Joan Lassiter - jplassiter@seattleschools.org
Greetings from the Kindergarten! I've been teaching at Dearborn Park for more than ten years. I really love working with the students, I enjoy the open concept setting and being part of a supportive professional staff. Combine all these factors with our awesome natural surroundings and you have a great school! Kindergarten is absolutely the best grade to teach because the children are so eager to learn and they learn so quickly and joyfully!
My teaching philosophy is based on positive and meaningful experiences for the children as they begin their academic careers. I think that the children need to have lots of hands on experiences and many meaningful opportunities to develop language in a natural way. I use a lot of literature and poetry to make learning the alphabet and phonetic sounds fun! Children don't all learn the same way, so I use both whole language and phonics to give them strategies for reading and comprehending books. In math we use lots of manipulatives to help with problem solving and number sense. The children have many opportunities to explore and inquire in science class. Kindergarteners also need lots of time for social development and active play. Time is given for these important developmental steps on a daily basis.
Parents can really provide the best setting for their child to learn by spending time reading at home on a daily basis. Parents can talk to the child about the story or concepts on a one to one basis. This gives the child a great chance to interact with the parent and the book. Parents can also help children be responsible for doing and returning homework each week. Parents can quickly see if a child is having difficulties and give help right away.
Stu Huggins - sthuggins@seattleschools.org
Karon Williams - klwilliams@seattleschools.org
I believe that having self respect and respect for others is a key that opens the door to many successful learing experiences. Showing respect will help to make the education process an enjoyable one, especially if you remember to keep your smile smiling. I am looking forward to a great school year. Thank you for your support.