I believe that children need ample opportunities daily to actively build knowledge. I want my children to construct learning and build schema through active and authentic activities. I love watching them choose their own books and then come to tell me about the wonderful stories they read or the awesome nonfiction facts they find. I love reading their journal writing and their projects from writers' wokshop. My math workshop is filled with busy minds using lots of different manipulatives to build number sense and mental math skills. I love listening to "how they see" number patterns and how they solve problems. Our math discussions are contagious and soon the whole room is filled with mathematicians who think about numbers in their own way and become confident in how to approach and solve problems. In short, I love my job and it is all about allowing students to approach learning in their own way as I guide and facillitate!