Hello, VFKH Families! Let me tell you a little bit about myself.
I was the kid who hated school, but always wanted to be a teacher. I always enjoyed playing with, then, taking care of younger children and babysitting.
In high school, I got a few chances to take my teaching career ambitions for a test drive. A friend of mine was teaching CCD classes at our church and she asked me to join her.
I was assigned the fifth-graders, given a teacher guide and some workbooks for the children, and soon found myself on the other side of the classroom where the grass was, indeed, greener. I also had opportunities to work in second grade and kindergarten where I was mentored by young, enthusiastic teachers. I wanted to be like them!
Montessori Education
When I enrolled in college, Early Childhood Education was being offered as a course of study for the first time and I ended up being one of the first graduates in that major. One of the instructors was the Director of the Campus Montessori School at Carlow College and I had a first-hand look at the joyful world of Montessori learning. I knew that I wanted to become a Montessori Directress, as we were called back then. I did my student teaching at Mt. Lebanon Montessori School, where I worked in two different Primary classrooms and the Toddler classroom, which was just getting up and running. After graduation, I began to work for Manna Head Start, first in a traditional preschool setting, then in Montessori classrooms, as I progressed through my Montessori Primary Training at Chestnut Hill College.
When I became a mother, I entered into another rising alternative to conventional schooling—homeschooling my own children! That kept me busy for about 27 years. As my homeschool mom years drew to a close, I got a vision for going back into Montessori education, but this time as an Elementary Guide. This meant that I had to return to the student side of the classroom, so off to Washington Montessori Institute/Loyola University of Maryland I went and emerged two years later, my Montessori Elementary credential in hand. Since completing my Elementary Training, I worked in other area schools as a long-term sub and then happily landed at VFKH!
I am enjoying getting to know all of you and looking forward to an exciting year of growing together. Please stay in touch with me as we all work together to give your children the best possible elementary experience!