Congratulations! You did it! You made it through the first week back to school after a break. Was this week a struggle for you and your family or was it a relief to be back into routines? Either way, let’s celebrate the accomplishment of making it to Friday with a fun Friday Faces post. Today we will be getting to know our Primary and Intermediate teams. Settle in and read on to learn who you should call if you ever need someone to give a last-minute presentation.
What fictional place would you most like to visit and why?
- Anna: Neverland: you never grow old, there is always adventure and imagination is necessary to fly, eat, and live.
- Kristina: Hogwarts, hands down.
- Jennifer: My first thought was Klickitat Street because I would love to meet my all-time favorite character, Ramona Quimby. I just did a quick Google search and discovered- there is a real Klickitat Street in Portland! So I will go with Narnia.
- Kaitlyn: Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory, because I love chocolate and sweets.
- Sage: Hm, that’s a tough one. Maybe the Shire from Lord of the Rings. J.R.R. Tolkein describes it as simple and slow, which sounds pretty good right now! For the movies, it was filmed in New Zealand, and I’d be more than content with that, even though it’s a real place—haha!
- Caroline: Down the hole of Alice in Wonderland, because it has always scared me and I know it is not real but I need to find out it is not real!
- Lisa: Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory- maybe the fragrance of chocolate would put me into a stupor, but watching all the happenings in the factory would be mesmerizing.
- Lisa Ann: Narnia – This book captured my heart – not as a child, but as a mom reading it to Grant and then Lyla. Fanciful and whimsical, filled with talking animals, snow and rivers – I would hope to avoid the white witch but would delight in running into Mr. Tumnus. Fiction sometimes tells the greatest truths and I know that although I would tremor to approach Aslan, I do long to wrap my fingers through his mane and hear him whisper or roar my name, as he prefers.
What is your favorite podcast? (If you don’t listen to podcasts, tell us what you do listen to, i.e. music, audiobooks, etc.)
- Anna: Podcast: This American Life, Story Pirates (with the kids), Armchair Expert (without the kids), Bethel Church Sermons, Parenting Great Kids. Latest Audiobook: Where the Crawdads Sing, Little Fires Everywhere, Outlander.
- Kristina: I listen to music on Spotify for local drives and the occasional podcast on longer drives.
- Jennifer: I love music and always have it playing. If I am on my own, it is usually current, popular music.
- Kaitlyn: I don’t listen to a lot of podcasts, but I am always listening to music- mostly jazz and folk music.
- Sage: My classic answer is the This American Life podcast, but I’ve gotten really into Agatha Christie mysteries on audiobook lately. In the car, I listen to music though: anything from Adele to Journey to the Head and the Heart to Shakey Graves.
- Caroline: I listen to music at all times, when I cook, when I do art, when I walk
- Lisa: Focus on the Family (who doesn’t need more encouragement with marriage and family?), Rachel Hollis-Rise, Learn French with Alexa and/or Coffee Break French (three of my grandkids speak French as their primary language), Radio Ambulante and/or News in Spanish (trying to keep my Spanish skills alive), Ordinary Vegan (I eat a plant-based diet), and historical fiction audiobooks.
- Lisa Ann: I wish I could say I listened to some cool podcast, but alas… I listen to the music that Grant puts on my phone and I’m never even sure who it is. Check with him though because there’s some good stuff on there!
What did you want to be when you were little?
- Anna: A teacher and/or professional Ice Skater.
- Kristina: A dolphin trainer, teacher or attorney, depending on the day
- Jennifer: A Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader. My mom may still have the picture I drew of myself in the uniform, that was hung up at my 1st grade Open House.
- Kaitlyn: I wanted to be a storm chaser! Growing up in Nebraska, I loved watching storms. We would go out on the porch to watch the sky when the tornado sirens went off and I always found the color and movement of the clouds fascinating. (I should note that if a tornado was actually close by, we would not be outside.)
- Sage: We have this old tape of my mom asking my sister and I this very question. At about age four, my sister rattled off about ten different career options. But at age 6, I had one answer only: an artist.
- Caroline: A flight attendant
- Lisa: I always wanted to be a teacher. Always. But my mother was a teacher and I saw her working every night and on the weekend, prepping and grading. I swore I would find a 9:00-5:00 job with no after-hours work. Yet here I am loving what I always wanted to do.
- Lisa Ann: An Astronaut.
What could you give a 40-minute presentation on with absolutely no preparation?
- Anna: Preparing for Childbirth, Homeopathic remedies, Instant pot cooking: Tips, Tricks, and Recipes, Doomsday Preparedness, Peg People Painting.
- Kristina: Caring for my sweet, 18-year-old pup (it’s quite the spiel) and things to do in SLO (hiking, beaches and food edition).
- Jennifer: I love to cook for my family and friends! I am not super fancy but I could do a presentation on simple, homemade meals!
- Kaitlyn: Analyzing music (how a song is put together)/ music theory.
- Sage: I listened to one of my professors in college walk through a huge art museum and give an hour and a half overview of all of art history. I’m not sure I could do as good a job as him, but, since that lecture, I’ve been studying and thinking about the trajectory of art A LOT. So I could probably do that, or I could always lecture on the basics of Adobe design programs or how to capture and hand-develop film photos in a manual camera.
- Caroline: Travel
- Lisa: I really think I could share for hours on marriage, family, and homeschooling. Not the perfect way to go about these things, rather what I have learned and am still learning. The good, the bad, and the beautiful.
- Lisa Ann: I would riff on the importance of the home food garden and the need to build up the soil in every yard. Wouldn’t it be great if we all grew fruit trees and food in our front yards (our next home improvement project) from replenished and thriving soil? Then, whoever walked by could pick what they liked. All the water used on our landscaping would go to such a good purpose and much of it would be drought tolerant. Stop me now or I’ll go on for 37 more minutes!
*Ms. Volk was unable to fill in our survey, so be sure to ask her in person if you are dying to know her answers to any of the above questions. Also, Jennifer Bennet, one of our Primary Friday enrichment teachers was featured in our Friday Faces: New Staff post. Check it out if you missed it.
Thank you, to these fabulous ladies for sharing with us! It is always a blast to get to know our staff a little more. Here’s to a relaxing weekend!
