There is a wonder within each person that begins in childhood. As an aspiring early childhood educator, it is my responsibility to foster this spark of wonder. A child's natural desire to learn and think creatively is not easily contained and it should not be contained. I am currently a nanny and have worked at a Mother's Day Out program; therefore, I have witnessed firsthand how each child approaches learning with excitement. After seeing how children naturally approach learning, I have learned three things I will incorporate as I creatively teach and appealingly engage my students. "They do not care how much you know until they know how much you care," is a statement that I have heard countless times and one I frequently remind myself of when it comes to teaching children. In order to engage my students, they first need to know that I care about them. Children drift towards those they know they can trust; however, they will only trust you if you kindly and gently reveal to them that you genuinely care about their well-being. Once this foundation of trust is established, my students will be more apt to be excitedly engaged in the learning experience. Once my students are engaged I can incorporate more creative lessons. A relational foundation is built when my students know I care, not only about their education but their well-being as well. Due to this relational foundation, I will know my students and their learning niches. Children have many similar and independent interests; therefore, I plan on including those interests in my lessons to show children how to approach learning in new ways. This may look like taking the children outside and playing multiplication kickball as an active lesson or watching as caterpillars turn into butterflies. This naturally excites the students while also teaching them important lessons. Children need to not only learn on a basic educational level, but they need to know that learning takes place on a personal level as well. My goal as a teacher is to help a child come to an understanding that they are capable of doing more than they ever thought. There is a fire within each child that is meant to be kindled, not blown out. As I teach my students, I plan on creatively teaching and engaging my students by allowing them to be a part of their learning. Learning should be a hands-on experience, as it excites a child to be involved. A child is not meant to sit at a desk and listen to a lecture for hours; therefore, I will apply teaching methods that naturally appeal to the child. Learning new material is challenging and can sometimes deter children from learning. All this being said, I will kindle the flame of learning by encouraging creative innovation and adapting my teaching methods to match the children who are learning. This may look like changing how I explain a reading problem because my students lost excitement due to a misunderstanding of the definition of context clues. My goal is for my students to never lose their excitement for learning. Fostering a child's excitement for learning is not easy; nonetheless, it is a challenge that I will joyfully approach. While children have a natural desire to learn, it is my responsibility to continue to kindle that desire in a way that spurs their excitement for learning. I plan on doing this by creatively teaching and engaging my students by first showing my love and care for them and then incorporating the students' interests into my lessons to encourage learning.

I vividly remember playing on the playground in third grade and witnessing one of my classmates run into the playground structure and his mouth immediately began to gush blood because he had knocked out his two front teeth. While in comparison to a child losing their life, my experience may seem relatively insignificant; nonetheless, it is still a harmful injury caused by a supposedly safe and up-to-code playground. These types of injuries are, sad to say, not uncommon among children on playgrounds. Playgrounds are supposed to foster healthy movement and be a place of fond, fun memories for children as they grow up. In support of this idea, precautionary steps must be taken now so that playgrounds may become safe places for children to play. Children are perceptive and very intelligent; however, it is still hard to discern and understand the concept of a hazard as a young child. This leaves all children vulnerable to unseen hazards on a playground such as a broken swing, hot metal on a sunny day, and even loose screws. Due to children being vulnerable, as a teacher, it is my responsibility to take the precautions necessary to keep the playground safe for students. This means surveying the playground daily for any potentially harmful signs. The equipment on the playground should be thoroughly checked. Slides, climbing structures, and handlebars should be checked for their temperature because if they are too hot they could burn the children. Any sharp edges need to be covered and the poles of the playground structure should be covered in some form of soft cushion or rubber to prevent incidents such as the one I witnessed with my classmate as a child. Broken tree branches and trash on the playground can be a potential tripping hazard and should therefore be removed. While the playground will never be completely clear of hazards, these are actions that I can take to diminish as many potential incidents as possible. A child has a wonderful opportunity to grow in their overall development and partake in the joys of play while on the playground and they should not be worried or be fearful of dangers. I take this seriously and have a passion for fostering a safe outside environment for children to play in. This begins by being aware of the steps needed to have a safe playground and taking the actions to prepare a playground to be a safe place for the students. To further ensure the safety of vulnerable children, it is my responsibility to be alert and present while outside. Spending time on the playground is not a reason to relax and stop paying attention, if anything, a teacher should be more aware of where each child is and on guard to jump in at any second to prevent a harmful incident. Preparing a schedule at the beginning of the school year and requiring all of the teachers to attend playground safety training would be a practice that I implement so that a safe playground may be obtained throughout the entire school year. Even though it is my responsibility to maintain playground safety and supervise the children, I am also a teacher; therefore, I need to teach my students proper playground etiquette. This may look like implementing a one-person-on-the-slide-at-a-time rule, no running under the monkey bars, and even allowing the children to input what they consider to be safe playground etiquette. Overall, a safe playground begins with being mindful of the vulnerability of children and taking measures to protect them while they play.

Not only is reading an escape but also my happy place. I have escaped to Navarre in "Fourth Wing," North Bear Shores in "Beach Read," The Kingdom of Ilya in "Powerless," Cousins Beach in "The Summer I Turned Pretty," and a numerous list of other fictional spaces that have too become my happy places. My ideal bookshelf consists of these books and many more on my never-ending to-be-read list, and if one was to scroll on my TikTok they too would see how much I am influenced by the BookTok community. The BookTok community has a list of must-have books that have also become my list of must-have books. My must-have books range from Romance, Fantasy, Young Adult, and Dystopian writing styles. I most recently escaped to Minnesota to follow Justin and Emma as they both discovered that they could be more than "Just for the Summer." Abby Jimenez did an outstanding job with this must-have book that left me with a smile on my face and a five-star review on my Goodreads account! I also met Lucy and Felix in "This Summer Will Be Different" and got to dive into a must-have book that leaves you feeling like you read a real-life story. Also, this book took place on Prince Edward Island, and if you are a reader you would know that this is where our other queen of reading "Anne of Green Gables" takes place. I also journeyed to Rome, Kentucky, and was again reacquainted with Annie Walker, Noah's sister if you read "When in Rome," and met one of my new favorite MMCs (male main character) Will Griffin. Not only do you fall in love with Rome, but you fall in love with "Practice Makes Perfect" as a whole. This must-have book will have one grasping for the next book which actually comes out in February of 2025 for anyone wondering! I also fell in love with Miles Nowak and Daphne Vincent from Emily Henry's newest must-have release "Funny Story." This book left one feeling content as we see the book truly come full circle. In this funny story, we ventured with Daphne to North Bear Shores, and for those not aware, this is where "Beach Read" takes place, Emily Henry's first must-have book! Long story short, BookTok has not only introduced me to some fantastic five-star books but also has allowed one bookworm to connect with another. These must-have titles have impacted the BookTok community in a number of ways. First, we see that it has allowed reading to become cool again, which is so encouraging to those who were made fun of for being avid readers as children or teens. We see Emily Henry openly talk about reading and careers in literature in her books and for myself and other readers, I know that that is impactful. We also see mental health awareness in many books now from authors such as Abby Jimenez, Lauren Roberts, Sarah Adams, Emily Wibberley, Tahereh Mafi, and so many more. These authors and their writings have impacted the BookTok community by making those struggling or dealing with mental health issues feel seen and heard. Personally, I can say that I have been impacted by the BookTok community, and for that I am thankful. As Louisa May Alcott once said, "Take some books and read; that's an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort."