Hello and welcome to gifted education! My name is Mrs. Farmer. I am so excited to have the opportunity to work with you this year! My degree is in elementary education from Grand Canyon University with full endorsements in Early Childhood Education, English as a Second Language, and Gifted Education. This is my 23rd year in education. Those years have been spent in kindergarten, first grade, and third grade. I have been in gifted education for at least 13 years, having taught both kindergarten and first grade gifted clusters. I am also a National Board Certified teacher in Early Childhood Education. I love to learn!
When I am not teaching, I like to read, cook, take long walks, and spend time with my husband, James, and our beautiful daughter, Audrey. She recently graduated from Templeton Honors College at Eastern University with degrees in computer science, data science and math. That is in Pennsylvania! Our family also includes our fluffy cat, Tayla and a poodle named Jasper. They are so much fun, and you will probably hear many stories about them this year!
It is such an honor for me to be a gifted specialist this year! I look forward to supporting and advocating for our youngest scholars in their educational journey. It is going to be an amazing year for learning!
A few of my favorite things......
Season: Spring
Color: blue/turquoise
Scent: cucumbers and lemons
Flower: Tulips
Holiday: Thanksgiving
Food: Thai and Tex Mex
Drink: Mango Ice Tea
Snack: Popcorn and Chocolate (yum)
Children’s Author: Patricia Palaccio and Eve Bunting
Primary Education Thinking Skills or PETS™ is a systematized enrichment and diagnostic thinking skills program. Lessons are presented in convergent analysis, divergent synthesis, visual/spatial thinking, and evaluation, suitable for grades K-3. The program aligns to the higher levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy.”
ThinkLaw is a “curriculum that uses real-life legal cases in upper grades and fairy tales and nursery rhymes in lower grades as a hook to unleash the critical thinking potential of all students”.
Junior Great Books combine high-quality literature, student-centered discussion, and activities that support reading comprehension, critical thinking, speaking and listening, and writing in a shared inquiry approach.
“Building thinking classrooms is a rapidly-growing educational approach that aims to help students cultivate critical thinking, problem-solving skills, and active engagement."
“Habits of Mind is 16 critical thinking, problem-solving, and interpersonal skills that 21st-century students will need to build tomorrow’s world.”
“The Depth and Complexity Icons are visual prompts designed to help students go beyond surface level understanding of a concept and enhance their ability to think critically. These critical thinking tools help students dig deeper into a concept (depth) and understand that concept with greater complexity.”
We will also do integrated problem-based learning (PBLs) and STEM activities.
