Welcome to my website. I hope that you can use this website to gain insight about my classroom and my methods, as well as a way to see what is going on in the classroom and connect with me. Let me share a little bit about myself.
I was born and raised in a very small town called Battle Ground, Indiana. It is just outside of Lafayette. The town consisted of a small "trading post," a post office, a fire department, a war memorial, railroad tracks, and a small restaurant. No stop lights! My brother and I played a lot of sports to keep ourselves (and our parents) busy all year long. I had a wonderful group of teachers that encouraged me to never give up. They inspired me to become a teacher at a very young age. My parents took on raising three of my cousins. I watched them work with my cousins (two with special needs) on a daily basis. This just solidified my passion for helping and teaching others. In high school, I took several classes that allowed for me to work with kindergarten children. I built lesson plans and implemented them in a program called Ready, Set, Go! I graduated from Harrison High School in 2000.
I lived at home while I attended Purdue University. My parents were really supportive of my decision to become a teacher. Purdue is also where I met and started dating my husband. I wanted to focus on early-childhood education and special education. About halfway through the program, I thought it would be best for me to broaden my degree to elementary education with a reading specialist minor. This allowed for me to teach reading in grades K-8 and general education to grades K-5. I did my student teaching in a second grade classroom. I thought for sure I wanted to teach kindergarten at this time. I completed my Bachelors degree in Education with a Reading Specialist 'minor' in 2006.
After receiving my degree, I filled in for a leave in a fifth grade classroom for two months at Miller Elementary School in Lafayette. This is where my love for teaching fifth grade developed. I loved how I could really challenge the students and they challenged me. Once the teacher returned, I worked as a Title 1 instructor in the same building. I traveled from room to room with a cart of materials to help struggling students in different content areas. After five months, they asked me to help them develop a curriculum that the teachers could use in the classroom and the Title 1 teachers could use with their small groups.
At the end of the year, I left and moved to Indianapolis. I took a temporary 1st grade position at Winding Ridge Elementary School. This was a brand new school where the students were living just outside of the intercity district of Indianapolis. The first grade class was a new experience for me. I learned so much about diversity, differentiating instruction, parent communication, and behavior management in a very short period of time. Once the teacher returned, they asked me to stay and fill in for a medical leave for three months in a fifth grade class. The shift from first to fifth was a big jump overnight! This class threw a different challenge at me. They needed motivation and a reason to love school. I made connections with this group of students and taught them the importance of education. Once the teacher returned, I decided that I needed to find something more permanent.
I packed my bags to move again to Chesterton, Indiana. While I was looking for my own classroom, I became a building sub for Fegely Middle School. I was there everyday filling in for the staff and eventually filled in for a medical leave. I thought that subbing in a middle school would be similar to my ideal job of fifth grade. Boy, was I wrong. The students grow up so much faster in middle school than they do in elementary school. I loved getting to know the students in all grade levels and making connections with them in all subject areas. While subbing, I interviewed at Crisman Elementary.
I was hired on at Crisman Elementary for a fifth grade position in 2008. I began teaching that fall. I fell in love with my class, my team, my building, and the support staff that I was working with. I was HOME! Having your own class is very different from filling in someone else's. I still had a lot to learn. I changed my thoughts on what was going to work for communication, behavior management, motivation, and my teaching style. I taught fifth grade for four years. I was devastated to get the news that I was going to be "bumped" to teach a first grade position in 2012.
I thought for sure this was going to be a difficult year. I had grown to love fifth grade and hadn't taught first grade for several years. I didn't have any materials and wasn't prepared for tying shoes and tattling. As the year went on, I found that my love for teaching existed regardless of what grade I was working with. I adapted, grew as a teacher, found a wonderful support system in my new team, and had fun creating new resources. I loved my students. My principal tried to convince me that I was meant to be in first grade. As soon as a position in fifth grade opened back up, I wanted to move back. After one year in first grade, I moved back to fifth grade.
Since I started teaching at Crisman, a lot has changed. This includes getting engaged, buying a house, getting married, having two children, and completing my Master's program through Indiana Wesleyan University. My husband, Eric, and I have now been together for 17 years and have two wonderful boys. Ethan was born in 2012 and Dawson was born in 2016. I am a very proud mother and talk about my two sons a lot in my classroom. We enjoy going to the waterpark during the summer, having family game night on the weekends, watching our favorite sports teams (Cubs, Bears, and Blackhawks), and spending time with our families when we can. Ethan and Dawson keep us pretty busy. I also spend a lot time scrapbooking my memories of my family.
