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Jentifa Today, I will be bringing you our
interview with Victoria from Mom’s Homeroom. We asked her a few
questions that we felt our readers would like to hear about.
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Victoria is a third grade teacher and single mom to four kids. She
was voted Teacher of the Year in 2007 and has been recognized as a
mentor-teacher for the past four years. She has taught courses in
diversity training, critical thinking, and human development theory in
her states alternative certification program. She uses her teaching
skills to help her children realize their potential and give them the
skills to be well-rounded people. Read on for advice and tips from
Victoria…
Being Named Teacher of the Year – In gaining this
title Victoria felt very honored and validated in what she was doing
and the goals that she had set not only for herself but her colleagues
and teachers on her team. Not only how she did in her own classroom was
taken into account but, what she did outside the classroom for the
teaching community. Victoria said it was a “wonderful acknowledgment”.
How Do You Find Balance? - Victoria says she
learned years ago that she needed to be easier on herself in her daily
life. She had to learn when things were good enough as they were and
when she needed to push to make it right. “As women we are given the
impression that we have to do everything in our lives with equal
priority and achievement and that can set us up to fail”, Victoria
says. (You know what? That makes sense to me and it was great to hear someone say that,
almost like it made it okay for me to feel and think that way too,
which I do). “It can really undermine our ability to be good mothers
when we have this sense of what we should be able to do and we can’t
forgive ourselves if we can’t reach that goal”. Prioritizing is
important and always be ready for the Frisbee to tip, which is how
Victoria sees balance in her life, not by a typical scale, but how
things are when a Frisbee is thrown into a pool, with all the dips and
sways.
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Do You See A Difference in Children Who Attend Preschool As Opposed To Those Who Don’t As Far As Academic Setting?
– Unfortunately, yes there is a difference. With a lot of school
districts putting curriculum into Kindergarten it seems that children
really need to be more prepared, know their letters and numbers and in
some cases write them all out. Now of course that is not saying that a
child who stays home with a parent during the preschool years can’t
catch up and learn what they need to know by the time they finish
kindergarten.
What Are Your Recommendations For Getting Your Child Ready For The School Aged Years? -
Victoria had great tips on things to do with your children to get them
prepared to learn and be ready for school weather is be preschool or
straight to kindergarten. They are:
Take the pressure off your child to produce results.Look for interactive games to play together so they can learn concept.Look for word games to play so they get use to the sounds in words
All of these tips are great tips to help your child start on the road to learning.
What Are Your Recommendations On Getting School Supplies For Your Child? – She had wonderful tips for ways to get your school supplies for your child’s school year, sometimes with great sales.
Dollar Stores – She once stocked her classroom
with clip boards for a dollar a piece, and her kids loved them and did
more work on them then if their papers were on their desks.Yard Sales – Great place to find puzzles, books and even board games that used to be such a big part of a children’s education.Major Drug Store Chains – They have weekly sales,
like one for erasers for a penny. Most have limits so just go in as
many times in that week as you can and buy the maximum. Great way to
stock up on things that you need on a regular basis.
That wraps up our interview questions for Victoria, and I know I
could have stayed there all day talking with her, especially about the
difference between preschool-ed kids and un-preschool-ed kids, as I
wish I had someone to tell me what she did before my middle daughter
started school. I have always been lucky to stay home with my kids and
I never knew that the school systems were upping what the children
needed to know before kindergarten and my daughter was behind. At that
point I had felt like such a failure, with my daughter, but I am happy
to say that she caught up and surpassed what she is supposed to know
now and I couldn’t be more proud of her. Thank you Victoria for being
such an awesome figure for us to look up to. In our short time chatting
you really impressed me and made a difference in the way I look at
myself now.
And that wraps up our interviews with the wonderful women of Mom’s
Homeroom. This is definitely one experience I will never forget! Thank
you all for sharing your advice, wisdom and tips with us so that we
could share them with our readers. I learned so much in those few hours
on the set and I appreciate all the time that you gave me.
I am working with circle.php?l=55995 as a correspondent for Kellogg’s and http://momshomeroom.msn.com/ to bring you all of this great information.
over 2 years ago - Comment
Cooper Fantastic information, Jennifer. I love the clip board idea, too.
over 2 years ago