After having taught the SOCS Kindergarten class for two years straight, Ms Christine decided to “retire” in 2020, with lots and lots of exotic travels with her spouse in mind… Luckily for us, she returned as Awesome Aide and Substitute Teacher for this very special and challenging school year, and we are so happy that she came back!!
Ms Christine is s an early childhood educator who worked in a private preschool in Maryland. Her teaching philosophy is to teach to the whole child, incorporating all domains of learning by addressing the child’s senses in a realistic environment to encourage authentic learning. As the lead teacher in the preK 5-day four-year-old class, she mentored three teaching assistants, developed and implemented curriculum and assessments school-wide, was responsible for the classroom environment, hosted parent-teacher conferences and communicated with parents on a regular basis. Christine frequently took the classroom outside, believing that learning can and does happen anywhere and everywhere. Mindful of the Maryland preK standards of learning, Christine taught each child at child’s pace. When a child mastered the preK standards, she began to teach the kindergarten standards; this progression continued individually for each child. She earned a BS from the University of Pittsburgh, majoring in both Economics and Business with a minor in German. With a belief that further study is always valuable, she continued to advance her own education by earning an AAS in Early Childhood Education, graduating with High Honors.
A proud mom of four daughters, she and her husband live in Montgomery County, where her daughters attended public school. She enjoys any day on the beach and skiing in western Canada. Currently, Ms Christine provides indispensable support to our teachers, coopers and children throughout the day and is an integral part of the SOCS all outdoor program!
Lucky for us, Ms Christine answered some of our our questions in this super exciting interview!
Ms Christine, what is your favorite book? This is a tough one....there are so many. Two of my most recent reads that stand out are Untamed by Glennon Doyle & The Yellow House by Sarah M. Broom.
Ms Christine, what is your favorite food? Grotto’s Pizza; the plain is the best!
Ms Christine, do you have a favorite color? Yellow. It’s a happy color!
Are you a dog person or cat person? Dog person! Cats actually frighten me. When I was a young child, my aunt had a very big cat named Nickelodeon. He wasn’t bucket-filling at all.
Is there anything about outdoor aiding and teaching that you did not expect? I didn’t expect the additional “things”...! The equipment required to effectively teach outdoors is like suiting up for a mission! Cell phone, walk-in-talkie, voice amplifier, building keys, gloves, notebook...
Is there anything you particularly love about SOCS? The leadership of this program sets the tone for our school and our leadership is simply top notch. It is a privilege to be able to work with our fantastic staff and down to earth, involved members, and to grow professionally in a warmly supported environment.