Hello, My maiden name is Janet Lee Gustason. The Janet Lee was after an female ice skater. My language is English. I do not speak any other language. I tried Spanish in High School but was not successful. I was born in Arcadia, California in 1960. I grew up in the San Berdenio county in California from birth to 6 yrs. I was then placed into foster care until I was 9 yrs old. I then live in Van Nuys, California for 4 years. At 14 I started moving around a lot because my mother married a man that was in the Air Force. I traveled to Monterrey, CA., to Texas, Nebraska, Taiwan, Hong Kong and then eventually to Sacramento. I've lived in Sacramento for 33 years. I now live in Antelope and have been here for 21 years.
My race is white/Caucasian. My fathers family came to the US from Switzerland and changed their name from Gustafason to Gustason because their were too many people with the same last name.My father was raised in Iowa and moved to California when he got out of the Marines, after the Vietnam War. My mothers family as always live in the US and originally lived in Kansas City, Missouri. In my culture we believe in being honest, dependable and treat others with respect.
Family is very important to me. I try to spend as much time as I can with my family. We all enjoy watching movies together, going bowling, trips to the ocean, Disneyland, and eating out. Being a teacher is also important to me. I've wanted to be a teacher since I was 9 years old. My sisters and I would play school all the time and I was always the teacher. I believe the most important assets a teacher should show to her students is love, honesty, and that they are valued and respected. I remember during my childhood that I was not valued and respected. I was not allowed to voice my opinion. As an result from that I've have a hard time sharing my opinions and trying to identify I even have an opinion.
I am a sister, a wife, a mother, and a grandmother. I am a loyal person. I believe in working hard and finishing what I start. I am dependable. Most of my childhood years were moving around. I always had a hard time making friends. I was never in one place long enough to set roots. So at 16 when I moved to Sacramento I told myself that I would not move again. I wanted friends and family to spend time together. Most of my family stayed in the Sacramento area.
I have been married for 21 years. I have 7 children, 2 step-sons, 2 boys and 3 girls. I have 5 grandchildren, 4 girls and 1 boy. I have 4 children living at home and a grandchild. My son is 17 and attends Antelope High School. My daughter is 16 and goes to Roseville Independent High School, my other son is 13 and goes to Antelope Crossing Middle School. My daughter who is 25 lives with us with her daughter that is 3.
I am not currently working with children. I was laid off my job last June as a preschool teacher due to budgets cuts from the state with subside preschool. My company had to close three preschool sites. Instead of transferring to another facility I decided I would go to school full time and get my degree and then go back to teaching. I started teaching in 1999 when I opened my own daycare/preschool in my home. I ran the business for 10 years and then quit due to medical issues. I got well and then took a job at an elementary school as an Instructional Assistant. Teaching kindergarten thru fifth grade. I loved working with school age children. I have been attending Sierra College since 2001. My first class was an HD class. I hope to be done by next fall, I'm taking four classes this semester and that's leave 2 more classes and I'm done.
My hobbies are scrap booking, taking pictures, going out with friends, taking my family on trips, watching movies with my family and playing the WII on family game night. I love music, dancing, Zumba class and going to the gym. My family would tell you my hobbies are doing laundry and cleaning house, because I'm a clean nut. I can't have stuff laying around, the hamper needs to be empty and everything has a place to be. But this semester I'm taking 4 classes. So as hard as its going to be I don't have time to do the chores. We had a family meeting and divided up the chores. It's time my children need to learn how to do their own laundry, clean their own rooms and cook for them selves. So far everyone is pitching in, even my husband he has the shopping and making sure the kids do their share. I will tell you it's hard to sit on the computer and not put a load of laundry in or clean up the kitchen before the kids get home from school. I can do it.
I hoping that this class will give me insight to how other people live, why they have the traditions they do, what is important to children and their families. I want to be sure that I don't hurt a child's feelings because I don't understand their values and whats important to them. I want to enhance a child's life with the activities I introduce, keeping in mind where they are from and what they believe in.
