Welcome to MCC Kindergarten! My name is Shelly Connell, and I am the kindergarten teacher here at Manistee Catholic Central. This will be my 10th year of teaching, and my second year at MCC. I had a wonderful first year and am so excited to see what this second year has in store for me and my students!
Kindergarten is such an exciting time for both the students and their parents. The beginning of a child’s educational journey is filled with excitement, nervousness, smiles and tears. Kindergarten sets the stage for the child to find their love of learning. That is one primary goal in my kindergarten, the student’s love of learning. It is such an important part of kindergarten. If the kids are excited, having fun, and loving what they are doing every day in the classroom, the learning will come naturally.
Focusing on the individual child and their own learning style is crucial in making each child flourish. My classroom is definitely a hands-on classroom with all kinds of activities that involve kinesthetic learning. Most children, at this age, need that time to explore with touch and movement. However, if a child seems to be more of a visual or auditory learner, adjustments are made to fit their needs. At the end of the day, my room is basically a hustle and bustle of hands-on learning activities connecting to a Christ-centered atmosphere.
With that being said, my other primary goal in kindergarten is to bring Christ into our daily routine with the hope this knowledge will guide and follow them as they leave our room each day. Bringing Christ into our daily life here in kindergarten helps the children not only get to know God and his love for us but to put into action His teachings. As the children learn to share, work together, and resolve problems during our year, we can always reflect on what He has taught us and how we should live. Our new program, Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, is going to be such a wonderful addition to our journey to know God and our Catholic faith. As a Catholic Montessori program, it fits right in with my hands-on approach in kindergarten. I have no doubt that it will engage the children in their faith.
I hope this gives you a better insight into our kindergarten. Thanks for the opportunity to share my classroom with you!
God Bless,
Shelly Connell
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