My name is Marykay. I have a twelve year old daughter who loves to cheerlead and also loves our cats, Tiger and Romeo.
My background is in Early Childhood Education and Elementary Education from Cazenovia College and St. Bonaventure University. I have a Master's Degree in Reading Education K-12 from Suny Cortland. I have dedicated my life to teaching children while using a hands on learning approach. Each student has different learning styles: auditory learners, visual learners, tactile learners. Some students need repetition of a new skill, others just need modeling so they can process a skill easier. My tutoring sessions are modified to meet each child's individualized need.
I am a firm believer in the "hands on learning" approach. Read it in print, use manipulatives to spell it out, use rhyming to remember it and make learning fun, sing it with music, clap it, stomp it out, engage the child's body with their brain to make a complete package to learn a desired skill. Every student can learn, they just need the right teacher to believe in them and make learning fun.
I have a great deal of experience in so many areas of education. I started as a before and after school director while teaching preschool during the day. I was a daily substitute teacher for four years for ages Kindergarten through Twelfth Grade as an on call basis. During that time I gained strong experience with homebound tutoring, grades 7-12. I coordinated a homebound afterschool classroom a challenging experience, yet very successful. I have experience teaching homebound sessions at many different schools, fourth grade, sixth grade and grades seven to twelvth grade. My favorite was a medical homebound position in which I did music therapy and read poetry to calm and relax my student. He wasn't able to walk or talk and was wheel chair bound. My most unique homebound position was a student age 14 who had given birth to a baby. I had just had my baby and taught her life skills of how to care for a baby while trying to finish math homework. Each student gives me a piece of them that I carry with me throughout my life.
I started as a teaching assistant substitute with my district. After six months, I was offer a first grade position. I taught first grade for one year and was offer a Pre-k classroom job. I found my passion and the job became apart of who I was. I was able to make the world a better place, one child at a time. Although I am capable of tutoring many different levels, I enjoy the pre-literacy, immergent reader stage. I strongly believe in the process of early education, pre-reading and writing, immersing students in letters, numbers, words, rhyming, reading great books daily, scribbling/writing in journals, ditacting words children say so they gain knowledge that words have meaning and convey a message when written, expressing yourself through artwork and so much more. The beginning of a child's education is very important. I specialize in using different strategies to strengthen fine motor skills, gross motor skills, processing/listening skills, self help skills, and give them the confidence to explore and learn through play. Children in early elementary grades can learn through play also. Writing about your favorite television show or writing a thank you for a gift are fun ways in incorporate and strengthen skills used in daily life. A game of go fish can remind of student of numbers or colors they may have forgotten. I have so many examples and not enough minutes in my day to describe them all to you.
My job as your child's tutor is to make him or her a life long learner. I will give your child the skills they need to succeed in the classroom and with their daily routine. I will meet with you to find what support your child needs, what is happening in the classroom and what the parents are following up with at home. Together we will create a plan for your child to success. Let me know what skills need to be worked on an I will help your child accomplish their goals. I thank you for taking the time to read about me and look forward to meeting you in the near future.
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