I'm choosing
two families.
I'm Rebecca Carnahan, the Boulder Super Nanny. I'm an early-childhood educator specializing in infants and toddlers. I'm putting together one small home classroom for two Boulder County families.
About the Boulder Super Nanny
Most nannies learn on one family's kitchen floor. I learned in classrooms, with a curriculum, under evaluation — and then I brought that into private homes.
I earned my Bachelor of Science in Human Development and Family Studies from Auburn University and went straight into professional early childhood education. Since 2015 I've worked across every age band from newborn through pre-K: as a young toddler teacher, an infant teacher, a lead teacher, and most recently as Infant Nursery Supervisor at the Primrose School of Longmont, where I ran daily operations for the infant program and supervised and trained the assistant teachers under me.
Between those roles I worked as a private nanny for two Colorado families, in Frederick and here in Longmont. That combination is the whole point: I know how to build a real developmental program, and I know how to do it inside somebody's home, alongside their laundry and their dog and their nap schedule.
I'm looking for the arrangement that lets me do my best work — a small, stable group of children I can genuinely know, with two families who want a professional partner rather than a pair of hands.
A decade in early childhood
-
2025–2026
Infant Nursery Supervisor
Primrose School of Longmont
Led daily operations for the infant program. Supervised, trained and supported assistant teachers. Partnered with parents and school leadership through everything, including the hard conversations.
-
2024–2025
Support Staff, all age groups
Primrose School of Longmont
Stepped into any classroom, any age, with minimal direction. Infants through pre-K.
-
2022–2023
Private Nanny
Longmont, CO
Sole-charge care for two children, balanced with household responsibilities.
-
2019–2022
Assistant Infant Teacher → Lead Young Toddler Teacher
Primrose School of Longmont
Daily infant routines, then leading a young toddler classroom — multi-tasking across developmental levels while keeping the room calm.
-
2017–2019
Private Nanny
Frederick, CO
Playtime, early learning, socialization and household duties. Built long-term trust with the parents through consistent daily communication.
-
2015–2017
Young Toddler Teacher · Infant Teacher
Primrose School at Vista Ridge · Chesterbrook Academy
Ten young toddlers, then eight infants — feeding, diapering, individualized attention, daily parent communication.
Beyond the resumé
I've fostered and volunteered with more than ten animal rescues across Colorado, Texas and Alabama — Longmont Humane Society, Luvin Arms Farm Animal Sanctuary, Rocky Mountain House Rabbit Rescue and others. If your household comes with dogs, cats, rabbits or a three-legged foster, we will get along fine. Children who grow up around animals learn gentleness early, and I'm glad to help teach it.
What families say
How it works
Two families pool their budgets and get something neither could buy alone: a trained educator, a ratio that never exceeds one to four, and a house instead of a center.
Care happens in one family's home. That family provides the space and the utilities, tells their homeowner's insurance carrier, avoids a commute, and accepts a couple extra sets of small shoes by the door. The other family drops off and picks up.
This arrangement reduces the administrative burden because Colorado exempts in-home care from child care licensing only up to four children total, with no more than two under the age of two, at any one time (C.R.S. 26.5-5-304 and 8 CCR 1402-1, Rule 2.112).
Legally, I will be a household employee of each family, separately. This is accomplished through a third-party payroll service. I use Boulder-based Poppins Payroll. They currently charge each family $49 per month and handle all payroll, taxes, and government filings. All that's required of the families is to apply for a federal Employer Identification Number (EIN) at IRS.gov, set up with Poppins Payroll and link a bank account, sign written agreements, bind workers' compensation, and confirm homeowner's insurance coverage. Then just approve the hours each pay period.
Because each family is a separate employer, each family independently claims the full $5,000 Dependent Care FSA and the full Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit. You don't split them. For most households in this bracket that recovers $1,500–$2,300 of the cost per family, per year — more than covering the payroll service several times over.
What you get
A real curriculum
Weekly developmental plans by age band, not improvised days. Built on the same framework I used in the classroom.
Daily written reports
Per child, every day: naps, feeds, diapers or potty, mood, milestones, and photos. The Primrose-standard daily sheet, in your inbox.
Milestone tracking & conferences
Documented developmental milestones and a sit-down conference with each family every quarter, separately and confidentially.
Infant & newborn expertise
Safe sleep, bottle and solids transitions, feeding schedules, reflux and colic support — my actual specialty, not a side skill.
Sleep & potty transitions
Consistent, gentle, aligned across both households so nothing is undone at home each evening.
Kindergarten readiness
Pre-literacy, early numeracy, fine motor and social-emotional preparation for the BVSD or St. Vrain transition.
Meals & snacks
Prepared for the children each day, to your dietary standards and allergy protocols.
Children's household load
Children's laundry, bottles and dishes, room tidying, toy rotation and sanitizing, gear and clothing size management.
Driving & errands
School runs, activities, pediatrician visits and child-related errands. Licensed, insured, clean record.
Out of the house every week
Library story times, Growing Gardens, the Butterfly Pavilion, splash pads, neighborhood parks and museum days. A real weekly rhythm, planned in advance and shared with both families.
Mild-illness care
A low fever doesn't send your child home and doesn't cost you a work day. That alone is worth several days a year to most parents.
Backup coordination
A vetted, introduced substitute from my professional network for the rare day I'm out — not a stranger from an app.
What it costs
The figures below assume a standard week of Monday–Friday, 45 hours, with 40 regular hours and 5 at overtime, guaranteed year-round including my paid time off and holidays. They also assume that each family has two children.
$24/hr
$36/hr for hours 41–45.
- Annual wages
- $59,280
- Mileage reimbursement
- ≈ $1,972
- Employer taxes
- ≈ $5,510
- Workers' comp
- ≈ $450
- Payroll service
- $588
All-in, per year≈ $67,800
Before your Dependent Care FSA and tax credit, which return $1,500–$2,300 to each family.
How that compares
This costs more than daycare, and it should. One adult for no more than four children, in a house, run by someone with a degree in the field — and a low fever doesn't send your child home or cost you a work day.
| Option | Annual cost | Ratio | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Au pair, all-in | $28,000–$40,000 | 1:2 | Lives in your home. The State Department requires you to provide a private bedroom and three meals a day. Capped at 45 hr/week and 10 hr/day, leaves after one to two years, and needs only 24 hours of child development training in total. |
| Center daycare, two children | $44,000–$62,000 | 1:4 to 1:10 | 12–18 month infant waitlists. A low fever sends your child home, and you lose the day. |
| Boulder Super Nanny | ≈ $65,800 | 1:4 max | A degreed early-childhood professional, in a home, no waitlist. |
| Solo career nanny | $105,000–$130,000 | 1:2 | The same person, roughly $50,000 more. |
Apply now
I'd like to get to know your family to see if we'd be a good fit. Please tell me about your household.