I have been teaching for almost 16 years, most of them spent teaching pre-K and kindergarten. I also have experience teaching up to 3rd grade. I have used my love of reading to develop a set of 30 phonics-based beginning reading books for use in preschool-first grade. In addition, I have developed sets of reading games and math games that can be used in the classroom or as take-home activities and can be adjusted to address various skill levels. I also have a range of hands on, cut-and-glue materials which keep young students engaged. They have proven to be a success in my own classroom and I'm excited to share them on Teachers Pay Teachers!
I like to use a variety of materials to teach to the wide range of interests and ability levels of the students who enter my classroom. I'm all about using fun and innovative methods to encourage learning!
I recently had an article published in Texas Child Care Quarterly. You can view/read it here: http://www.childcarequarterly.com/spring11_story3.html
I actually started out in another field. While working on my doctorate in school psychology, I had a revelation. I think it's a big hint when, instead of shadowing the school psychologist, you'd rather be in the first grade classroom cutting out bulletin board materials! That was my wake-up call! I have degrees from Morehead State University and Illinois State. My MA is from Wheaton College.
In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with my 3 kids, working on family pictures and videos, creating materials to use in my classroom, and, most recently, writing a blog, http://teachertamseducationaladventures.blogspot.com. I also enjoy presenting at conferences when my husband is gracious enough to babysit!
PreK, Kindergarten, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, Higher Education, Adult Education, Homeschool, Staff, Not Grade Specific
English Language Arts, Balanced Literacy, Reading, Grammar, Spelling, Specialty, Math, Applied Math, Arithmetic, Basic Operations, Fractions, Geometry, Graphing, Measurement, Numbers, Other (Math), Science, Basic Principles, Environment, World Language, Chinese, Arts & Music, Graphic Arts, Special Education, Other (Specialty), Life Skills, For All Subject Areas, Classroom Management, Word Problems, Writing, Reading Strategies, Holidays/Seasonal, Back to School, Thanksgiving, Christmas/ Chanukah/ Kwanzaa, Autumn, Mental Math, Halloween, Speech Therapy, Winter, Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, Easter, Spring, Place Value, Products For TpT Sellers, For All Subjects, Summer, Informational Text, Handwriting, Engineering, Phonics, Close Reading