I am an elementary school teacher with over 23 years of experience in the classroom and working with children. I began working with children when I babysat in middle school. In high school, I worked my way into more teaching roles- literally. I taught art and cooking classes for preschoolers and elementary school students throughout high school and college in the 90s. At that time, we teachers created a lot of our own materials, as the internet was still very new. I took my skills in organization and meshed them with what I was learning about child development. I earned my bachelor’s degree in 1999, with my elementary teaching certificate and early childhood endorsement that same year. I started my first full-time teaching job after college in a terrific small early childhood center. After that year, I took a job teaching second grade at a charter school. Over the years, I’ve taught preschool, second, third, fourth, and fifth grade. Each step along the way has helped me hone not only my teaching skills, but my skills in organizing all of the materials needed for the job. I continue to be approached by colleagues for ideas and solutions in their own classrooms.