Hi everyone!
My name is Katie Finnegan. I am a passionate and dedicated educator wanting to make the world a better place through effective and meaningful teaching. I am a strong proponent of teaching through the whole child approach using a nature, play-based, and emergent curriculum centered around play and exploration. As an early childhood kindergarten teacher, these young minds are eager and excited to learn. Every child who enters my classroom is unique and filled with wonders and curiosities about the world around them. These years are the foundation for the success in their future learning journey. It is vital for me to instill the love of learning and keep alight the fire of curiosity that is inside each and every one of our students.
​
A little bit about my educational background
​
I graduated from Southern Connecticut State University in 2012 with a double bachelors in Elementary Education and Sociology. I obtained my Connecticut teaching license in June of 2012, which is currently upheld. After graduation, I was working as a Team Lead for a Pre-K and Preschool classroom, crafting my skill for five years. I then became the Head Kindergarten Teacher at a private, play and nature-based school in August 2016, where I am currently teaching today. In the summer of 2020, I began my master’s degree program in Curriculum and Instruction with a focus on Differentiation from American College of Education. Tentatively, my graduation is scheduled for February of 2022!
​
Embracing the school’s culture of an emergent curriculum that relishes on a play and nature-based environment where childhood is valued and celebrated was something I could fully immerse myself in. I have now taken that viewpoint and crafted my own teaching philosophy to ensure my students understand their interconnectedness to each other and the environment around them. We have one Earth to protect, and it is my responsibility to instill this message in my students as well as prepare them for life beyond our school. Balance is a common thread in my kindergarten classroom, where academics, social-emotional skills, a sense of self, a sense of wonder, and the idea of becoming stewards of our land are all equally developed and revered.
​
My mission of creating this website is to inspire, motivate, and share my knowledge and passion in supporting learning through play and nature. I believe every classroom from private to public has the possibility to incorporate one thing or another from my experiences to enhance our students’ educational journey. I hope you all take a minute to explore my website!
​
Thank you for visiting!
​
Take it outside!
Katie Finnegan
