For as long as I can remember I had always said I wanted to be a teacher. However, coming from a family with both parents as accountants, I always had wondered how I got interested in education. My grandma had been a kindergarten teacher for her entire life and always had a dresser filled with old school supplies in her spare bedroom. I believe, that dresser was where my passion for education originated. Every trip to grandma’s house became a time to play school for hours on end with her. Every hour my grandma played with me allowed me time to grow my love for being a teacher.

 

Soon, every day after school, I would be in my room playing school for at least two hours. I used stuffed animals as students and old books as desks. For many years I would ask my elementary school teachers for any extra workbooks they had to use in my own classroom. As years went on, I became more and more creative with my practices and techniques. I would create my own worksheets, projects, and find new reward systems for my “students”.

 

I always played with the same “class” for a couple of weeks and then would move on to a new school year and start over. I never liked using the same worksheets twice. I always would make up my own new worksheets or find new ones online. Repeating the same lessons or activities always felt boring to me and I wanted to find a way to keep my “students” engaged, or more importantly, to find a way to keep me excited to teach.

 

Many years have passed since I have played school in my room with my stuffed animals, but many memories and countless photos in scrapbooks remain. I have a small box in my closet of a few of the worksheets, grade books, and projects I put together as examples to show my class. As I look to my future, I hope to incorporate some of the same techniques I used in younger years. I hope to always find new and exciting lessons and activities for my students. I want always keep them engaged as years go on, even if that means I need to adjust my teaching style to accommodate the learning styles of students.