My teaching background

My teaching partner in public school and now in homeschooling~

My classroom, ready for a special parent reading event.

My mother said that even as a little girl I wanted to be a teacher. I went to college and did my basics and still had no idea what I wanted to do. I took an introductory business class and hated it and I also took an introductory teaching class, Special Education 101 and loved it! After graduating from Sam Houston State University in 2001, I searched for a job all summer. I drove to schools in the area and dropped off my resume in person. I had a couple job interviews and was passed over. That was very discouraging. School was about to start and I still had no job. The week before school started I had an interview for a new section of 2nd grade due to more students enrolling before the start of school. I was called back on Friday and told I had the job. School started on Monday! Ack! Talk about stressful! I set my classroom up that Saturday and Sunday with the help of my parents and husband and started school on Monday!
I am a type of person who can fly by the seat of my pants if I need to, but I can also be a huge planner, like I do with my Disney trips. I'm not so stringent or stiff that I can't accept change. I can be a get er done kinda person or wait til the last minute and go for it person too. I feel like I am a good mix.
One assistant principal that I had, loved to give me the "challenge" students and parents, because they knew I could or would handle them. Funny how some of those parents and students were really great and we had a great year together. Others were more difficult and I learned a lot those years.
I taught public school for 9 years, all years teaching my favorite age - 2nd grade. Such a fun age. They love to be at school for the most part, they love you as their teacher (most of them anyway) and almost all can read, we helped them become better readers. I had a saying - In the other grades (kinder and 1st) you learn, to read. In 2nd grade we read, to learn. Comprehending what you've read and learning from what you were reading is a huge skill. I taught with some amazing women and my last school was a really great school. We are forever friends and I made some "Sisterchick" relationships over the years as well
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We take a yearly summer trip with the kids, even though we don't teach together these days.

My Sisterchicks -

'Sisterchick' is a 'friend who shares the deepest wonders of your heart, loves you like a sister, and gives you a reality check when you're being a brat.” - by author Robin Jones Gunn

Deciding to become a stay at home mom was a huge decision. I wanted to be home with my 2 girls (now I have 3), but I knew that with one income it could be scary (especially when my husband was laid off and then didn't have a job for 3 months shortly after I quit). I decided at the last minute to stay home, like the day or two before the summer deadline to quit was up. I gave half of my classroom things to a student teacher I recently had, and saved the other half to keep my garage warm... I didn't want to part with some of my things, especially my library that I had created and collected many books for! (Now I'm glad I kept that stuff, since I'm getting a chance to use some of it!)

Just a small snippet of my classroom library.

I truly love to teach. Whether it's a child learning to tie their shoe, (which I have a trick for) or teaching my girls about things in nature or about God. I love telling them things they had no idea about and they are like little sponges ready to soak up the information. I honestly feel that school has lost it's "fun". Like Mary Poppins says - with every job that must be done, add an element of fun and snap the job's a game... not any more. They (the Texas education board) have pushed so much paperwork and stuff at teachers, that they don't have time to make it fun. They try, but it's not like it used to be...

It doesn't snow here in Texas often...
we stopped class to run outside and eat some flakes!

I think that being a teacher in the public school setting gives me a good foundation for knowing how to manage more than just a few children...if I can handle 22 daily in a classroom, I can do my three, right?? Not all classes were easy, but I feel as though those years with different learning styles, special needs and tough behavior issues helped me prepare for my biggest role yet - Homeschooling! I'm hoping so at least! Ha!
So that's my background in a nutshell!
Sarah