Paying for our caregiver's spoken English class, and whether it should come out of work hours

lemon_veranda_40813 May 2026

Our caregiver has been with us over a year and is wonderful with both girls. Last week she asked, quite shyly, whether I knew of a spoken English class. She says the older one has started correcting her, and she doesn't like not understanding the school notes. I'd like to help. The question is how. A weekend class on her own time, which we reimburse? An online class during the girls' afternoon rest, which is technically our time? Or does us paying make it feel like a job requirement, which it isn't? What have others done?

1 comment

hazel_veranda_85103 May 2026
We did something similar for our helper a few years ago. The class mattered less than the practice. She took a weekend course we paid for, and it fizzled after a month because there was nobody to speak with between classes. What worked better was fifteen fixed minutes each evening where my daughter read the newspaper aloud with her and she could ask about any word. If you pay, I'd pay for something with a short daily part rather than one long weekend session.
- velvet_river_69033 May 2026
  I like the daily practice, but I'd be careful about the children becoming the teachers. If your older one is already correcting her, making that official could tip the balance at home. We pay for our caregiver's tailoring class on Sunday mornings. Her time, our money, nobody at home involved. That separation has kept it simple.
- lemon_veranda_40813 May 2026
  The daily part makes sense, and so does the point about the older one becoming the teacher. She would enjoy being the teacher a little too much. I think we'll pay for a short morning class from June, once the girls are back at school, and keep them out of it apart from being patient when she tries out a sentence on them.