TEACHER'S CORNER: MONTGOMERY USES NEW TEACHING STRATEGIES

JACKSON -- Teaching kindergartners is a lot of fun for Patty Montgomery, especially now that she gets to teach them all day.

Montgomery, who teaches at the Primary Annex in the Jackson School District, said the switch from half-day kindergarten has enabled her to expand the projects she does with her classes. Now she has time to incorporate new teaching strategies that get students to learn in a number of different ways.

For example, while studying the letter D, Montgomery and her class read books, sang songs, measured lengths and even made eggs for a project about dinosaurs.

"The children became very involved in the activities in the classroom and while they learned many facts about dinosaurs, they also yelled this is fun' throughout the process," the five-year teaching veteran said.

Humor is a staple in any kindergarten classroom, said Montgomery. Sometimes, the children are in earnest when they ask a question that makes a teacher struggle to hold her laughter.

"The other day we were having cantaloupe as a snack, and one child asked if they could go ahead and eat the antelope when they got it," she said. "Kindergarten children are quite humorous, sometimes without even realizing it."

The students Montgomery teaches undergo a tremendous amount of growth during their first year of school. It's an exciting time to be around them, especially as their literary skills develop, she said.

"Children this age grow and change so much in their social skills and in learning how to control their impulses," she said. "It is most gratifying to observe the changes that take place with reading skills and to know that you had a part in that, because reading makes such an impact and provides so much pleasure."

Montgomery and her husband have three children: Allison, 18, and Holly 16, both students at Notre Dame Regional High School, and Sam, an eighth-grader at St. Vincent de Paul School.

Outside of the classroom, she enjoys reading, jogging, and watching St. Louis Cardinal baseball games. She is a member of St. Vincent de Paul Church.