MY VISION: Teaching and helping you provide an excellent education for your student is my passion. My desire is to help equip you and your student with the academic skills necessary for later courses of study, while encouraging your students to use their passions and strengths.
I believe that the person doing the most work is the person learning the most. Therefore, your student will be required to think, work hard, and complete a variety of tasks. At the same time, our children are not adults. Their learning should be fun and creative. I am a firm believer that "just a spoon full of sugar helps the medicine go down."
Thank you for considering me to work with your greatest treasure! If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at [email protected].
BACKGROUND: As I look back into my childhood, I see that God was revealing one of my ministries from an early age. My first and second grade teacher would reserve the last few minutes of class each day so that I could share stories with my classmates, my first jobs were babysitting, my favorite books were (all books about teachers) Little Men, Anne of Green Gables, and Christy, my first volunteer opportunities were Sunday School Teaching and Camp Counseling, and I had a voracious appetite for learning. Yet it still took me some time to decide I should be a teacher. I knew I wanted to work with people, I was interested in learning about everything, and I wanted to make sure I left college with a concrete job path.
I was hired to tutor several Spanish speakers at Pope Elementary and really enjoyed working in the classroom environment. During the summers I worked full time with the YMCA and developed the educational programs for the camp for two summers. It was such a joy to encourage students/campers to find learning an adventure. I also began to think about how my own educational journey was very different from most of the students I taught. At different times in my life, I have participated in homeschool, private, and public schools. I learned from all these environments, but homeschooling remains the most influential of my educational experiences. During my homeschool years, I learned both the process of learning and the joy. I learned that learning is a difficult and fulfilling adventure that can be both arduous and full of discovery. That is why I call my classroom an "Edventure."
After graduating from Union in 2005 with B.A. in Elementary Education (K-8), I taught for 5 1/2 school years at Haywood Junior High. During this time, I developed a passion for working with middle school students. In 2010 I received the Teacher of the Year Award for Haywood Junior High. While I loved teaching my heart was drawn towards home and after the birth of my second son, we were able to make that dream a reality. I am so thankful to be able to homeschool my four sons.
In the 2015-2016 school year I began teaching a few junior high students that were going to transition back into the public-school classroom. I supervised all subject areas for these 8th graders and provided part time classes, full time schoolwork, and educational opportunities. In 2017, I began offering middle school classes for Jackson homeschoolers. Since that time, I've taught a variety of classes and ages. I love my students, my families, and am thankful to be a part of Jackson's vibrant homeschool community. ___