Helping Kids Flourish in Kindergarten and Beyond
My son Nick graduating from UCLA
All About Mrs. Young
My daughter Stefanie and I
I am a firm believer that teaching is a "calling", filled with momentous joys as well as distinct and ever-changing challenges. Each child is a unique puzzle; a combination of strengths, interests and learning styles that must be developed during the school years. I love getting to know kids' passions, talents, and what motivates them to work hard. I believe that taking the time to learn about each and every student and connecting with them helps build the respectful collaborative environment that ultimately fosters learning. I also strive to develop partnerships with parents and embrace all opportunities to work as team members to ensure their child's optimum development.
My educational background in Clinical Psychology and my years working in foster care have certainly added to my experience and understanding of the critical aspects of each child's development. I decided to become a teacher because I love helping kids discover their own unique strengths and interests and helping them find their paths as successful, engaged learners. I especially love Kindergarten as it is the perfect place to begin the process of helping kids learn "how" they learn. Young children are open, inquisitive and love to use their imaginations to approach problem solving. They are also developing their self-concepts as learners, a time critical to their overall development. It is during this time that parents and teachers must emphasize the importance of hard work as well as provide a safe haven for making mistakes while learning.
Personally, I have raised two wonderful children, Nick, age 22 who is beginning graduate school at MIT this fall and Stefanie, 21 who is finishing her B.A. degree at CSU Humboldt this fall. I am married to an awesome guy who shares my passion for education. In my spare time I enjoy being outside, running on the beach as well as rollerblading, bicycling and hiking local parks. I also love creative pursuits such as writing, photography, making my own greeting cards and developing new songs to teach! My book, Super Sight Word Songs (written under my former name Joan Mancini) has recently been published by Scholastic and will be available shortly on Amazon.com and in bookstores. I wrote these songs several years ago and have been using them to successfully teach kids to read and write those tricky sight words like "said" and many others! I also do presentations on teaching literacy through multiple modalities at teacher conferences each year.
I welcome parents to become helpers in the classroom and look forward to getting to know each and every family as our year progresses. Thank you for taking the time to read and become acquainted.
My educational background in Clinical Psychology and my years working in foster care have certainly added to my experience and understanding of the critical aspects of each child's development. I decided to become a teacher because I love helping kids discover their own unique strengths and interests and helping them find their paths as successful, engaged learners. I especially love Kindergarten as it is the perfect place to begin the process of helping kids learn "how" they learn. Young children are open, inquisitive and love to use their imaginations to approach problem solving. They are also developing their self-concepts as learners, a time critical to their overall development. It is during this time that parents and teachers must emphasize the importance of hard work as well as provide a safe haven for making mistakes while learning.
Personally, I have raised two wonderful children, Nick, age 22 who is beginning graduate school at MIT this fall and Stefanie, 21 who is finishing her B.A. degree at CSU Humboldt this fall. I am married to an awesome guy who shares my passion for education. In my spare time I enjoy being outside, running on the beach as well as rollerblading, bicycling and hiking local parks. I also love creative pursuits such as writing, photography, making my own greeting cards and developing new songs to teach! My book, Super Sight Word Songs (written under my former name Joan Mancini) has recently been published by Scholastic and will be available shortly on Amazon.com and in bookstores. I wrote these songs several years ago and have been using them to successfully teach kids to read and write those tricky sight words like "said" and many others! I also do presentations on teaching literacy through multiple modalities at teacher conferences each year.
I welcome parents to become helpers in the classroom and look forward to getting to know each and every family as our year progresses. Thank you for taking the time to read and become acquainted.