Danette Schaad

I loved working with young children and art and realized teaching would be a great fit. Over the years my positions have been cut and I have taught art, physical education, kindergarten and 1st grade. I love when kids finally have that realization that they understand the skill being taught and they have that big smile that is being with pride.

One of my favorite teaching experiences was when my class learned about the life cycle of a chicken. We had placed 28 eggs in an incubator and for 21 days we learned about chickens. On day 20 we had to eggs had hatch. The students gathered around the incubator watching in pure joy. The giggles and excitement was contagious. That year we had 24 out of 28 eggs hatch! The kids named them and loved holding them when they could. Such a wonderful way to share the gift of life with students.

Well I am sure a considerable portion of the $25,000 would be spent on my classroom. I always cannot turn down a new children’s book or fun STEM activity that requires me to purchase things out of my own pocket. I would love to donate a portion of this to improve the school playground so that when has rained we would be able to still go outside and play. The rest would probably go towards my 4 children’s high education expenses. Education is a staple of becoming a productive citizen.