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Goodnight Moon
As a young child, I remember my mother reading to me often. There was rarely an evening that I did not get a bedtime story. Some of my favorites included Goodnight Moon, titles from Dr. Seuss, and the Berenstain Bears series. -
The Story Time Rug
I remember loving school from the moment I began pre-k. I had a wonderful teacher (who I was lucky enough to have in two other grade levels, as well) that year! One of my favorite times of the day was "Story Time." There was a huge, round area rug where the whole class would sit in a large circle around the teacher while she read us a story. -
Playing School
I am not sure when exactly I decided I wanted to become a teacher, but I know it was very early on in my childhood. Because my mother was a teacher, she often gave me old grade books or teacher edition textbooks that I could use to "play school" at home. I always begged my older brother and younger sister to be my students so that I could read to and "teach" them! -
Quest
I was placed in the gifted program when I was in second grade. Our group in Quest was very close-knit and one of the things I always enjoyed was the "book club" type reading program we had. The teacher would choose a book for us to read and then we would discuss it each day as we moved through it. -
AR
The Accelerated Reading program was in place at my school for as long as I can remember. We would take the STAR test to determine what level books we should be reading and I was always proud to be above my grade level. I also remember competing with my friends to see who could earn the most AR points from the quizzes we took over books (because we always exceeded our goals, anyway!) -
Ms. Moshman's Class
Once a week when I was in fifth grade, I would spend my recess visiting Ms. Moshman's first grade class to read her students a short story. I always sat in her rocking chair in front of her students while I read to them; I remember loving the feeling of "being the teacher" for a few minutes each week. -
Competitions with Mrs. Hanley
I had the same Reading teacher all three years in middle school; her name was Mrs. Hanley. Throughout our time together, we often would choose a book from the library and "race" to see who could finish the book the fastest. Because I spent so much of my time in and out of school reading and she was much busier than I, I often finished the books before she did, but it was more about having fun than anything else! -
A Series of Unfortunate Events
Throughout middle school, my friends and I would share books or check out the same books from the library so that we could all read the same thing. It might be a series (like A Series of Unfortunate Events) or just a random book. Whether we were in a competition to see who could finish first or just reading them for the fun of talking about them afterwards, we constantly had a book in our hands! -
I'll Be a Writer!
I went slightly overboard on one eighth grade writing assignment. It was a creative assignment, so I decided to write a fictional story. I quickly bypassed the 2-3 page requirement and ended up with a 20+ page story that I had to turn in with a "To be continued..." conclusion. I decided then that I loved reading and writing so much that I was going to be a writer. I often spent time writing very long stories over the next couple years. -
Peer Mentor
During my sophomore year of high school I became involved in the Peer Mentor program. Each of us was assigned a younger student to mentor throughout the year. I volunteered to tutor my first student and it was then that I realized I wanted to be a teacher (again) and not a writer!