“The goal of early childhood education should be to activate the child’s own natural desire to learn.” - Maria Montessori My mom would head off to work my grandmother would watch over me and when my mom would arrive home, she would ask my grandmother if I had gone over my alphabet letters, but my grandmother would tell my mother no, we hadn't gone over letters because I just wanted to draw all day. As I learned this story from my mom I gave a little laugh because of how sweet and funny of a story it is but after hearing this from my mom I feel that even though I could say that I’m a pretty good artist and that this moment would signify my love for art, it would also define my relationship with learning which wasn’t the easiest or the greatest at times because my desire to learn the lesson I was being taught would fade within five minutes into the lesson as I sat criss-cross applesauce on the carpet with my legs becoming tired from the position. I would watch my teacher talk and once she would wrap up the lesson I would be completely lost in the work given to me afterward because there was no engagement for me personally as a young student in my time of learning. As I progressed through school, I discovered that assignments with creative freedom truly ignited my natural desire to learn. My favorite worksheets were the ones that let me get creative with drawing, coloring, or crafting while responding to math or writing prompts on the page. Understanding this from my personal experience, I strongly feel that as a future educator, it is crucial to foster creative engagement in the classroom. I am committed to ensuring that I teach and connect with my students creatively, making each lesson and storytime interactive and engaging for them. As a preschool teacher, I will encourage my students to participate in storytime by using expressive movements and tone, which they can imitate as well. It's crucial to recognize that students may find it challenging to engage with a lesson if it only caters to one learning style and depends entirely on teacher-centered instruction. I believe it's important for young students to have the freedom to express themselves and think imaginatively. This is why I plan to provide the same kind of worksheets at learning centers in my classroom that I enjoyed when I was a young student. Each dramatic play center will be tailored to accommodate every student and allow them to apply what they've learned using all five senses. I'm confident that this approach will help the children truly engage with their learning and foster a passion for continued education.

“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” - Galatians 2:20 It was June 20, 2011 when I gave my life to Christ, but it wasn’t until I entered into my Freshman High School year 2020 that I realized that when I dedicated my life to Jesus Christ that I gained a relationship with him. I realized that Christianity was more than a religion I followed, it was a relationship or even better a friendship. My relationship with Jesus has affected my faith because it gave me a new perspective, it gave me a new hope. This relationship has allowed me to realize that the faith I had rooted in me doesn’t have to remain the size of a mustard seed, though a mustard seed size faith can move mountains it can continue on growing giving me a greater knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I realize that because I accepted Jesus into my life the faith I have will be challenged and I’ll have moments where I will want him to make the mountains move because I feel that I will not be able to move the mountain without Jesus. But in those moments I will lean hard on the faith I have and continue on moving forward. As my High School graduation draws near and I approach the new educational journey of College I plan to implement my newly affected faith in my educational journey by attending a Christian university. I know that the Christian university that I have chosen to attend will further my relationship with Jesus because it will open the door to new ministry opportunities. I know that the Christian university that I have chosen to attend will give me the knowledge I need to be successful in my career of teaching but also the knowledge I need to minister the gospel and demonstrate the love of Jesus as I enter into the world as a young adult. I plan to major in Early Childhood education and because I will attend a Christian university I will learn how to implement the gospel into lessons so that my young students can be encouraged to walk with purpose and faith just as I have and will continue to do.