User:Egrau003

   Ellen Grau

About Me
Hello! My name is Ellen. I am from Virginia Beach, VA. I have been in the area since I was 5 years old, which is pretty lucky considering I am a navy brat. I still have some of the same friends that I met the first day of kindergarten. I am absolutely in love with Virginia, despite some of the obscure laws.

have an AMAZING dog named Weezy. He is a pit bull mix, and the best dog in the world. No, he's not named after the Jeffersons. He is named after the rapper Lil' Wayne (kind of lame, I know). I love music, the beach, learning, EATING, watching movies, and taking my dog anywhere people will allow him.

Goals
In the next few years, I plan to finish my Bachelor's degree in early childhood education. I will continue my education at Old Dominion until I complete a masters degree. I love children and I am very excited about being in a classroom full of preschoolers. I have taken on this task in the past as a teacher's assistant and learned just how much I enjoy the complany of 4 and 5 year olds. After spending a few years in the classroom I would love to work on opening my own childcare center. Hopefully, I can start my business from my home while I raise my own children, once they are school age I would love to have an actual daycare center.

Philosophy
My teaching philosophy has developed throughout my semesters in school. My main goal as a teacher is to give each child a feeling of belonging and encouragement. It is so important that every individual student feels that the instructor enjoys having them in the class, and that their presence is necessary. I also believe that there is always something a child can do exceptionally well. It is important to focus on the children individually so their skills can be pinpointed and they can be given the confidence they need to succeed. Also, learning can ALWAYS be fun and interesting, teachers just have to be creative and share experiences with each other in order to improve.