I am very excited about teaching this year. I have continued to grow as a teacher. I have worked hard to find the best way to communicate with the parents, motivate my students, and build my resources. Let's make this a great year.
I was born and raised in a very small town called Battle Ground, Indiana. It is just outside of Lafayette. The town consisted of a small "trading post," a post office, a fire department, a war memorial, railroad tracks, and a small restaurant. No stop lights! My brother and I played a lot of sports to keep ourselves (and our parents) busy all year long. I had a wonderful group of teachers that encouraged me to never give up. They inspired me to become a teacher at a very young age. My parents took on raising three of my cousins. I watched them work with my cousins (two with special needs) on a daily basis. This just solidified my passion for helping and teaching others. In high school, I took several classes that allowed for me to work with kindergarten children. I built lesson plans and implemented them in a program called Ready, Set, Go! I graduated from Harrison High School in 2000.
I lived at home while I attended Purdue University. My parents were really supportive of my decision to become a teacher. Purdue is also where I met and started dating my husband. I wanted to focus on early-childhood education and special education. About halfway through the program, I thought it would be best for me to broaden my degree to elementary education with a reading specialist minor. This allowed for me to teach reading in grades K-8 and general education to grades K-5. I did my student teaching in a second grade classroom. I thought for sure I wanted to teach kindergarten at this time. I completed my Bachelors degree in Education with a Reading Specialist 'minor' in 2006.
After receiving my degree, I filled in for a leave in a fifth grade classroom for two months at Miller Elementary School in Lafayette. This is where my love for teaching fifth grade developed. I loved how I could really challenge the students and they challenged me. Once the teacher returned, I worked as a Title 1 instructor in the same building. I traveled from room to room with a cart of materials to help struggling students in different content areas. After five months, they asked me to help them develop a curriculum that the teachers could use in the classroom and the Title 1 teachers could use with their small groups.
At the end of the year, I left and moved to Indianapolis. I took a temporary 1st grade position at Winding Ridge Elementary School. This was a brand new school where the students were living just outside of the intercity district of Indianapolis. The first grade class was a new experience for me. I learned so much about diversity, differentiating instruction, parent communication, and behavior management in a very short period of time. Once the teacher returned, they asked me to stay and fill in for a medical leave for three months in a fifth grade class. The shift from first to fifth was a big jump overnight! This class threw a different challenge at me. They needed motivation and a reason to love school. I made connections with this group of students and taught them the importance of education. Once the teacher returned, I decided that I needed to find something more permanent.
I packed my bags to move again to Chesterton, Indiana. While I was looking for my own classroom, I became a building sub for Fegely Middle School. I was there everyday filling in for the staff and eventually filled in for a medical leave. I thought that subbing in a middle school would be similar to my ideal job of fifth grade. Boy, was I wrong. The students grow up so much faster in middle school than they do in elementary school. I loved getting to know the students in all grade levels and making connections with them in all subject areas. While subbing, I interviewed at Crisman Elementary.
I was hired on at Crisman Elementary for a fifth grade position in 2008. I began teaching that fall. I fell in love with my class, my team, my building, and the support staff that I was working with. I was HOME! Having your own class is very different from filling in someone else's. I still had a lot to learn. I changed my thoughts on what was going to work for communication, behavior management, motivation, and my teaching style. I taught fifth grade for four years. I was devastated to get the news that I was going to be "bumped" to teach a first grade position in 2012.
I thought for sure this was going to be a difficult year. I had grown to love fifth grade and hadn't taught first grade for several years. I didn't have any materials and wasn't prepared for tying shoes and tattling. As the year went on, I found that my love for teaching existed regardless of what grade I was working with. I adapted, grew as a teacher, found a wonderful support system in my new team, and had fun creating new resources. I loved my students. My principal tried to convince me that I was meant to be in first grade. As soon as a position in fifth grade opened back up, I wanted to move back. After one year in first grade, I moved back to fifth grade.
Since I started teaching at Crisman, a lot has changed. This includes getting engaged, buying a house, getting married, having two children, and completing my Master's program through Indiana Wesleyan University. My husband, Eric, and I have now been together for 17 years and have two wonderful boys. Ethan was born in 2012 and Dawson was born in 2016. I am a very proud mother and talk about my two sons a lot in my classroom. We enjoy going to the waterpark during the summer, having family game night on the weekends, watching our favorite sports teams (Cubs, Bears, and Blackhawks), and spending time with our families when we can. Ethan and Dawson keep us pretty busy. I also spend a lot time scrapbooking my memories of my family.
I am very excited about teaching this year. I have continued to grow as a teacher. I have worked hard to find the best way to communicate with the parents, motivate my students, and build my resources. Let's make this a great year.