Our Teachers
Meet Ms. Michelle
My resume is long and boring until I get to the part where I really like to play and get messy.
You will find me elbow deep in Oobleck, learning the alphabet through art, and singing silly made up songs about the planets. I have been working with children for over 18 years and earned my ECCE certificate. With the support of my wonderful family we created MishMash. My three girls work summer camps and special events. My husband also known as Mr. Mash, keeps MishMash in great running order and helps bring my bright idea's to life. MishMash is all about getting messy, making mistakes, and being creative. That's how we learn.
Meet Ms. Leah
Once upon a time, there was a lady named Ms. Leah. As time passed she came to the conclusion that she is born to play and is truly a kid. Ms. Leah has lived through many adventures in the classroom, slaying dragons, visits to the moon, getting messy and being chased by hungry Mrs. Wolf's at dinnertime.
What adventure will the children's imagination take her on next? Only time will tell, but in the meantime Ms. Leah's story will end surrounded with giggles, smiles, laughter, and of course happily ever after. . . . . to be continued.
Meet Ms. Darlene
My Name is Ms. Darlene and I have a story to tell you. I want to start by saying I use to drive a big
yellow school bus, and I'm a good friend of Ms. Frizzles. I have had many wonderful jobs like brownie
leader, Sunday school teacher, playground supervisor, and mom to two girls and grandma to 3
grandchildren. All these life-changing experiences have made me remember that being a kid is the
best job of all. I like to get down and messy with paint in my hair and play-dough under my
fingernails. I can’t wait to see what new adventures are in store for me with your help. Will it be
taking a magic carpet ride through forbidden places or will we have to trick the troll who lives under
the bridge. Only time will tell and I’m up for the challenge. Are you?
MishMash Philosophy
thI have always believed in the power of self-expression and creativity, but now I would like to share my belief in the benefits of arts and crafts and it's abilities to get your children on the right track for kindergarten.
Whether your little one is heading to kindergarten this fall, or that big milestone is still a couple of years away, it is not too early to start thinking about kindergarten readiness.
Kindergarten has taken huge leaps away from what it was when I was a kindergartener. Gone, for many of our school districts, is the Half-day program and kindergarten being about school readiness, even for those of us who had gone to preschool. In those days preschool was about social readiness.
By engaging children in directed arts and crafts projects, you're hitting a couple of really important kindergarten readiness skills. "Directed" activities are developing a specific task that has step-by-step directions. Why? Being able to follow multiple part directions is critical as your child enters school. Children are given a set of three directions to follow in order. A child entering kindergarten should be able to follow two and three step directions with no problems. By having a specific sequence of how to do an art project, even if it's just trace, cut and glue, it is going to help to develop that skill.
Learning how to form proper shapes with objects and eventually the pencil will help form letters. Being able to understand that a triangle has three sides and mastering it with a pencil makes writing an "A" "W" "V" a piece of cake later when the time comes. Shapes are the baby steps to learning the alphabet.
Arts and crafts grace many major readiness skills: fine motor development, creativity, dexterity, communication, sharing, concentration and perseverance.
These are just a few of the benefits of Arts and Crafts. There is also the social aspect, becoming part of a whole community within our walls. Sharing, communication and above all else doing it in an environment that is fostering self-expression, uniqueness, safety, and a plain old fun place to be yourself.
MishMash’s basic curriculum will be drawn from the children’s interests and ideas shared in our classroom. All children will participate in arts and crafts at our table, which promotes teamwork, a social atmosphere, communication, stimulates friendships and gives a sense of belonging.
MishMash also bases the literacy and language portion of our curriculum around music and movement. Music is an excellent tool for children, as it develops neural pathways in the brain that can assist reading, writing, and language skills in these crucial early learning years. Our classes will create a comfortable and fun learning environment for students to build these skill sets and improve such things as cognitive functioning, motor skills, emotional development, behavior and social skills. Along with the knowledge of following and understand the concepts and rules of reading music which is the same fundamentals of following and understand the concepts of language and literacy.
Go ahead and make mistakes, that's how we learn.
Would you like to join our team? Please fill out the application form, questionnaire and return them to MishMash.
MishMash Employee Application Form
MishMash Employee Questionnaire
Whether your little one is heading to kindergarten this fall, or that big milestone is still a couple of years away, it is not too early to start thinking about kindergarten readiness.
Kindergarten has taken huge leaps away from what it was when I was a kindergartener. Gone, for many of our school districts, is the Half-day program and kindergarten being about school readiness, even for those of us who had gone to preschool. In those days preschool was about social readiness.
By engaging children in directed arts and crafts projects, you're hitting a couple of really important kindergarten readiness skills. "Directed" activities are developing a specific task that has step-by-step directions. Why? Being able to follow multiple part directions is critical as your child enters school. Children are given a set of three directions to follow in order. A child entering kindergarten should be able to follow two and three step directions with no problems. By having a specific sequence of how to do an art project, even if it's just trace, cut and glue, it is going to help to develop that skill.
Learning how to form proper shapes with objects and eventually the pencil will help form letters. Being able to understand that a triangle has three sides and mastering it with a pencil makes writing an "A" "W" "V" a piece of cake later when the time comes. Shapes are the baby steps to learning the alphabet.
Arts and crafts grace many major readiness skills: fine motor development, creativity, dexterity, communication, sharing, concentration and perseverance.
These are just a few of the benefits of Arts and Crafts. There is also the social aspect, becoming part of a whole community within our walls. Sharing, communication and above all else doing it in an environment that is fostering self-expression, uniqueness, safety, and a plain old fun place to be yourself.
MishMash’s basic curriculum will be drawn from the children’s interests and ideas shared in our classroom. All children will participate in arts and crafts at our table, which promotes teamwork, a social atmosphere, communication, stimulates friendships and gives a sense of belonging.
MishMash also bases the literacy and language portion of our curriculum around music and movement. Music is an excellent tool for children, as it develops neural pathways in the brain that can assist reading, writing, and language skills in these crucial early learning years. Our classes will create a comfortable and fun learning environment for students to build these skill sets and improve such things as cognitive functioning, motor skills, emotional development, behavior and social skills. Along with the knowledge of following and understand the concepts and rules of reading music which is the same fundamentals of following and understand the concepts of language and literacy.
Go ahead and make mistakes, that's how we learn.
Would you like to join our team? Please fill out the application form, questionnaire and return them to MishMash.
MishMash Employee Application Form
MishMash Employee Questionnaire
