Hey, everyone!
I hope you are enjoying the website! My husband and I had a blast building
it! I will try to update it frequently throughout the year. This
section will give you a little bit of information about who I am and how I view
education.
Qualifications
I graduated Summa Cum Laude with a B.S. degree in Elementary Education (K-8) and minors in Spanish and Sociology from Dickinson State University in Dickinson, North Dakota in December 1991. I was raising a family on the weekends and driving to live at school during the week. Saying good-bye to my two young children on Sunday night was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. But, I had a dream and I was able to follow it. After graduating, I subbed in the Glendive Public School System until I received a position. I remained an assistant teacher in the Resource Room for five years before deciding to obtain my Master's Degree. I went to school at night (via television broadcasting) while teaching full time and then attended Montana State University in Billings, Montana for two summers. I received a Master's Degree in Education and Reading with a teaching minor in Spanish (K-12) in August 1999 with a GPA of 4.0. I then started the Exploratory Spanish program at our Middle School and taught Spanish I, II, III, and IV at the high school level and at Dawson Community College in the evenings.
I was chosen for a Kindergarten position and moved to Woodinville in August 2001. That first year, I taught AM Kindergarten at Cherry Valley and PM Kindergarten at Stillwater Elementary driving during my lunch time. I then moved to first grade at one school (CV) for two years. I decided to transfer to Stillwater and am now back at AM/PM Kindergarten. It's been a whirlwind experience, but elementary education has always been my first love and it has been a great move for me! I truly enjoy what I do! Not only do I love the students, I love working with the families in the area as well!
Philosophy
I truly believe that children learn best by doing. I believe they learn to read by reading (on their level) and they learn to write by writing. If parents are in partnership with the school and the teacher, there is nothing a student can't do! I believe that I need to help students acquire new information by offering it to them in all modalities. Some students are visual learners, some are auditory, and some are kinesthetic-tactile. We, as teachers, need to help students use their way of learning to the best of their ability.
Personal Interests
My husband and I just bought a wonderful, new house right here in Duvall! I used to drive 60 miles a day, but now it only takes me 8 minutes to get to work! It is awesome and we truly love the house! Although we only moved in August 18th (2006), we've done a lot of work on it and have thoroughly enjoyed the experience!
Steven and I have known each other since Jr. High in Mandan, North Dakota. We tied the knot on Poolenalena Beach in Maui on August 18, 2004! We are very happy together and I'm lucky to have him in my life! He is very supportive and you'll often find him helping me at school--especially at the beginning and end of the year.
We love to sail, hike, attend concerts and musicals, read, walk, and exercise together. I love having a ton of flowers around me, so we've got about 25 pots decorating the front and back of our house and patio! I think it looks great, but it is a lot of watering--especially in the summer! We also enjoy cooking and entertaining friends whenever we can.
During the summer of 2004, I finished 10 credits the day before we left to get married! I have since finished the Professional Certification process and have a Master's plus 58 credits! Only 32 more and I could have my Ph.D.!! Hmmmm....something to think about, perhaps!
My son, Anthony, attended the University of Washington as a freshman/sophomore and was an official for intramural sports on campus. I am very proud of him and his accomplishments! He is majoring in Creative Writing and Media Arts at the moment. He transferred to Montana State University in Bozeman, Montana, where he is now midway through his senior year. He will graduate in the spring with 2 or 3 degrees---I forget how many he is working toward. My daughter, Anna, is 20 years old. She just transferred to Montana State University-Bozeman and is renting an apartment with her brother. I could not be more proud of how my two young adults are doing in the "grown-up" world! I am a very lucky Mom!
Steven has twin daughters who are now in Junior High/Middle School in Sammamish. Kate and Erin are very bright and avid readers. They love Harry Potter, Groovy Girls, and American Girl dolls. They live fairly close so it is nice that we are able to see them often. And...we had a Shiba Inu pup come to join us in January! His name is Tschida ("Chai-duh")---which is a lake in North Dakota where Steven learned to sail. He is a cutie--very smart and very independent. I guess they settle down after about a year and a half! Yikes!
The sailing pup!
There!
Now you know everything about me!
