About me

Hello! My name is Alexandra Apuzzo. I grew up in upstate, NY, with my parents, younger brother, and our multiple dogs, cats, goats, and chickens. Both of my parents were high school English teachers and they inspired my love of reading and writing. In 2021, I graduated with my Master’s in English from SUNY New Paltz, and I am now venturing out of upstate NY towards NYC to pursue an MFA in Creative Writing (fiction) at Rutgers-Newark University with my partner of ten years and our over-excitable Husky.

While I went to public school, my parents homeschooled my younger brother; I always volunteered to babysit the younger children during homeschool co-ops and classes, and I fell in love with playing pretend, caring for a child when they fell or got upset, and seeing them learn new things about the world. My first job during college was as an Assistant Teacher at the college day care. I worked with children ranging in age from one to six years, organizing arts and crafts, leading snack time and story time, helping with nap time, and changing diapers. I then worked as an ESL teacher to Chinese students aged 4-16, where I taught colors, shapes, numbers, and vocabulary using games.

As I pursued my Master’s in English and Creative Writing, I worked as a Writing Tutor at SUNY Orange, a College Lecturer at SUNY New Paltz, and a Professional Writing Consultant at West Point Military Academy. After graduation, I returned to childcare as a Literacy Coach for an afterschool program for under-served elementary students. My responsibilities as a Literacy Coach included planning and running an educationally focused afterschool program for students ranging from 1st to 4th grade. I planned fun, literacy enhancing activities, such as playing word games, putting on plays, organizing book fairs, and creating original comic books. I was also responsible for homework help, snack time and play time, and, of course, creating a fun, supportive, and loving environment for the children. Last summer, I babysat for a family in Beacon, NY with a 3 year old girl; I was responsible for picking her up from daycare (at around 2:30PM), providing snacks, reinforcing her parents’ potty training efforts, and planning fun activities until her mom stopped work at around 6:30. We did fun activities such as making volcanos out of baking soda and vinegar, making muffins and other healthy snacks, writing their dog a birthday card, going to the park, and reading books.

I love working with children because it allows me to tap into things we so often lose as we get older – imagination and creativity, wonderment and excitement. I love teaching new humans about the world, to answer all of their “why’s,” to help them manage their big feelings, and to make them feel safe and loved. I tailor my approach to each child depending on their personalities and temperaments, and, of course, the parents’ desires, though I try to instill a sense of curiosity and independence in the children under my care, using minimal screen time, lots of time outside in nature, and fun educational activities.