I love animals. I have had dogs, cats, and fish ever since I was a baby. I think they possess a disposition that can get a shy child out of their shell and a playfulness that can keep up with the excitedness of small kids. On top of that, training animals is a fantastic way to give children responsibility at home.
My sister and I have talked about having a small, family hobby farm where we could raise pigs, cows, and horses too. I would love to one day find a way to incorporate animals into classroom education. It can be a great way to teach kids about compassion and understanding.
Another passion of mine is music. It started in my elementary school music class where we learned how to play the xylophone, which I still enjoy playing today. In grade 5 I wanted a drum set. My parents weren’t thrilled about the idea of listening to me bang on drums, so they got me a guitar instead. I really enjoy playing guitar. I have a Firebird SG and a Godin LG. Whenever I am back in Vernon, I meet up with my friends and we will jam for a bit. Recently, now that I have moved out, I have also taken up drums.
I think music is something that can be used to teach many different subjects in the classroom. Music can expose students to different cultures in social studies, musical notation measures beats in fractions, in ADST you can build musical instruments and learn about things like tempo, pitch, and frequency in science. Or you can play music for students as a way to work on relationship building.
