1. Where are you from?
I was born and raised in San Jose, CA.
2. How long have you been with ADPP
I have been with ADPP for about four years.
3. What do you like most about your job?
I enjoy giving the children the respect and patience they deserve.
I also enjoy watching them as they grow and learn.
4. What is your teaching background and experience?
I have been teaching for about seventeen years. Starting out as a Teacher’s
Aide, I worked my way form that position a Co-Teacher and from there, the
rest is history. I became a Teacher for Kindergarten and First Grade. My
classroom is now filled with preschoolers.
5. What do you think is special about your ADPP location?
The Phelan location has had a welcoming feel for me since the very first day I
was assigned here. It is also conveniently located in a quiet neighborhood
that supports a sense of safeness and security as well as being close to my
own place of residence. Having a classroom here at Phelan is like coming
home every morning just as I arrive to work each day.
6. What is your favorite part of the day at ADPP?
My favorite time would have to be circle time if I only had one to choose.
But, any time I am watching the children’s faces as they participate in fun
and learning activities is a favorite time for me. On that note, greeting
time in the mornings is also a fond time for me.
7. What is the last book you read out loud?
“Mother, Mother, I Want Another” by Marla Poluskin.
8. What is the last book you read to yourself?
A book of quotations and quotes on positive thoughts about marriage, family,
work, and friends in general.
9. What is the funniest thing a child has said/done in your class?
While I was working on progress reports this week, I asked a student for her
phone number and she replied, “Silly Miss Evelyn, you know my Mom won’t let
me have my own cell phone. Do you want my Mom’s phone number instead?” I, of
course, said, “Yes” and she proceeded to cite her Mom’s phone number
complete with the 1 + the area code prefix and number.
10. What do you do in your spare time?
In my spare time, I take my six year old to Wushu Classes and build blanket
forts all while preparing ideas to share with my class. I also enjoy walking
in the park before coming to work each day as time and weather permits.
11. What achievement are you most proud of?
I’m most proud of all my dedicated work and investment in helping young
children succeed in school. Just recently, I saw a former preschool student
of mine who is currently attending UC Davis where she is pursuing her
Doctorate Degree in Medicine. I look forward to finding her name on my
medical plan.
12. What should children look forward to
doing/learning in pre-kindergarten?
They should anticipate meeting new peers and interacting with them
in fun, cooperative, and appropriate social play, as well as, learning how
to follow directions as they develop and recognize confidence in themselves
and how to fit in and copy with the world outside their homes.
13. What is the single best piece of advice you
can give parents of pre-kindergartens?
To remember that all children are unique and learn at different
rates on varying agendas. There are no absolutes to what a preschooler must
know or accomplish outside of their own sense of self at this age and to
appreciate life and know very well how to laugh and experience a shared
sense of humor.
14. Do you have any healthy lunch ideas?
Kids are famous for grazing and snacking rather than eating big,
heavy meals or foods. Pack them portion controlled, nutrient rich, colorful,
and fun foods that provide them with variety and intrigue as well as
nourishment for their bodies, minds, spirits, and imaginations. And, please
leave the chips and soda at home.
15. Do you have any learning to read tips?
Parent, grandparents, sisters, brothers, family friends, read to
your preschoolers (and school agers) as much and as often as you can…in the
car, at the table, in the line at the grocery store. Read, read, read to
them, not at them, then with them. A child memorizing a storybook or
scribbling freely in a journal is one that is well on his/her way to
becoming a ready and willing reader. Admonishment and forced participation
will have no place at all in a preschooler’s ‘learning to read’ regime.
