I talk a lot about Jim's career and how it impacts our lifestyle but I am not able to talk much about my career as much of what impacts us day to day is the stressful stuff and then there is the whole HIPPA rights thing. As with any "teaching" job there are gross moments (I hear it is not so hard when they are your own children), difficulties with parents, and stress about the amount of time it takes up. There are times when I forget why I was drawn to this field or wonder if it is worth it. Then there are the moments when you see a child's face light up in comprehension, they say a first word/an approximation of your name/"singing" or "reading" along with a song/story, or that first roll/crawl/step/climb....moments like those can make my whole week!
Since I am only working with my children until age three or 5 if they have a diagnosis I have them longer than a classroom teacher but don't have the luxury of seeing them around the school for years to come. Most of my children I never hear from again unless I bump into them in a store. It is hard to not know the progress of someone you were so invested in and seeing at least once a month and up to once a week for many times more than a year. This weekend in cleaning out some storage containers from college I looked through many thank you, holiday, and birthday cards from the little girl and her family that made me change my course of study. I also found my cap from graduation with one of my favorite quotes "You are educated. Your certification is your degree. You may think of it as the ticket to a good life... think of it as your ticket to change the world" -Tom Brokaw. I don't expect to change the world but I remember distinctly believing I could change the world for individual children, and to give them the highest quality of life possible. My end goal has always been for children to leave me needing as few services as possible.
I spend a lot of time preparing projects, trolling stores and websites for sales on toys and books, and reading blogs and articles about early education curriculum and projects.
My favorite book (for my work): The Very Hungry Caterpillar
My favorite craft: The most recent holiday/season gluing craft (currently feathers on a Turkey)
My favorite game: "The Fishing Game" (Which is really Go Fish by Mattel... I use it with almost all ages for taking turns, following directions, identifiying colors or numbers, and counting!)
My favorite book about my work: A Friend Like Henry by Nuala Gardener (I still have my Aunt Beth's copy)
My favorite blog for inspiration: http://kidney-garden.blogspot.com/ (Seriously makes me wish I had a classroom to decorate!)
What are your favorite books, games, projects from when you were a child or to do with your own children or classroom?
This is a test!
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