"Real isn't how you are made," said the
Skin Horse. "It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for
a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become
real." ~ Margery Williams, The Velveteen Rabbit
This is my first
blog entry that doesn’t address my life in the kindergarten world, or as a
mom! The trend here is…children. I love the excitement you see on their faces when
they learn something new, or create something that they want to tell you all
about. Their imaginations are endless
and take us on adventures that prime time cannot compare to.
I dreamed of being a teacher beginning at the
age of 7. This was the year I had a fabulous teacher
(one of many I was fortunate enough to have.)
I loved to read at a young age.
Part of the reason is because it was a challenge in the classroom. I went to school during the time when SRA was
used in the classroom. Maybe some of you
remember the different levels and colors.
We read the stories, answered the questions, and if we did well on the “test”
for that book we moved on! I had a bit
of a competitive nature, so I was going to conquer reading those levels
first!! Though I am sure I was not
successful, it provided me with drive and determination. My other dream was to be an author of
children’s books. My mom still thinks I should pursue this avenue;
however, I would rather be with the kids, reading the great books to them,
rather than writing books for them.
So, I am a full-time
mom of two teenagers, a wife, and a full-time special education kindergarten
teacher! On my days off, in between
running my teens around and spending time with my friends, I enjoy going to the
Jumpstart program run by the YMCA (and held at the former Center Street School)
and spending time with the preschool age kiddos! This is in part due to the lack of
responsibility I have there~I get to read my favorite
stories, do some of my favorite crafts, and teach using fun resources! I also taught at CS school for several years
before the district consolidation, and enjoy spending time in the place I loved
teaching in for years. Also, Miss Stacey
is a good friend of mine, and we had the opportunity to teach together a bit
last year, and I enjoy our teaching teamwork!
I had spent some
time in the room with Stacey, met the kiddos, and couldn’t wait to enjoy more
time with them. My first theme I decided
to cover was Penguins! One of my
favorite kindergarten themes, so I decided I would love to do it twice! Enjoy the pictures of the children as we read
the book Antarctica by Helen Cower. We then
had fun writing word problems to go with our penguin craft and we used water
bottles to make our own Penguins! I hope
they enjoyed it as much as I did!
