If you follow me on instagram you know I've been on a new kick of sharing more about myself with all of you in the recent weeks. As I reviewed what was on my social media and website I realized I hadn't been sharing as much authentic about me and life stuff as I wanted too. The 'stuff' I was sharing was more product based and hid a bit of who I was behind all of the products, thoughts, and ideas on education I had. I have made it my goal to 'unmask' myself a bit more so you get to know me and what Coffee & Unique Learners really is all about, because I'm much more than an educator, teacher author, and blogger. So today's blog focuses on more about me, so you can really see who's behind the screen. So here we go...
As most of you already know my name is Amanda and I live in central Pennsylvania after growing up in the Philly suburbs. I moved to central PA almost two years ago to be with my then boyfriend and now husband who had already lived in central PA for 8 years before I moved in with him. I earned my bachelors in early childhood and special education from Lebanon Valley College and my masters from Kings College in reading instruction with a focus in Multisensory literature. I am a certified Orton-Gillingham Reading Instructor after two years of intensive training and practicum with the first school district I taught in. I taught special education for six years. Five of those six years were in a small rural school district in northeastern PA in kinder through third grade learning support. I spent one year in a district outside of Hershey PA teaching 6-8 emotional support. I left teaching in the middle of my sixth year after my father passed away from Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency, a genetic lung and liver disease that he had fought for fourteen years. My husband and I felt it was best for me to leave teaching for my mental health as I worked through my grief as well as the severe anxiety I had. As many of the educators out there I had already been experiencing serious teacher burnout post pandemic and the emotional angst following my fathers death was just the icing on top of of the already crumbling cake.
After leaving teaching my husband and I moved into our dream house and were planning a wedding which took most of my time between wedding planning and decorating our house and unpacking boxes. One of my other passions outside of teaching is decorating and interor design. I from a very young age have enjoyed architecture, color theory, and the movement of shape and space. I now enjoy decorating our home and always imagining the next project and change to our space to make it more our style and more sutible for our needs. My husband Mike and I got our sweet Corgi boy Maxwell in March 2022 who we love and adore. He is a typical corgi, stubborn, cute, and energetic. He also is a little to smart for his own good sometimes but none the less we love him even more for his whit.
In my spare time I enjoy drinking delicous coffee or tea depending on the day and I am a sucker for binge watching a good show on Netflix. I enjoy spending time with my husband riding in our bright blue jeep and playing with Maxwell in our backyard. More recently I have found joy in cooking and baking, I love the art of caring and loving someone through making delicious food. I also am involved in the church I grow up in and Mike and I love spending time with people from my local church, sharing in life and faith together.
Well there it is, a little bit about me for now, I will have more to share in the future and can't wait to 'unmask' myself on my socials and website. What are some fun facts about you?
Until next time...
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