This is me.

My logo...I love this image!

After lots of encouragement from friends, family, colleagues (both online and off), I am joining the teacher blogging world! As I sit and type these words, my heart is pounding.  Although I am excited to be starting this adventure, I am also very nervous and, I admit, a tad overwhelmed.  I have learned so much about blogging and Teacher Pay Teachers  since September, but I still have so much to learn about!  There's no better time than now, so here I am!

Even at 5 years old, I knew that I was meant to be a teacher!

I am an Ontario Certified Teacher.  The story of how I got to where I am now is somewhat long, so I won't bore you with the details.  Just know that I've wanted to be a teacher since I started school at the age of 5 years old, but it took me a while to get there because I took a few detours.

I started working in the education field in 2004, as an Official Language Monitor, in Alberta.  I basically worked in French Immersion schools to promote the French language through games and activities with groups of kids.  I loved my job and it only made me want to teach even more.

I then worked as an Educational Assistant, in Grades 3 and 4.  I left that job to have my second child, and shortly after he was born, my husband and I decided to move back to Ontario.  Once we bought our house, I started looking for work.  I became an occasional Educational Assistant and an Unqualified Occasional Teacher.  I was working almost every day, and again, it made me want to become a teacher even more.

I went back to school to complete my Bachelor of Education.  I remember sitting in my first class and tears were rolling down my cheeks as I listened to the teacher tell us about some of her experiences.  I was so excited to FINALLY be working towards my dream career!  It was very difficult to juggle the intense work load with family, a house and work, but we all got through it.  I became a qualified teacher in 2009.

Since 2009, I have been working as an occasional teacher with two school boards in my area.  Getting on the supply lists and being recognized as a qualified teacher proved to be more difficult than I had anticipated, and I often feel like quitting and moving on to something more stable, but the truth is that I can't imagine doing anything other than teacher.  It is what drives me, it is what I was born to do.

Every August, I apply for a permanent position within the two boards I already work with.  I send hundreds of resumes and applications a year with all the school boards in my area.  I apply for everything and anything that comes up, but I have yet to secure a permanent position.  I was lucky enough to have a long term contract last year, in a split grade 3 and 4, and I absolutely loved every minute of it (even the planning and marking!).  I learned tremendously from all of my colleagues and from the kids in my very first class, as well as the other students in the school.  I am now anxiously waiting for another position to open up and hope that I can be in my own classroom again soon.