Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Meet The Teacher Monday! (a day late!)

Hello, Blog Hoppers!  I'm jumping in with "Meet The Teacher" at I'm Blog Hoppin'!

A Little About Me
Andrew and I have been married for 22 years.  We have four children, ages 18, 15, 13, and 10.
This picture was taken last December, with an outcry of protest; 65degrees on a windy beach!
BigBro left for college last week (many tears from me, glee from him), MidBro plays competitive baseball (the great American pastime), DollyGirl dances 12+ hours/week ($$$, memories, pure joy), LilBro makes ADHD look like fun (but not every day, in every way, lol!)


How long have I been teaching...?
This is my 14th year in the classroom, my 7th in kindergarten.  I graduated from Truman State with a double certification, Pre-K and K-8.  Even then, my passion was kindergarten!  Directly out of college, I was an Early Childhood Administrator at a Christian school.  Supervising staff, teaching 3- & 4-yr olds, and writing curriculum resulted in 12 hour days.  The year that Andrew and I married, I jumped at the chance to take the kindergarten classes.  Five years later, I was happily bouncing a baby and tossing the alarm clock!  For ten years, I was blessed to be at home with my babies.  In 2006, I returned to the classroom, teaching PreK (which looked like the 'new kindergarten').  I loved co-teaching, writing curriculum and adding to my literature collection!  But, I began to ache for my own K class.  And God led me straight to a terrific place!
This is just one side of the room!
You might not know...
*Having children was a difficult journey for me.  My first pregnancy ended in miscarriage at 12 weeks.  My second pregnancy, which took 18 months to conceive, ended with a stillbirth.  Sara's story can be found here.  She was born almost 20 years ago; I still dream about her.  She changed me in deep and holy ways.
*I wanted to be an astronaut!  I had the grades, but not the oh-so-necessary perfect vision!
*Singing is my secret hobby.  I'd get a real mike if I could get away with it!  (too many teenagers lurk the halls of my house :-))
*In 2001, I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis.  I'm thinking a tattoo might be a good way to mark the ten years that I have known about this challenge in my life...thoughts??!

This year, I'm looking forward to...
Knowing the ins and outs of my school, having the unknowns behind me.  Now that I've spent 7 days with my kinders, I'm happily anticipating the literacy block and experiencing gingerbread/outer space/Dr. Suess/the 16th century/ocean life with them!  I'm also psyched to hear them pray and to worship God with them.


What do I need to improve?
I need to leave work at work.  I need to not reinvent the wheel every year!


Teaching supplies I can't live without...
I've already gone through a package of blue 'sticky-tak'!  Last year, I used a rolling case designed for scrapbooking as my book bag; love it!  And, I can't teach without the library.  Yes, my taxes save me hundreds of $$ each year.  I just have to request things in advance, if I want them when I need them!


Thanks for sticking around to meet me!  
I hope you have a fantastic school year!




1 comment:

  1. Hey there,
    Thanks for stopping by and asking about my girl:) She was having a tough time last week but, God is good and she is doing better this week. Loved reading your Meet the Teacher!

    4th Grade Frolics

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for being part of my story!