Hi!
Hi everyone!
My name is Jennifer Crain (or Jen, not Jenny- there were 4 Jennifers’ in my kindergarten class so I have never used Jenny!). This is my 4th semester taking classes, will graduate next spring.
I taught elementary school for 12 years, mainly reading intervention, kindergarten, and second grade. I am the man in the yellow hat- a kindergarten favorite book- for book character (AKA Halloween) day:
Currently working as a library clerk for a large public library branch, and want to become a children’s librarian.
I am looking forward to reading more about international library trends. For my first masters in education, I was able to study abroad in Australia for 7 months. I also want to go to Europe, especially Germany, at some point in my life.
Outside of school, I am an avid reader (like most of us are), I have been reading a lot of mysteries, psychological thrillers, contemporary fiction, and middle grade books lately. I am also working on remodeling my inherited house in the Bay Area- some things are done (the driveway and painting) and others are a hot mess, but between going to school full time (5 classes this semester), working 80% of full time, and actually sleeping, remodeling is going slowly.
I also love European handball and football (soccer). When I have more time, I will get back to quilting, especially more of art quilting. This is some of my previous quilts I have made.
6 Comments
Caroline
Hi Jennifer!
I love that your school had favorite book character day for Halloween. One school where I worked had historical Halloween, where students chose an historical figure to research and then dress up as, and we had a timeline (not a parade!) to bring the whole school together – it was always fun to see who was chosen the most in any given year, and how the students came to pick who they picked.
Where in Australia did you live when you studied abroad? I lived in Perth and Geelong for about 1.5 years total many years ago, and loved it. I’d happily move back there.
Your quilts are beautiful! My college roommate and I learned to quilt while we were in school, and her skills have grown exponentially (she’s an art professor now, and fabric arts are part of her classes), while mine have poked along slowly but I’ve made my way to Hawaiian quilting, which I enjoy, though it takes me much longer depending on how quickly I get into the groove of the applique process. Do you have any favorite quilt artists?
Looking forward to learning together with you this summer!
– Caroline
Jennifer Crain
Our fifth graders always did “bottle biographies”- decorated a two liter like their historical figure to go along with their report, and some dressed as their character as well. Presented to younger grades.
I lived in Burwood (suburb of Melbourne) and went to Deakin Uni for a semester, but then traveled up and down the East coast… I would so go back even though that was 2006!
I want to move away from traditional quilting and more towards art quilting. Kathy McNeil is an artist I recently discovered (https://www.kathymcneilquilts.com/). Hawaiian quilting takes time, I am impressed! I got the quilting bug early, in 4th grade I was homeschooled and part of the pioneer unit was making a 9 patch by hand and loved it!
Ashley West
Love seeing all your pictures, what wonderful work experiences you’ve had! I look forward to sharing the experience of this class with you. Cheers!
Jennifer Crain
Thanks, Ashley!
Michael Stephens
@crain it is so wonderful to read about your time in Australia. The photos are great too. I’ve been lucky enough to travel to Australia three times and spend a total of 12 weeks there the first was a five city speaking tour in 2008 followed by a research visit in 2009. If my memory serves, I did focus groups for academic librarians at Deacon because I remember going way out into the suburbs of Melbourne in 2018 I was visiting professor at University of Queensland and spent four weeks in the country meeting librarians and doing more research. Australia is one of my favorite places in the world. Sorry for the long response. 🇦🇺
Thanks for sharing all of your background of what brought you to this class. Also, thank you for your forward eye on our module resources.😀
Welcome to #hyerlib!
Jennifer Crain
Deakin was the last tram stop before you had to convert to buses, so as a uni student it was cheap and effective to get into the city. Loved Melbourne better than Sydney (too many people!). I would go back in a heartbeat if I knew I had the finances and job!