My name is Maria and I am 25 years old. I am a mama to 2 kids, a 2 year old daughter and a 6 month old son. In addition to being a wife and mama, I am the oldest of 4 kids and I am very much a family person. I love nature and being outside, In my spare time I enjoy spending time with family and friends, hiking, going for walks, or just getting out of the house. I have a great passion for working with children and youth of all ages. I am a very tidy and well organized individual and I am very quick to adapt to new environments.

Prior to being a stay at home mama I worked as The Youth Coordinator for both St. James Parish and Christ the Redeemer school board. I worked in 4 schools working with young people kindergarten to grade 12. In the schools my main responsibilities were running retreats, planning and implementing classroom activities, as well as lunch programs, and relational ministry. I also planned and implemented different extra curricular programs based on age level for students to take part in on week nights. Previous to my position as a Youth Coordinator I worked in The Children's Place Child Care Center in Okotoks for 2 years. I spent a large portion of my first year working with children aged 2-5 and my second year was spent working in the Out of School Program with children aged 5-12. In my time at the child care center I was responsible for child care/supervision of children aged 3mths- 12 years, I designed and implemented weekly teaching plans based around early learning stages such as letters, numbers, colors, animals, opposites, etc. that were focused around the specific age group. I planned activities involving the different learning styles such as social, language, cognitive, art, literature, fine motor and gross motor skills, I also put together and sent home monthly reports on the children and their progress. Finally, I ensured a positive, fun, clean and safe learning/play environment. In addition I have been doing child care within the community for many years. I have done everything from evenings to 2 week long jobs while parents have gone on holidays. Additional Experiences/Qualifications: I also have my Criminal Record Check, My Child Intervention Check, and my Called to Protect Certification.