Tell Us About You Tuesday

Hi everyone! I'm linking up with Freebielicious today to tell you all about myself. I'm Kelly and this is going to be my 17th year of teaching Deaf/Hard of Hearing Students on the Central Coast of California.

Waaaaaay back in high school I volunteered at a summer camp for children with speech and language disorders. My younger cousin is deaf and had attended this camp when he was young. I already knew a little bit of sign language, but after voluteering that first summer, I just knew I wanted to work with deaf children. I took sign language classes at our local community college and ended up being paired with a deaf child for three more summers until I graduated from high school.

By my senior year it was pretty clear, I wanted to become a teacher of the deaf/hard of hearing.  Here in California there are two choices for schools with Deaf Ed programs. Fresno is WAY TOO HOT and Northridge was WAY TOO BIG. I ended up going out of state to tiny MacMurray College in Illinois. But the fact that it was literally a mile from IL School for the Deaf sold me. Hands down, going out of state forced me out of my little shell and I had an amazing experience in college.

But I ended up coming back and settling here on the Central Coast. This weather is perfect. (Except the last two days. I am melting people!) I couldn't find a Deaf Ed job right away so I applied to be an interpreter. At my interview the coordinator did a double take that I had just graduated Deaf Ed. She offered me a preschool teaching job on the spot. I took it! But I had to start a week later than school was starting since, um, I was getting married!!! First teaching job and getting married all within a week as a baby at 21.

I taught preschool for two years with itinerant as well. Then when a position opened up in the classroom I moved over to teaching 4th-6th grade. As our numbers decreased I expanded to 3rd-6th and now it's 1st-6th grade! It's crazy! Some days it feels like a one room school house. So many pros, so many cons. But I make it work and I try not to complain too much. I have a job I love.  

I have two beautiful girls who keep VERY busy when I am not at work.

Aubrey is seven and is simply a miracle. She was born at 29 weeks which was a scary experience. She was diagnosed at 2 with Childhood Apraxia of Speech and didn't even learn to talk until 3 1/2. Just by looking at her now and talking to her, you'd never know she was a preemie or had such great difficulty learning to talk! This girl is going to be taller than me by third grade!

Addyson is my spunky five year old. She has more personality than I know what to do with most days. But she keeps me laughing, that's for sure. I couldn't even make up half the stuff she comes up with. Always making me smile, that's for sure!

In my "spare" time I love to scrapbook. Both the traditional albums and also Project Life. I just love to document all the big and little moments in our life. It's a huge creative outlet for me. Plus retreats twice a year with my scrapbooking group keep me sane!

Some times I wonder how I fit it all in. Priorities. You always have time for things you love.