Kindergarten Teacher: Hailey

Hey Everyone! Today I have an amazing Kindergarten teacher interview with Hailey. I first connected with Hailey through instagram and instantly realized how much energy and passion she has for her job! I knew I needed to interview her for the blog to learn how she makes the magic happen. I particularly love her answer to #5, being a SPED teacher means I love to hear that teachers are accommodating everyone!

Here is her interview:

1. What did you want to be when you were growing up?

Well, before I knew what a teacher was, I wanted to be a "daycare lady". I always loved working with kids so that was the only job I knew of that would let me do that. Once I began kindergarten though, I found out what a teacher was and knew that I wanted to be a teacher from that moment on. 

2. Is there a moment that sticks out to you that you remember from school with a teacher you had growing up (can be good, bad, or both)?

There are so many moments that have stuck with me from when I was in school. If I had to choose just one, I would choose a moment from third grade. My third grade teacher is one of the most inspirational teachers I have ever had. She was funny, loved reading and dancing, but also held us to high expectations in our classroom. We were learning about skip counting in math, and I just remember her dancing around the classroom with her portable blue boom box. She had a CD that had skip counting songs and we listened to them every single day. To this day, I can still recite almost all the skip counting songs we practiced even though it has been over 12 years! I don't know why this memory sticks out to me, but I just remember how much joy and positivity she radiated in everything she did. I think it's stuck with me because I want my students to remember me this way; happy, joyful, and comforting.

3. How long have you been teaching, what do you teach, and what did it take for you to get there?

This is my first year teaching and I am currently teaching kindergarten. I received my bachelors of arts degree after attending Western Washington University for four years. The education program I was in usually takes about four years itself (not including GURs) but since I took some AP classes in high school I was able to transfer some credits to account for some GUR credits. I also had to take one quarter of summer classes to be able to graduate when I did. 

4. What is your go-to tool you use in the classroom and why?

My go-to-tool in my classroom is my bluetooth doorbell. I know that everyone says how much they love it, but it really is the best tool I could ever have had for this year. I love it because it is a non-verbal cue that can be used for so many different things. I use it as a transition cue, an attention getter, and more. 

5. Is there anything you do to accommodate your students and how often do you find yourself using that accommodation?

I am constantly accommodating everything I do in my classroom to fit the needs of my students. This includes my instruction, classroom setup, classroom schedule, and more. The biggest and most common accommodation I use is providing visual cues for absolutely everything we do. Where I teach, we have a very high ELL population. But I also teach kindergarten, so visual cues are necessary for everything and anything. I use visual cues for routines, lessons, schedules, rotations, small group instruction, etc.

6. I love your instagram and YouTube, what made you decide to start a YouTube channel?

I decided to make a YouTube channel to document my life. When I started YouTube, I was just about to begin student teaching and it was a time I had looked forward to for forever. I knew that I wanted to document it in some way, so I decided to start vlogging!

7. Any advice for a new teacher?

My advice for a new teacher is to give yourself grace and know that it is okay to not do it all. It is so easy to compare yourself to other teachers, but it isn't realistic to think you can do every good idea you see on Instagram or Pinterest. Decide what is most important for you to spend your energy and time on, and do that. Also, remember, the first day of anything is rough. Don't stress if it doesn't go as planned. As long as all your students get home safely, consider it a success. 

8. How is it going teaching virtually?

Teaching virtually is so much different than teaching in person, obviously. The first day was really rough. Technology is frustrating and does not always work the way we would like it to. However, we are on week three now and it is going a lot better. I am lucky enough to be able to Zoom with my kiddos and at least see them virtually, which has helped me through this time so much. Overall, I am finally starting to find a routine in this craziness!

9 .A lot of people have been saying they hope things start to change in education since this Pandemic, do you think anything will change from it?

Honestly, I don't know. I'm a little worried about what will happen in the fall. I can't imagine trying to teach virtually with students and families I don't have established relationships with. Not to mention, very freshly turned five year olds. I hope we will be able to go back as normal come September, but I don't know how likely that is.

10. Last but not least, what do you want to be when you grow up? ( a fun question I started adding into my interviews inspired by a teacher I had in college lol)

I know this is cli'she, but I want to be happy. I want to keep the love and passion I have for teaching alive no matter how long I have been teaching for. I don't ever want to forget the magic of a student reading their first word, the comfort of the tiniest human hugs, and the reason why I am choosing to be in this line of work.

Thanks so much Hailey!

Happy Teaching :)