Sitter in Tampa, Florida

 My teaching philosophy: I believe that the child experience must nurture social-emotional skills in each child and create joyful school memories. Kids are a magical journey, and one of my jobs is to develop the imagination and create memorable rituals, traditions, and celebrations that honor childhood. I value dramatic play, block building, dance and movement, and the many forms of literacy play. I want children to be active learners and disciplined, creative thinkers; to learn to make good choices and to work cooperatively; and to be kind and responsible. I want children to love coming to school each day.I believe that emotional engagement is the key to all powerful learning. That is why I bring love, laughter, passion, and meaningful project work into my classroom. I always look for ways to personalize learning and engage the child’s imagination.I believe that respectful, caring bonds with children and their families are the vital foundation for a wonderful experience. As a teacher of the young, I share with parents the responsibility for teaching their child.I believe some children need much more carefully scaffolded instruction than we used to consider appropriate. As a teacher-researcher, I love the challenge of building success for each individual learner. I am constantly learning and open to new insights from educational research and my wise teaching colleagues. My high expectations for children’s literacy development, thinking skills, and love of learning keep me challenged and reflective.