About me

I started babysitting when I was around 12 years old. I had 2 regular families that I worked for all through high school. Plus other families as their backup sitter. I also worked at a vet's office as a vet assistant through high school and into college. When I got to college (where I was a pre-vet major) my focus turned more towards animals. While in college my summers were spent exploring the animal world, which brought me to a zoo where I worked as an educational ambassador for a summer. I got to work with both children and animals, which was the best thing I could think of. I spent my mornings with my camp group teaching them about animals and zoos and then spent my afternoons teaching the public about animals through amphitheater shows, touch tank shows, and special zoo programs geared towards children starting at age 1 through age 4.

I also spent a summer working at a daycare center, where I assisted with all the child care. I spent one semester of college doing an internship at a therapeutic horseback riding center. I got to work with therapy animals for the first time and learned about creating physical therapy for children who are differently abled. After college I became a zookeeper, and though I enjoyed the animals and the experience, I felt that I wasn't doing enough to change the world. After about a year and a half I left the zoo world and went back to school to get my MS in Education. I became a teacher and have been teaching for the last 7 years.

I have worked with children from infancy through 5th grade. I am comfortable with all ages and enjoy teaching children through inquiry. I believe science and social studies are the best ways to learn things and children have such a curiosity about both of these topics that it is easy to get them to want to learn more.