I began my teaching career almost 35 years ago teaching elementary music classes in both English and French. After doing this for a few years I began teaching in my own primary classroom. I have taught Grades 1, 2, and 3. I am retired and I volunteer at my last school doing reading and math groups. I still teach ukulele as an extra-curricular activity.
Positive self-esteem is very important to me and I spent a lot of time working with my students to help them develop a love of themselves and their talents that they can share with others. Many of our activities dealt with creating powerful, positive, confident, and caring people. I enjoyed using technology in the classroom. Many activities incorporated computers, document cameras, and the projector. I used interactive whiteboards as well. I enjoy creating different projects for students to do that provide them with an opportunity to show their learning in a variety of ways. These projects have been highly successful and continue to be a great way to involve the families in the learning.
I was humbled when told by former administrators that I was going to be missed when retiring. They had heard that I was doing amazing things in my classroom and that I always gave 110% to my students. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to work with so many master educators and learn from them.
I received my Bachelor of Education from the University of Victoria. I began teaching with a standard certificate in 1980 and then took classes every summer until I completed my professional certificate. As I incorporated my experience from teaching, I made several changes to the route I was going and I feel that this on-going learning helped me to become a better teacher.
I enjoyed geocaching before injuring my knees. My caching name is Diamond Mom and this name has followed me into other areas. I am a co-director for Pacifica Ukes which is an honor ukulele organization in the Campbell River school district. I also assist my husband with two adult groups in the area. I would love to have you stop by my blog and my Facebook page to see what has been happening in my world.
PreK, Kindergarten, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, Higher Education, Adult Education, Homeschool, Staff, Not Grade Specific
English Language Arts, Balanced Literacy, Creative Writing, Reading, Grammar, Spelling, Vocabulary, Specialty, Math, Applied Math, Arithmetic, Basic Operations, Geometry, Graphing, Measurement, Numbers, Other (Math), Science, Astronomy, Basic Principles, Biology, Other (Science), Social Studies - History, Civics, World History, World Language, French, Arts & Music, Visual Arts, Music, Instrumental Music, Other (Music), Physical Education, Other (Specialty), Canadian History, Geography, Other (Social Studies - History), Other (ELA), Life Skills, For All Subject Areas, Literature, Classroom Management, Character Education, Word Problems, General Science, Writing, en Français, Oral Communication, Reading Strategies, Holidays/Seasonal, Back to School, Thanksgiving, Christmas/ Chanukah/ Kwanzaa, Poetry, Autumn, Mental Math, Halloween, Winter, The New Year, Valentine's Day, Decimals, St. Patrick's Day, Easter, Spring, Place Value, Earth Day, For All Subjects, Summer, Informational Text, End of Year, Phonics, Close Reading, Classroom Community