Kindergarten teaching team puts fun first and the learning follows--with glitter and dance parties :)

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What makes Kindergarten so great? So fun, so memorable, so...special? For starters, these three fun-loving, dedicated teachers! Jessica Adamski, Stephanie Kotta, and Nancy Dalsted lead by example: HAVING FUN IS ONE OF OUR PRIORITIES! Allow them to introduce themselves and share their favorite kindergarten memory...

Hi! I am Jessica Adamski, part of the kindergarten teaching team here at Pioneer Elementary.  I am just finishing up my 6th year of teaching.  I have taught 3 years in kindergarten at Pioneer and 3 years were spent at Holy Trinity teaching first grade.  I love teaching kindergarten because there is so much growth that is made from the first to last day.  Watching them learn the foundational skills they need and then become readers and mathematicians is a pretty amazing thing. My favorite memory is when a student brought a disco ball to school and we started our day with a dance party.  My favorite day in kindergarten is our class trip to the pumpkin patch in the fall of each school year.  Watching students play in the outdoors, enjoy animals, and find that perfect pumpkin is priceless!

Hello! I am Stephanie Kotta, part of the Kindergarten teaching team here at Pioneer Elementary.  I will be finishing up my fourth year of teaching.  I have taught vocabulary skills for a year in Alexandria, two years of first grade (one here), and now kindergarten.  After teaching one year of kindergarten,  I know it is where my heart is.  One of my favorite parts of teaching is watching them grow into their personalities and becoming independent.  Most of all, I love teaching to watch the light bulb go on, watching them soar, and love learning as much as I love teaching. My favorite memory is popping glitter bombs over our heads on letter G day for our alphabet countdown!  If I had to pick one of my favorite days we celebrate in kindergarten it would be Penguin Day.  Students learn about different arctic animals and then we get to celebrate the last of the unit with penguin themed activities, penguin hats and dressing up like a penguin!

Hi! I am Nancy Dalsted, part of the kindergarten teaching team here at Pioneer Elementary.  I am finishing my 16th year of teaching.  My first 2 years were in Sharon, Wisconsin in a multi-age kindergarten/jr. kindergarten classroom.  The last 14 years have been at Pioneer in kindergarten!  I love teaching kindergarten because 5 and 6 year old kids are so excited to be at school and are very open to learning and trying new things.  There is nothing more rewarding than to be a part of a child's journey as they develop a love of numbers, letters, books, and reading.  One of my favorite memories at Pioneer was watching my first kindergarten class in Pierz walk through the hallways of Pioneer Elementary in their graduation robes last year!  My favorite days that we celebrate in kindergarten are Polar Express Day, the wedding of Q and U, and when the parents and grandparents come to school for our "Trim the Tree" party.