Article Contributed on: 2/14/2007 12:03:35 PM
Our daughter made a new friend in Junior Kindergarten this year. She talks about this new friend all the time and quotes her frequently. Her new friend has made our daughter love counting, math and geography and so much more. Our daughter's new friend is
Amy Sabin, her Junior Kindergarten teacher at Aspen Academy in Littleton.
Amy has a special relationship with each and every child in her class and they all adore her. Her relationship with her students is one as a facilitator. While she recognizes individual needs through utilizing the best teaching methods for each child, she greatly prioritizes fostering the whole child and strengthening the home/school community. She has been teaching for over 20 years and still says that it's an amazing experience to be part of that wide-eyed wonderment and she loves the spontaneous connections that occur and the shining faces of children who love to learn.
She has opened the eyes of the children (and the parents) to the world around them - they are learning about other countries and geographic areas by sending a little paper cutout friend along on trips with extended family and friends or mailing it off to people in other areas. This friend comes back with a report about where she has visited, what the climate was like, what animals were there...all kinds of things This is merely one little thing among many that has involved so many members of the extended community and been embraced with such enthusiasm. The children have learned so much about the world we live in and have begun to realize that it is a world community. Pretty good learning for four and five year olds.
Amy is a lovely, kind, motivated, intelligent and compassionate person and teacher who sets an wonderful example for these children and the parents about what kind of person to aspire to be. Just ask our four year old daughter...she'll tell you.