1. Karri Todd’s Introduction

2. A Little About Me Personally I am from a very small town in Southwest Michigan. I love to spend time with my very spunky niece and five energetic nephews. I also love to read books of various genres but have not had much time to enjoy the books I recently purchased. I do make time for my family and friends when every possible. We enjoy spending time watching movies, attending sporting events, or just talking and laughing. Lastly, I spend my free time volunteering in my community as well as with the local roller derby team.

3. Professionally I have worked in the early childhood education field for almost 17 years with children between the ages of 2 ½-5 years old. For 15 years, I worked for a local Head Start in a variety of positions Two years as a classroom aide Three years as an assistant teacher 10 years as a lead teacher and mentor coach I worked one year in a private preschool program as a lead teacher. I also began training to become the assistant director Currently, I am a lead teacher for a Great Start Readiness Program (GSRP), which is a state-funded preschool program.

4. My educational background I attended a public school in the Kalamazoo School district. One key experience that had a lasting impact occurred while taking an elective course that required me to work with elementary students and their teacher. I aided the teacher in copying material, tutoring children, and reading to children. I loved this opportunity and loved working with the children daily for nine-weeks. This opened my eyes to what a teacher goes through everyday but I started college with the mindset of becoming an accountant. That was short lived after taking an elective course of children’s development thus resulting in me changing my major.

5. In the Future… I am a little indecisive of what I would like to do but have narrowed it down to the following: An Education Coordinator that works with teachers in a preschool program. A Site Manager or an Assistant Director. A Family Support Worker that works with families with young children.

6. Master’s Degree I feel that a master’s degree will help with any of the careers I would like to obtain because I feel that I will gain additional knowledge that I can use to work with early childhood staff and families with young children. I also feel that I will gain confidence in myself through continuing my education. This boost of confidence may also lead me to make a concrete decision about what career I would like to pursue. Lastly, I feel that obtaining my master’s degree will fulfill a personal goal I set for myself when my niece was born. She is my inspiration to complete what I set my mind to.

7. Quotes These quotes symbolize my belief about early childhood education: “Children learn as they play. Most importantly, in play children learn how to learn” -O. Fred Donaldson (Play Quotes, 2014). “Play gives children a chance to practice what they are learning” -Mr. Fred Rogers (Play Quotes, 2014). “If a child can’t learn the way we teach, maybe we should teach the way they learn” -Ignacio ‘Nacho’ Estrada (Hare, n.d.) Each of these quotes have touched me to look at myself and ensure I meet the individual needs of the children I work with.

8. References Play Quotes. (2014, April 27). Retrieved from http://www.museumofplay.org/education/education-and-play- resources/play-quotes Hare, J. (Ed.). (n.d.). Powerful quotes for teachers (printer friendly version). Retrieved from http://teaching.monster.com/benefits/articles/8742-powerful- quotes-for-teachers-printer-friendly-version