A Writer and an Artist
I am a Gemini. Born between May 21 and June 21. I have always thought the Gemini symbol of The Twins defined me well. The two distinct personalities or personas speak clearly to my being an artist and a writer. Most of my posts to this point have been about my art. It’s time for me to blog about my writing, in particular, my social and emotional health teaching strategies.
Parenting Education
I started developing educational curricula and teaching strategies as a Parenting Educator. For many years, I provided programming for parents including single moms and single parents and other caregivers. As a new mom, I participated in the “Systematic Training for Effective Parenting (STEP)” program presented by my health care provider and a series on conflict resolution presented by the New Justice Conflict Resolution Services in Syracuse, NY.
Then, I became a trainer. This was for the “Every Person Influences Children (EPIC)” parenting education program. Taking parts from all three of these programs, I created and taught a parenting education program. I then taught it for the NYS Board of Cooperative Education Services’ (BOCES) Adult program.
I loved parenting education, sharing what I had learned and helping other parents. This work extended into programming I did for in-home day care providers enrolled in the Onondaga County Day Care “Magic Bus” program. Implementing literary and culinary arts into this curriculum provided fun and engaging activities for both the children and the care providers.
Mental Health Education
After receiving a Masters in Health Education, my curriculum development continued to focus on mental health, providing social and emotional learning (SEL) teaching strategies for K-12 teachers, parents, youth workers, foster care caseworkers and foster parents.
Award Winning Curriculum
After receiving a Masters in Health Education, my curriculum development continued to focus on mental health, providing social and emotional learning (SEL) teaching strategies for K-12 teachers, parents, youth workers, foster care caseworkers and foster parents.
During this time, the NYS Department of Education hired me as an External Consultant to assist in developing a high school/”commencement level” parenting education curriculum guide. For the guide, I created, “Final Episode™: Resolving family conflicts with communication,” a commencement level learning experience.
I was thrilled when this curriculum met the State’s ‘Academy for Teaching and Learning” requuirements. With an intense peer-review process, the Academy seeks to award well designed K-12 curricula.
“Final Episode™” incorporated many different art disciplines. These include theatre/drama arts and a “Document Based Questionnaire.” A DBQ engages student learning using paintings, comics and other graphic artwork. This leads students on an entertaining, self-directed journey to learn about how to communicate in safe and healthy ways.
“Final Episode™” and my other curricula illustrate how my art connects with my mental health curriculum. Perfect examples of my “gemininess!”
Engaging teaching strategies
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