Donna Parker
Donna Parker has spent 14 years teaching at WRNS. She holds a Master’s Degree in Education from Nazareth College and is certified to teach elementary school. Like some of our other teachers, Mrs. Parker’s first experience at WRNS was as the parent of a preschool student. She liked the school’s philosophy, the structure of the daily program, and the teachers. When a teaching position became available at the school, she “jumped” at the chance.
To explain what she likes best about working with children, Mrs. Parker provided the following quote: “Working with children has a miraculous affect on your soul.” Every day brings an opportunity to share in the children’s enthusiasm, innocence, humor and energy. And, as we are all aware, children are often very honest about their feelings, which can lead to some very entertaining moments throughout the day.
Mrs. Parker enjoys the flexibility inherent in the preschool setting. She begins each morning with a definite plan regarding what she will work on with the children – but on any given day, the children may show greater interest in a tangential subject. Without a mandatory curriculum, Mrs. Parker has the freedom to revise her lesson plans on the spot and to explore those topics of greatest interest to the children.
Mrs. Parker finds working at the play dough table to be one of her favorite activities in class. It stimulates the imagination, promotes conversation, improves the kids’ fine motor skills and has an all-around soothing quality that can be welcome on days that are especially hectic.
When asked about a special moment working at WRNS, Mrs. Parker cites the times when a child, engrossed in an activity, turns to her with a question or comment and mistakenly begins the sentence with “Mom . . . .” The child quickly realizes his or her mistake, blushes a little, laughs and finishes his or her thought. The fact that a child can make that sort of innocent mistake tells Mrs. Parker that the little one is feeling safe and is happy to be at school – so much so that it may feel like a home away from home in many ways.