Mrs. A is coming back!

After a long hiatus... I am planning to return to the blogging and sharing world SOON! Many, many, MANY things have changed in my life since I last posted on Kinder Corner, but I am so very excited to share what's new in my corner of education. 

Since my last post, I had a beautiful daughter (who is now 1 and has quite the personality!) and I moved states. But, most importantly for this blog, I changed jobs. My "first love" will ALWAYS be kindergarten -- the innocence, the bright eyes, and the beautiful beginning to a lifetime of learning. I spent 6 years watching little readers, writers, and scientists unfold before my eyes. The stories, memories, and lessons from kindergarten will forever be in my heart. But, while teaching kindergarten, I completed my Master's degree in Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE). For those of you that are not familiar with ECSE, it's a rather small field that is also referred to as Early Intervention. With my ECSE degree, I am licensed to work with children with disabilities from birth through age 5. An ECSE position can vary from a NICU developmental specialist to an infant-toddler service provider in the home to a classroom preschool teacher. I have an amazing opportunity in my new role as ECSE at an elementary school that houses two preschool classrooms. I am not a classroom teacher, but a co-teacher between two classrooms. I spend my days providing support in the classrooms alongside the classroom teachers, elaborating on cognitive and language skills through play-based intervention, and working one-on-one or in small group settings with select students. 

As much as a I know a small part of me will always miss the "true" classroom teacher role, I am loving this new position. It is incredible how powerful individualized education can be in many children's lives. As a classroom teacher, I always wished for more support from specialists -- so I am really enjoying being able to be that support for my teammates and their students. 

More than anything, I am learning so much through my new ECSE job. I find that my knowledge of kindergartners -- and what they need to be successful -- is driving my focus with students. Whether it's supporting a student's social interactions, play behaviors, early literacy and numeracy skills, or skills of independence, I think our team is making big steps to prepare our little learners for their educational future.

Stay tuned for tales from my ECSE corner of the world. [and no... I'm not changing the blog name!]