After beginning my journey here as the Learning Commons Librarian in 2020, I am thrilled to be a Lower School teacher. I graduated from American University with a BA in Elementary Education, earned my teaching certification through the Maryland State Department of Education, and spent the next 17 years teaching all ages from toddlers to Middle School students. In 2018, I went back to school to get a Master of Library and Information Science degree through Florida State University and became a school librarian. I also became trained in Responsive Classroom practices and the Orton-Gillingham methodology. I love sharing knowledge and empowering my students to be critical thinkers and information gatherers. Being in the classroom gives me the unique opportunity to integrate curricula, really go into depth, and encourage my students to see how their learning is connected and relevant to life outside of school. I love the people and environment at McLean and embrace the opportunities to cultivate a classroom community with my students and families.
One special activity that we do in our classroom is play trivia games. I love how these games engage our students and encourage them to think deeply about maps, words, their meanings, and how words are related. Every day during snack time, we play trivia games: Globle, Connections, Contexto, Wordle, Worldle, and others. We use our classroom resources such as maps and dictionaries, and this exposes our students to real-life geography and new vocabulary. We look forward to Snack Time and Trivia Time every day; it is one of our favorite parts of the day!
I always have a fun fact or a story to share and am skilled in somehow relating it back to the original discussion. Some of the stories my students will hear me tell about my life outside of school include stories about my godson and goddaughter, epic tales about my latest baking creations, my music, books that I love, and my travels and adventures with friends and family.