Some of you may not know that besides being a mom I have another job that I love. Often when I am asked if I work outside of the home I say no and then have to catch myself. The work I do at Excel Achievement often doesn't feel like a job and the thing that I love the most is it fits right into our family. It is so flexible, I don't have office hours and most of my work I can do right from home during naps or after kids are in bed if I need to. I worked at a center in Arizona before we had kids that retrained little ones brains who struggled with reading and most were diagnosed with dyslexia. A couple years ago I was approached by the owner of Excel to bring the program to their center. My hearts desire was to be at home with my kids and I wasn't looking for a job, even a part time job. I did agree to go in and observe their program and see if I could give them any insight. I still remember the night I sat down and watched a little brown eyed girl struggling with reading. I couldn't help but see my little Alexa sitting at that table. My mommy heart strings were tugged pretty tightly and I thought "what if that was Alexa and someone had the keys to help her but wasn't. So there the brainstorming began. How could we make this work but still primarily be at home with my kids. I began to train teachers so they could be at the center and do the actual tutoring. I go in and observe teachers and students a couple times a month but am able to do lesson plans from home or at the center when Shane is in preschool. I love being able to keep my hand in education, help these sweet little struggling readers but also feel like it doesn't take away from my family. I love it and it is a win all around!
Excel Achievement Center is also where the kids go to preschool. The books that they use through out the building are by an author from New Zealand. Her name is Jill Eggleton. New Zealand does a wonderful job of leveling books and we love her books at home and at the center. The kids all have loved her books and literacy activities in preschool. Emma came home from kindergarten one day and was so excited. She said, "Mom, you will never guess ... my teacher has Jill Eggleton books too!" When I found out Jill Eggleton was going to do a special story time for Excel's staff's kids I knew it was something we couldn't miss. The kids were so excited. Emma had her outfit picked out days in advance.
This was a new book she had just written!
The kids had so much meeting her and listening to her read her books. He passion for little ones and books is evident. The kids thought her accent was fun too!
The kids thought their first "meeting an author" experience was pretty neat !
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