I am finally taking the time to write to all of you. I know by the e-mails that I have received from some of you that you are wondering where I have been.
Many of you know that I lost my job about 2.5 years ago when the store I had worked at for 13 years suddenly closed. I started my blog a short time later and had more than enough time to create and post each day.
For the past 2.5 years I have presented early childhood trainings and done consulting work which kept food on our table and papercrafting supplies in my craft corner, but I needed something steadier to do.
Happily early this September I was hired to teach preschool. I hit the ground running and haven't stopped yet. I have 17 students who range in age from 2.9 to 5+ years old. Some of them do not speak or understand English. All of them are adorable and a lot of fun. They burst into the classroom each morning with huge smiles on their faces and eagerly look to see what I have for them to do.
Throughout September and October all of my creative time and energy has been invested in my classroom. My papercrafting tools and supplies now serve a new purpose. I use my Crop-a-dile to punch holes in my vocabulary cards: my Xyron machine to make magnetic puzzles, to laminate, and to apply adhesive; my punches, dies, and patterned papers to create manipulatives and props.
Instead of creating cards I have become a scrapbooker of sorts. I take lots of pictures of my students and display them in photo sleeves or in an album for them to "read". I use my patterned paper, borders, dies, punches, markers, adhesives, and stickers when I create my pages. The children love seeing their pictures and spotting the "spider" stickers, the "pumpkin" cutouts, and the "apple" borders.
I am still planning to create holiday cards and gifts so I hope you'll continue to stop by to see if anything is new.
Hope to talk with you soon.
Carol
