Adventures of a 4th Grade Classroom

I am currently in my 15th year of teaching 4th grade in Chicago. I teach math, language arts, social studies, and religion. I also teach Irish dance. I have been at the same school since I started teaching and have loved every minute of it!

I love when kids can work together and learn from one another. I still am up in the front of the room teaching everyday, but that only lasts about 1/3 of the period... the rest of the time I have students work in small groups, pairs, or individually. It breaks up the class period and get students engaged in their learning.

I teach using the Iditarod every year and as part of the unit I have my students write letters to mushers. Many students receive letters back from the mushers and every time a letter comes in everyone gets excited! Two years ago, instead of writing back one of the mushers decided to surprise us all and showed up at my school! He was so kind and spent nearly two hours with my students. He also brought dog booties for all my students. It was such an amazing and rewarding moment for my students. Since then my love for the Iditarod has only grown! I also served as the 2017 Iditarod Teacher on the Trail. Check out Iditarod lessons here: Iditarod edu I am also a National Geographic Certified Educator!

I grew up in the Catholic school system of Chicago... neighborhood Catholic grade school and all-girls high school in the suburbs! I continued on to the University of Dayton where I earned my B.S. in Middle Childhood Education with concentrations in math, social studies, and language arts. I have a Master of Religious Education from Loyola University Chicago. I am also a National Geographic Certified Educator.

Along with teaching, I also run an after school Irish dance program and I am in charge of many of the religious celebrations at my school. I also help with the school cross country team, which is a blast! I love running myself, so it has been great to get involved with the kids running. Follow My Blog Follow Me On Instagram