kbFAWN is OPEN for business!!

    2020 has definitely been a year for stories. So many people with many stories to tell. Some with tragedy and loss amidst the pandemic. Mass amounts of lives lost due to the virus, or some lives lost like my dad, no rhyme or reason. However, in the thick of COVID-19 some people have been able to create stories of success, special family moments spent together, or reconnecting with old friends. There is no doubt we will all remember where we were and what we did during this time. My journey continues to unfold and evolve, I hope yours does too! I am enjoying the opportunities to grow, even at 45, yes I am 45 for 3 more months! 

    The last story I left you with, I had taken a leave from New England Financial. Life was spinning and I was standing still. Magically I woke up one day and decided to get back on track and pull myself together. The laws of attraction were in full force. A video on weight loss and healthy living somehow landed on my computer screen. It made it seem easy to achieve some personal goals of finding a healthy weight, not overnight, but slowly over time I was able to retrain my brain.(Precision Nutrition (https://www.google.com/search?q=precision+nutrition+videos&client=safari&hl=en-us&prmd=vin&sxsrf=ALeKk02viG7_dONlo9gS3SYkLSPbyBHt6w:1600490427145&source=lnms&tbm=vid&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjP54C7s_TrAhVWGM0KHcOkAYYQ_AUoAXoECAsQAQ )As well as a friend invited me to a yoga class. I fell in love with the solitude and a chunk of time to let my brain just be. The physical strengthening yoga created within my body was a bonus. I found my way back to enjoying the outdoors, and after some time off I decided to not return to my full-time career as a financial representative. Something even better fell into my lap, working as a paraprofessional at Palos East elementary school, where my two daughters were attending.  

    Some may ask what is a paraprofessional. It is the fancy word for a teacher's aide. Which it truly deserves a fancy name. We are some pretty luminous people. Yet on a day to day basis, we are often unnoticed. Our roll in the academic world is one that no one could ever understand or relate with unless you have worked as a paraprofessional. . 

    How do I describe who we are, what we do, and how we interact with the people and students we work with.

     Let's keep it simple. We are people who love children and were born to work with kids on a level many others cannot. As a student's "school mom" we provide them with love and care. We make sure the students we work with have all of their supplies, make sure they eat their lunch and snack, we make sure they have a friend to sit with, we give them confidence, we hold their hand if they need it, we watch over them, we make sure their hands, faces, and even with some students, their bottoms are clean. We put their needs over our own for 6 or more hours a day. That is only some of what we do and those are the easy things.

         I neglected to mention how we help our students academically. We sing, we dance, we're up and down doing a circus act, trying to keep our school kids engaged and learning. Some students we work with don't have academic gaols, yet regardless of a student's individual plan, each and every one of us are bound and determined we are not going to send a student to the next grade level without social and academic growth in one way or another.  Any child at Palos East Elementary is in the best hands with the women I work with. 

   I have to be honest there is nothing simple when it comes to the job we do as parapros. I will eventually dedicate a blog to all of the paraprofessionals out there. It is an arduous job. The students and teachers we work with can be challenging, yet we go back day after day, year after year, because of the students. Our job has rewards that money cannot buy.

       In March the pandemic forced us all to work from home. Liabilty and limitations with the paraprofesional licensing reduced the amount of time each of us aides had with the students we were working with. During this time, I decided to teach myself a new skill. One my mom had been asking me to try since I was a small child. Crochet. Todd's grandmother, Mimi, was an expert at crochet. She made the most beatiful blankets for all of the great granchildren, as well as sweaters, baptismal outfils, and many other amazing things. My mom also crochets and knits. Her work is also beutiful! However, I could never quite get the hang of it. My stitches were too loose or too tight. Finally, during the pandemic, I decided to give it another go. I fell in love! It finally clicked. For some it comes naturally. However, for me it has been a learning curve. I found my nitche and it has all started to come together. I beyond thrilled to keep the traditon of handmade gifts continuing on through

    Below is the link to kbFAWN. (kimberly bumsted Funding Adolescents With Needs) You can peruse my site and veiw my vintage household item, made the way my mom, Gramzie and Mimi would make it. It's very simple, but sometimes simple works. I am very excited to share my concept with all of you and hope you will continue to follow along and see where this journey will continue to go. I am hopeful it will not end with the Etsy store, but it will continue with fundraising and provide amazing opportunities for kids with special needs. Possibilities they could only dream of. My vision is vast. However, I believe with time it can be done. I now have my product, next I will be looking for additional support and a team to fundraise and help my vision become a reality. 

    Just as the students I have worked with at school have helped me grow as a person, finding the patience I never knew was possible, tapping into the strength and courage from within,  not fearing failure and being able to share my ideas and stories with others, I try to return those qualities to the kids I work with.. As well as showing my own children, 

following a dream is possible, no matter how old you are. We are capable of so many things. 

                          "Children with special needs come into our lives,  

                            leaving footprints on our hearts, and we are never the same" 

                            -anonymous

https://www.etsy.com/shop/kbFAWN?ref=search_shop_redirect

kbFAWN