Because Brains

I am a 4th year Career and Technical Education (CTE) Family and Consumer Science (FCS) teacher in a high school setting with students in grades 9, 10, 11, and 12. I began teaching Child and Family Development after spending 20+ years working in the early childhood, primarily with Early Head Start and Head Start, ages birth through 5 years. My early childhood career included working as a preschool teacher, infant toddler teacher, and staff trainer and coach, including CDA (Child Development Associate) trainings.

I am a Reggio Emilia inspired teacher at heart. I prefer to offer hands-on learning opportunities that connect with student interests. I also recognize that students often need resources to become familiar with foundational information before they can apply that information in a hands-on activity. When that discovery can be hands-on too, that is wonderful! But when students need to read and think about a concept, I think can also be wonderful when done in ways that evoke curiosity and sense of wonder or awe.

I completed my Infant and Toddler CDA back in 2001 and then completed by Associate of Arts Degree at Ozarks Technical Community College. Next I completed by Bachelor Degree in Psychology, minoring in Child and Family Development, at Missouri State University. Then I returned to MSU, completing my Masters in Teaching and Learning (with electives focused on literacy) in the Spring of 2025. I am fortunate to have received 2 decades worth of high quality trainings from Early and Head Start. My learning and skills have benefited from attending conferences like NAEYC, Zero to Three, CEFEL Challenging Behaviors Institute, the Program for Infant/Toddler Care (PITC) Train the Trainer program, and both the Conscious Discipline Institute and the CD Infant/Toddler Institute.