your message.
  
  We welcome workawayers from all walks or life, all backgrounds, and all lifestyles. If you have any physical or mental health issues, or any learning difficulties, please let us know, so we can work out in advance if there are any things we can do that would help, or ways we need to adapt to make your stay work.
  
  Our life consists of busy noisy days, and quiet subdued evenings, as we are always very tired after the children have gone to bed. Don't expect a lot of interesting conversation in the evening! We tend to just slob out in front of the TV.

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Animal Care

  Babysitting and creative play

  Creating/ Cooking family meals

  Help around the house

  House & pet sitting
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  Interests

  

  Self development

  

  Movies & TV

  

  Pets

  

  Charity work

  

  Plant care

  

  Gardening

  

  DIY & crafts

  

  Books

  

  Architecture

  

  Animals

  

  Yoga / Wellness

  

  Nature

  

  Camping
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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  We are a busy, noisy household in the daytime, and quiet and relaxed in the evening.
  
  We allow people the flexibility to be as involved with us as a family as much or as little as they feel comfortable. Some of our previous workawayers would hang out with us a lot, eat with us, play with the kids, chat around the table; and some were more introverted so preferred to spend their free time working on their own projects, or out and about in the city. Both, and anything in between, are welcome here.
  
  The main thing you are likely to learn from us is what life as a busy family with lots of children is like! But in addition both Paul and I (and the kids) are intelligent and well-educated so have a varied knowledge base.
  
  We can offer a friendly, laid-back home, space to socialise or be alone as you wish, and a base to explore our wonderful city.

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  Au Pair Help

  This host has let us know they’ll be complying with UK regulations for au pair stays.

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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

  A lot of our time is taken up with childcare and home educating, so having someone helping with the household tasks such as cleaning and tidying makes a big difference to us, and greatly improves our happiness levels. If you love keeping a house in order, and are good at it, then we would love to have you stay with us!
  
  Being comfortable around children and enjoying their company is essential. They love to engage with the people who live with us, so a willingness to play is also important. If you are happy to do occasional babysitting , this would also help us, but it is not a prerequisite, as it will depend on how confident we are in your childcare abilities once you have settled in, and how well everyone gets on.
  
  Overall, we would expect you to help out for an average of about 20-25 hours per week.
  
  If you enjoy cooking (and are any good at it) then making an evening meal once or twice a week would be great as well, but it's not essential. Our current kitchen set up is not the best for creating elaborate meals, and everyone in the house has different food requirements and preferences, so finding meals that every is happy with can be a challenge!
  
  If you have any other skills that you think might be useful or interesting then let us know.

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  Languages spoken

  English: Fluent
  Spanish: Intermediate

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  Accommodation

  Private bedroom with a double bed, and a shared bathroom.
  
  All food is provided. You would normally help yourself to breakfast and lunch. Most days we cook an evening meal which you are very welcome to join, or you can make your own if you prefer.
  
  We live in a very large Victorian house, with plenty of space, and a nice garden. Please be aware that the house is drafty and cold over the winter, and we are working on improving this, but in the meantime we have lots of heated blankets. It needs a lot of work, and we are in the process of doing it up, slowly but surely. It is very beautiful, very old, and has been slightly neglected by previous owners so we are giving it the care and attention it needs.

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  What else ...

  Our house is Waterloo which is a suburb of Liverpool. It is a friendly bustling suburb, with lots of good shops, bars and restaurants, a local cinema and a local library. We are a few minutes walk from Crosby beach, which has the Anthony Gormley statues.
  
  Liverpool is a wonderful, beautiful and friendly city. There are lots of museums, art galleries and interesting buildings.Liverpool is a wonderful, beautiful and friendly city. There are lots of museums, art galleries and interesting buildings, and also many restaurants, bars and cafes.
  
  There are 3 universities and several college and language schools which offer language courses if you want to do an English class.
  
  Liverpool is a very cheap city to live in, in terms of shopping, transport and eating/drinking out.
  
  Liverpool people are very friendly, and it is easy to make new friends.

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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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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  More than two

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  My animals / pets

  Axolotl

  Gerbils

  Rats

  Coco

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