My Experiences with Children 

During the 2002-2003 school year, I was a cadet teacher in a third grade classroom. I worked with small groups of children and also taught a few Social Studies lessons.

During the 2003-2004 school year, I was a cadet teacher in a third grade classroom. I read to the students and also listened to them read to me. I tested them on their high-frequency words and alphabet. I also made several bulletin boards. I worked intensely with small groups of students on a daily basis while I was a cadet teacher in this classroom.

During the 2003-2004 school year, I tutored a fourth grade student who was struggling in reading after school a couple days a week. I really enjoyed working with her. I found it to be very rewarding when her parents told me that her grades improved after we had worked together!

In January of 2005, I observed in a first grade classroom in Fort Wayne for a total of 20 hours. I was able to work with small groups of children during reading. I worked on reading comprehension mostly.

During the fall of 2006, I tutored two 5th grade students at Laketon Elementary twice a week for a total of 20 hours. The subject areas varied of what we worked on from day to day. Most of the time we worked on reading comprehension. We also worked on spelling and math, too.

During the Spring of 2007, I spent a total of 10 hours observing in elementary classrooms for a Literacy Block course. During these observations I made several connections with content that I learned in class and what was actually taking place in real classrooms.

During the Spring of 2007, I participated in Read Across America by reading a Dr. Seuss book to a second grade classroom. 

During the Spring of 2007, I participated in celebrating the Day of the Child by reading to children at a daycare in North Manchester, Indiana.

During the Spring of 2007, I spent a total of 20 hours working with and studying a 9 month old child for a Child Development class. I did a case study of the child from the hours I spent studying his cognitive, physical, and emotional/social development.  Case Study Document

During the Fall of 2007, I volunteered for Junior Achievement in a fourth grade classroom at Manchester Elementary School.

During the Fall of 2007, I observed and taught in a third grade classroom at Theodore Potter School in Indianapolis, Indiana for one week. This experience really opened my eyes and made me want to work even harder to help guide children in my classroom.

During the Fall of 2007, I spent 10 hours completing and tutoring a first grade student for a reader case study. I performed an IRI and interpreted several assessments that  had been given to the student. I also worked one-on-one with the student to improve her reading comprehension.

During the Spring of 2008, I student taught in a first grade classroom at Leesburg Elementary School in the Warsaw school district. I utilized center activities and cooperative learning in the classroom.

During the Spring of 2008, I student taught in a fifth grade Science/Social Studies classroom. Here, I created a two-week unit on plants. I created an interactive bulletin board that my students learned from and thoroughly enjoyed!