Barbara Haddow, retired but still teaching and drawing

Barbara Haddow, 73, loves to tell stories and she is also passionate about drawing. Two talents she has combined and used over the years in the classroom as a teacher. But when she retired in 2005 Haddow still wanted to occasionally go back in the classroom and share her stories through drawing with students. Recently she had one of her story telling sessions at Carlyle Elementary and some weeks after she received a thank you letter from the students. She explained how she got the opportunity to tell her stories at the school and how she felt after receiving the letter.

"This fall, I phoned Carlyle school and ask if anybody would be interested in me telling a story there I got permission from the school to go in and tell stories in the grade 1 class rooms," she said.

"It's just grand, it's wonderful and I mean it teaches them a valuable lesson to always have gratitude, you always appreciate what is done to you or for you. It's important in this world, a lot of time people don't appreciate things and we've got to learn to appreciate what the others do for us."

In addition to the letter she received pictures and a myriad of drawings the students did as well which is a symbol of their appreciation for not only her time spent telling stories that particular day but her dedication to education. Her stories speak on various topics, such loneness, kindness and friendship but she uses her own experiences with family and draws to illustrate her tales.

Haddow who resides Kenosee Lake taught in Carlyle her first year out of teachers college in 1961 and remembers using the same approach back then and expressed her love for children.

"That's how I taught a lot of times, I loved that, I loved to draw. I started when my oldest grand daughter was in grade 3 out in B.C., I was subbing in Carlyle for Linda Coffey, and this is a while back It was grade four and five in Carlyle,"she said.

"It was awesome, I just love the little kids, they're wonderful, they are our future you know, really they are. There's a lot of good little kids and there's a few that you kind of have to watch but I mean that's what your there for, they're not made to go right off into the world."

Haddow says telling her stories makes her feel good and also making people laugh and have fun together brings her joy when teaching.