A is for.....

Well, I'm already behind on the A to Z challenge, as today is April 2nd (B Day) and I still haven't done A. I had a long week, and got three blog posts up on other sites, so :-P

Hey, that brings me to my first random word....attitude. Yes, I have an attitude. I have known this since I was little. But I try to use my attitude for good. I get annoyed with people who act dumb or unreasonably, and then that attitude can rear its ugly head.

A is for...anger and acceptance and Alzheimers This was the topic of my first blog post for the new blog at How to Laugh at Alzheimer's. I also go through waves of anger and acceptance in other avenues, but this one seems to be the strongest right now.

A is for...apples. I love apples. I also equate apples with being a teacher. I forget how that whole idea of "an apple for the teacher" came to be. Wasn't it something like students showed appreciation for their teachers by giving them an apple, because fruits were like a specialty? Anyway, somehow, I have come to resent the teaching symbol, because I am not a fan of traditional teaching. I still remember when I was 19 and had an art project due for my final. It was an expose of myself, made up of numerous little pictures that represented who I was. One of the pictures was a pencil stabbing an apple. Public education and I do not get along. I am a full-blown Montessorian at heart. I also resented all of the coursework I had to take, just to become a teacher. Some of it came in very handy, and some of it was completely useless.

A is for...autism. Speaking of my educational background, I wish we would have done more with autism. Then again, sixteen years ago, we didn't talk about it as much. It was always just a blurb in the textbooks, even in my special ed classes. Of course, back then, I never dreamed that I would be encountering autism and Asperger's on such a regular basis. Alas, it has become a passion of sorts of mine. I am completely fascinated by the world and strive to understand it. It was the topic of my Montessori Writer blog post yesterday.

A is for...Andrea. That is me. There are so many aspects of my personality and nature. Some of that is going to come out in this challenge. Some of those facets may seem contradictory in nature. Oh well.

I think this is going to be fun. I have word lists constantly moving through my head. I feel like I am in my classroom, going over the "sound of the week" with my older kids. I read them a book that focuses on a sound. Then, I have them brainstorm words that begin with that letter. I love them, because even at the ages of four and five, they have figured out how to find the letter in a picture dictionary, and use that for brainstorming. Call me awed and impressed.

And I will end with acceptance. This blog challenge is bringing me new readers, and I have already been embraced in a couple of the blogs, in a way I had never expected. I feel tremendous responsibility, and I thank you.

Until later today, when random thoughts of "B" flow from my head.....