I'm a PUBLISHED somebody!!!!

I had to write a post regarding exciting personal news! Previously, I had written a post about my amazing grandmother. (You can read the post I previously wrote here.) Long story short, my grandmother has her own publishing company that she has tirelessly been dedicated to working at for the majority of my life. Prior to her passion for writing and publishing books for kids with special needs and their friends, she was a music teacher. So, it can be said, I wanted to grow up to be like her (and her mother, for that matter.) Now, I didn't become a music teacher, but a teacher nonetheless...so I have accomplished that goal.

Anyway, the reason for this post. My grandmother had asked me a few years ago to write the curriculum that would coincide with the "newer" books in the Turtle Book collection. I was honored that she asked me, but I really didn't know how much work it would take to put it together!!! But, here it is! The brand new edition of the Sensitivity and Awareness Guide!!

And look!!! There is my name!!!

For more information on Turtle Books, PLEASE check out the website

http://jasonandnordic.org/turtle-books/

"TURTLE BOOKS fill the missing gap in children’s literature. Now you have easy-to-read books that honestly talk about what it’s like to be a child with a disability. Warm, colorful illustrations and simple, beautiful stories offer insights in dealing with children who have physical and mental disabilities."

For those of you that don't know me, I do not consider myself the strongest "reading" teacher. I like to teach the reading curriculum, but I can't say it is my favorite. Science, of course, is my passion and is SO MUCH more fun. Anyway, when I said yes, I had to start absorbing as much reading curriculum knowledge as possible, so a HUGE thank you goes out to all of my former colleagues that had no idea how much I was spying on their teaching techniques...not to mention all of the spying I did in your own classrooms to see what types of reading activities you were doing. Especially, Tiecea Brown....without her voice in my head while I was writing the questions or thinking about the activities I don't know how I would have been able to make it through. She is the most talented reading teacher I have had the opportunity to work with!!!

Me, Tiecea, and her husband.

And, a thank you that I have to put out there is to all of my former students. The entire time I was writing, I was thinking of all of them...so over the course of 9 years of teaching...that was a lot of different personalities. Without them, I would not be the teacher I am today. A college professor can try to prepare you for them, but NO ONE can prepare you for the day to day classroom experience like a group of kids. I have been blessed to have had some of the best. I don't have any of my own children (yet <-- that is for my mother), but I have had roughly 600 kids I have called "mine" on a temporary basis that I am VERY proud to have known, to have taught, and to (hopefully) made an impact on. My greatest accomplishment in life is to say I am a teacher. To me, it is the best profession out there!!

Last, but not least, thank you to my grandmother!!! My "Nan," who is one of a kind. I am very proud to be her granddaughter and am very lucky she has had so many life experiences because I can call her with any type of question and most likely, she has lived through it, conquered it, and can tell me how to do it better.  She is amazing, I cannot even put it into words.

We don't have a lot of pictures together, so she will hate this, but I had to post it!

Okay, this post wasn't intended to be a shout-out of thanks...but apparently, my mind wanted me to do it. So, thanks to those who read my open thank you letter!! And, thank you to those you check out the books! AND AN EVEN BIGGER THANKS, to those who use these books in your classrooms!!!!