Our Feature Teacher, Ms. Chris Crocker is a pre-K Classroom Teacher, pre-K 3s Mentor, Curriculum Specialist, and Camp Turtle Trap Director at Parish Day School.
Ms. Chris puts her heart and soul into her classroom and Parish Day School. She is creative and uplifting to those around her. It is not uncommon for Ms. Chris to be offering to help teachers with curriculum ideas, lesson plans and school wide activities.
She is committed to building a loving classroom and school family through her work with the Creative Curriculum and Conscious Discipline. She is a lifelong learner and interested in continuing education for Early Childhood. She attends local and statewide conferences and encourages her colleagues to attend with her.
Here are some reflections from Ms. Chris for a closer look into her world and how she adds to our Parish Day School family.
What is something important a child has taught you? Joy is in the simple things.
What is most important in your classroom? Love and grace. I pray that each child in my room knows how dearly God loves and cares for them.
How do you show children that you value them? Investing the time to enter into their worlds, listening to their stories, and celebrating their God given uniqueness.
What do you do when things don't go as planned? Be flexible, that's the beauty of early childhood. The most teachable moments are often found in the unplanned situations that arise throughout the day.
Favorite Children's Book: Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak, Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina, Giraffes Can't Dance by Giles Andreae and Guy Parker Reese, No David Series by David Shannon
How I take care of myself: I read, take time out to be creative/crafty, go to Church, and take a good nap!
My two cents: When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, "I used everything you gave me!" Emma Bombeck
My teaching style in three words:
Loving, experiential, creative
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Parish Day School exists to promote the spiritual, social, physical, emotional and cognitive growth of the children in our care. We strive to build a strong foundation of learning and character development by calling forth the image of God in each child. We do this through play, the arts, and other developmentally appropriate experiences that allow children to explore the world around them and discover the world within.
