Once Upon a Time

In the Beginning

When I was a little girl, I loved having a book read to me. Sitting on my Grandma’s lap enjoying a book is one of my favorite childhood memories. Of course, one book was never enough and she would read me one or two more. When the Scholastic book order forms were sent home, I would get so excited and circle the ones I wanted to show my mom. We didn’t have extra money, but I always ended up with several of the books I wanted. As a kid, I didn’t realize the sacrifice my mom must have made to buy those books. She is an avid book reader who passed her love of reading on to me.

During the summer, I would walk to the library and pick out as many books as the librarian would let me check out. One summer, we had a competition to see who could read the most books. Well, I already mentioned how much I love books, but I didn’t mention how competitive I can be. I don’t remember exactly how many books I read that summer, but it was a lot and my love for reading grew even more.

My Favorite

One of my favorite places has always been school. I would get so sad when it was time for summer break. I love to learn, always have and always will no matter my age. I tend to accomplish my goals and dreams on my own time table. I got married six months after high school and already knew I wanted to be a first grade teacher. I did not begin college until six years later. I started and stopped a few times along the way and finally accomplished my dream of becoming a first grade teacher thirteen years later. I loved teaching first grade and my favorite part of our day was our reading group time and read alouds each day. After three years of teaching first grade, I went back to school to get my masters in literacy education. It took me three years to accomplish that dream.

Chasing Dreams

We moved back home to Grandin a few years later and I taught Kindergarten for a year. Boy was that a wild ride lol. For the past four years, I have been a title 1 reading specialist at Doniphan Elementary. Teaching struggling readers how to read is my absolute favorite. I have wanted to write a children’s picture book for about ten years and it just kept getting pushed to the back burner. At the beginning of this year, I decided it was time to chase after this dream and see what happens. I have already learned so much from going through modules in the Children’s Book Masterclass. I truly had no idea where to begin and this class helped me get my manuscript written and submitted to a professional editor. I am anxiously waiting for my first round of feedback. I should hear back by April 21st!

Follow My Adventure

I plan to share a weekly post if you are interested in following along. I will post to my Facebook author page throughout the week too. Hope you decide to join me on this adventure! Your support keeps me encouraged and motivated to keep moving forward.

Always Rise & Shine, Chrissy