My name is Vanessa and I have been a professional nanny for nine years. Born and raised in Calgary, Alberta, and I am the second youngest from a family of six siblings. In the past four years I’ve been blessed with a happy marriage, a high energy, Shih Tzu-Lhasa Apso cross, a step-son who visits with us every second weekend, and a daughter who just had her second birthday this past May. My husband and I strive to live a healthy lifestyle, and are very concerned about being positive role-models for our family. We’re passionate about providing a strong foundation for our children, so that they can grow to be interesting, creative and confident adults. We’re a very active family. We love to work-out, skate, bike, swim, play organized sports…basically anything that gets us moving and we love the outdoors. We have memberships for the Calgary Zoo, The Science Centre, and Heritage Park, and spend most of our family time at these venues. We feel that visiting these places frequently allows the kids to explore at their own pace and there is always something new to discover. I realized I loved working with children at a very young age. For over fifteen years, my mother ran a successful day home, catering to children from six months old to pre-teen. Some of the families were with us so long that they became more like extended family than clients and we’re still friends today. By helping my mom with the day home, I learned that not only did I enjoy playing with and caring for the children, I was actually quite good at it. I began seeking out other opportunities to work with children and this lead me to volunteer work both at the Trico centre and at my sister’s dance school. I was one of the youngest volunteers ever to be part of a teaching team at the recreation centre and eventually to be one of the youngest camp leaders hired by Trico. When I started student teaching at my school, I knew without doubt that my future would involve teaching the young in one form or another. I thrived on the responsibility of structuring my classes and developing tools and methods to inspire the children to learn. My first opportunity to nanny came up in 2005 and I’ve been ‘nannying’ ever since. In comparison to teaching a class, working as a nanny allows me to develop a close relationship to the families and I get more time to see them grow. I’ve had the opportunity to nanny for children between the ages of newborn to twelve years. With my teaching background, my first-aid certification and years of experience, I strive to create a secure, loving and creative environment for the children in my care and peace of mind for the parents. I’m organized, responsible, nurturing, decisive and full of energy. I believe in the importance of play and the need for structure. I have experience with multiple children households, special needs children, large groups, multi-families and substitute nanny work so I am up to any challenge. Having Jordanna, my daughter, and bringing her to work with me has opened a whole new world of experiences for both my family and the family I’m working with. In my last position with the Steeves Family of the past year, bringing my daughter to work with me was such a positive experience that I can’t wait to try it again. The children became instant playmates and because of the very personal connection, it made me strive that much harder to make the most of every day. Though I’d started as just a temporary nanny, the position was extended and I will continue to do occasional sitting for them because of the close bond. I believe that a tidy home is a safe home. I am open to doing light house-keeping (cleaning up after meals and play areas), prepping meals, and children’s laundry but my primary focus is the children. I am quite happy to run errands, get the children to activities or school and help with homework. An ideal family for me would be one that is active and outgoing, loves to make day trips to the zoo or park, and open to new experiences. If you think we might be a good fit, I look forward to meeting you.