TEACHER'S CORNER: ELLEN MCAULEY ENJOYS TEACHING KINDERGARTEN AT ST. AMBROSE

CHAFFEE -- Watching worms wiggle helps kindergarten students at St. Ambrose Catholic School in Chaffee learn the letter W.

When they learn about the letter B, the children bake bear biscuits. For the letter S, they sew up a pair of sandals, explained teacher Ellen McAuley.

"In kindergarten one of the main things I teach are the letters of the alphabet and their sounds," McAuley said. "Because of the developmental stage of my students, I need to reach them through experiences that are age appropriate."

Watching worms and sewing sandals "helps bring the letters to life for the children and helps show them that learning is an enjoyable experience," she said.

McAuley has been teaching kindergarten for five years. Before that, she taught first and second grade for five years.

"I decided to become a teacher because I have dyslexia and learning throughout grade school was difficult," she said. "If it had not been for some wonderful teachers, I may have never been able to know that I could learn. I wanted to give the same type of help to other students."

So she attended Southeast Missouri State University and earned a bachelor's degree in elementary education.

"The most gratifying thing about my job is watching a child's eyes light up when they understand something new for the first time, or the day the child puts the sounds together to read his or her first word."

Kindergarten students are fun to teach, she added.

"Humorous things occur in my classroom every day. Kindergarteners are full of funny stories and humorous ideas. I always love to hear the children relate their personal stories that are told from their perspective of how they view life."

McAuley is married to Ed McAuley and has two sons, Christopher, 8, and a second grader at Alma Schrader Elementary School, and Andrew, 2.

She is a member of Xi Epsilon Nu of Beta Sigma Phi and a member of St. Vincent de Paul Church in Cape Girardeau. She enjoys doll collecting, camping, cross stitching and shopping.