I Love Teaching Young Children!
Preschool 4 years
Kindergarten 25 years
K-5 Reading Specialist 5 years
I grew up in a tiny —I mean population of 178 tiny, Utah town on a dairy and turkey farm! This brought me endless opportunities to develop my creativity and imagination. Twenty-five years of my teaching career brought me to the beautiful state of Idaho, where I raised my family. If I take a deep breath right now, memories of that clean fresh air fills my brain with endorphins! My husband, a school superintendent, and I have spent the end of our careers enjoying the beautiful red rocks of Southern Utah and hidden jeeping trails. Now, we have settled in the desert of Nevada for a new adventure.
I am currently working remotely as a Reading Specialist, however, my heart will always belong to kindergarten. In fact, I would love to return to the K classroom one last time to bring the joy of the those little 5-year-olds into my heart.
My heartfelt teacher-belief is that young children should be active participants in their own learning, consequently my focus is hands-on-games as the core of my thematically designed, child-centered classroom. Currently, as a Reading Specialist, I use my hands-on-philosophy with students K-5 to bring them to benchmark-level reading success.
I hold a B.A. in Child Development, B.A. in Early Childhood Education, a M.Ed. in Reading Instruction and Curriculum, and a Ed.D in Early Childhood Literacy. I am the co-author of eleven teacher resource books published by Teacher Created Materials, and seven guided readers published by Hameray Publishing. I have presented at several state kindergarten and other conferences, and I am a national presenter for NAYEC and SDE. I provide published assessments as a Friend of ESGI. I love helping teachers bring thematic teaching into their own classrooms!
Feel free to reach out to me personally at kindergartenkiosk@gmail.com. I love visiting with teachers, parents, and schools to work together to help kids learn in developmental ways.
How Kindergarten Kiosk Began
It all began with a stack of binders...
In the mid 90s I started creating and collecting lesson plans designed to teach essential skills through developmentally appropriate practices that kept the whole child in mind. I believe that children are naturally curious, naturally messy, naturally fun, naturally silly, naturally engaged, and naturally social, therefore, I feel that the best learning occurs when we tap into these things and teach with the child in mind. I wanted to make the very best lesson I could that kept the focus on the child.
I started collecting these lessons, with their accompanying easy to follow instructions and materials in the largest binder I could find. Soon I needed another binder... and then another... and then another... Soon I and my collaborator, Kathy Law, began publishing a book series. Then I launched a store on Teachers Pay Teachers and began work on a blog. Now Kindergarten Kiosk is up and running as a website and we want to be your one stop for everything child centered and teacher/parent friendly!
How I Teach
Learning Through Engagement
Learning happens when children are engaged! Through teaching thematically and integrating the skills that children need to acquire with subject matter that piques their interest, a child can become fully immersed in their learning.
Learning Through Imagination
Using a child’s imagination, and teaching in ways that are playful, can scaffold a child’s cognitive development and help him or her learn at a higher level. Tapping into a child’s natural inclination to play is in the forefront of every Kindergarten Kiosk Lesson.
Learning Through Integration
Young children become excited about learning when teachers integrate hands-on experiences in science, technology, art, and engineering with traditional subjects. Therefore, STEAM activities should be an everyday occurrence for all young children.
Learning Through Home-Family Connections
Learning occurs best when there is a strong home/school connection. Great things happen when you send home homework! But not the usual dull homework that parents and children both dread! Instead, Kindergarten Kiosk home monthly packets of games encourage families to spend time together: talking to, learning from, and interacting with each other. That is the kind of homework that can really make a difference!