Sunshine Blog

Happy New Year!  I have been known to procrastinate, but hate when things are hanging over my head, so it's definitely time to respond to the sunshine blog in which I was mentioned.  A sunshine blog is kind of like a Twitter chain letter.  @tjthiessen mentioned me in her sunshine blog, so now I will repay the favour (thanks Tanis!).  Here is the protocol:

• Acknowledge the blogger who nominated you.
• Share 11 facts about myself.
• Answer the 11 questions the nominating blogger created for me.
• Nominate 11 bloggers to respond to your questions.
• Post 11 questions for them.  

So here goes:
11 Random Facts About myself.

1. I am married and have 3 wonderful children, all grown, all in post-secondary education.  I am so proud of them for furthering their education.  One is in education, one in early childhood education and one is an electrical apprentice.
2. I love creating things - baking, quilting, crafts, photography... You name it.  It relaxes me, and I get a deep sense of enjoyment from the finished product.
3. My favourite place in the whole world is our cabin at the lake.  It is not a cottage, it is a cabin.  By that I mean that it is not some grandiose building.  It is an old, many-times renovated, filled with second-hand stuff that we didn't want any more, cabin on the shores of Lake Manitoba.  The flood of 2011 made for a terrible sumer, but the sandbags held, and the cabin survived! 
4. I have been teaching for 26 years, which is odd, given that I feel about 26 years old.
5. I am extremely close to the one sister that I have.  She is three years younger than me, and used to be a real pain in the butt, but she's pretty cool now.
6. I love pets, but wish we didn't have so many.  Our children keep bringing more and more of them home. My husband and I own a cat, but right now we have in our house 3 cats, a dog and a fish that we are currently dog-, cat- and fish-sitting. Whose turn is it to clean the litter box?
7. I am a social media and technology junkie.  It takes a serious amount of time for me to check all my sites each day.
8. Traveling with my husband is the best fun in the world right now!  We celebrated our 25th Anniversary with a European cruise.  I honestly had to pinch myself many times to be sure I wasn't dreaming about the amazing things we were able to see.  I was also able to visit Mexico, St. John's and the US last year.  Lucky girl!
9. I drink too much coffee.  Need to work on that...
10. I like control.  I am trying to let go of that, but it's so hard.  I just have such good ideas...
11. My favourite movie is The Sound of Music.  I have watched it seriously about 15 times.

Photo: One of the free-loaders, Lumen.  You can see the free-loading dog's rubber chicken in the background.

My Replies to 11 Questions

1. My first memory of school is playing in the sandbox in Kindergarten.  It was a like a sand table, I guess, and I had to stand on my tip-toes to reach into it.
2. I am pleased with the current education system's support of  technology in our schools.  I hope that continues.
3. The change I would love to see occur is the way public education is funded.  Public education should mean a similar education across our province, or country.  Funding for our schools should not be based on the value of my, or my neighbour's, home.
4. Hands down favourite app is Explain Everything.  This app can be used across all grades and across all subjects.
5. Between multiage clases and changes in teaching assignment, I taught a particular student for four years straight. His home life was less than ideal, and he moved several times and was placed in foster care during that time.  This little guy came so far in those four years that he blew me away with the dedication he showed to his own education, proving that the school environment can be the safest and most comfortable place for many of our students. Something to think about, and not take lightly.
6. I have respect for a great many educational leaders, but I suppose the one who shifted my thinking to the greatest extent would be Loris Malaguzzi, who developed the Reggio Emilia approach to education.  If you are not familiar with Reggio Emilia and are an early years educator, I encourage you to learn all about it! 
7. Coffee, tea or water?  Coffee.  But trying to increase my water intake. :)
8. I plan to retire as soon as I can, and sub, or consult afterward.  I hope to have the freedom to travel and create whenever I want!
9. I have to say my life is pretty good, so there's not a lot I feel the need to change.  As far as professional dreams go, I hope to make a difference in the math and technology education of our division's students, and to get into real classrooms more often.
10. I blog mainly as another medium to getting the message to the teachers in our division.  If I can share what I've learned with a larger audience, then I am happy to do so.  I have learned so much from other bloggers, and the opportunity to connect is such great PD!
11. My New Year resolution is an (hopefully) easier one to keep than other year's resolutions: to drink more water, less coffee!

And finally, here are the questions I'd like these bloggers to answer:
1. Favourite holiday
2. Professional book you'd recommend to others
3. First teaching job
4. Favourite website or app
5. New Year's resolution
6. Your best teaching quality
7. A lesson your students have taught you
8. Best trend in education today
9. Past trend in education you're glad to have seen disappear
10. Personal choice: movie or book?
11. Retirement dream

Thanks again Tanis!  This was a great reflective opportunity, and fun!
Happy New Year everyone!
Lori

---