Where Art and Science meet

The Nurse turned teacher is where Art and Science come together. I've always had that creative vein in me since I was a child. By the time I was a preteen, I realized Science was so interesting, I was discovering so many new things thanks to it. At 18, I passed my Biology exam with a 78/100 and that's when I knew, I had to get into the medical field. Back in the early 2000s the only University where I lived in a little town of Italy was for Nurses and that's how I completed my graduation and started working right away.

It's only after nearly 10 years of shifts in Hospitals and Nursing homes, that I took a break presuming that after baby was born, I was coming back to work in 3-4 months. Little did I know that I was going to fall in love so deeply with her that I didn't want to leave her for a second. As soon as she was born, I knew I wanted to stay at home for as long as possible and the desire to homeschool my firstborn started building up in me.

I made use of all the possible maternity leave which I could have used in bits and parts for the next 12 years in my baby's very first year. By the time Baby 1 turned 1, we realized she needed company (someone to play with) that's when Baby 2 was on our minds. After I was 3 months into my second pregnancy, I knew I didn't want to go back and work crazy shifts in the hospital, so I started thinking of an alternative. I completed my TEFL Certificate from the ITA (International Tefl Academy) in Illinois, Chicago and decided to teach English as a foreign language in Italy. I got a few clients but by the end of the year, I had to take another break from my teaching as my hands were full with a newborn and toddler at home. That's right, Baby 2 was out and all ready to keep her sister company.

Now I was a SAHM of two beautiful girls. My eldest was already 2 and started showing an interest in letters. So, I completed the Jolly Phonics Course and introduced my daughter to phonics. By 3, she was sounding out letters and blending CVC words. Then I decided to complete my Handwriting without tears formation to help my 3-year old learn to write and it was a success.

In 2020 (when the pandemic hit), I started diving into the Montessori philosophy of teaching and completed 8 courses from the International Montessori Institute in Barcelona. After that I completed another bunch of 11 courses from the Montessori Centre International, London. Each Single course helped me to believe even more strongly that I had to be a teacher who knew how to make learning fun. Early this year, I completed my Jolly Grammar Course in order to be prepared to start introducing concepts of grammar to my eldest in a fun way.

By the way, Baby 2 is following in her sister's footsteps. As of now, my last 6-month course for this year will finish next month in August and I will receive an Award as a Montessori Dementia Practitioner from St Nicholas Montessori College, Ireland and an AMI (Association Montessori International) Certificate as well.

That's how I can finally see the dots joining, that's how a Nurse turned into a Teacher.