Birchwood Day Nursery School teacher Heather Marden has been selected by the
Terri Lynne Lokoff Child Care Foundation (TLLCCF) to receive the 2014 Terri
Lynne Lokoff/Children’s TYLENOL® National Child Care Teacher Award. Marden is one of 54 recipients selected for the
award from a nationwide pool of applicants. Marden will receive a grant of
$1,000 to fund a project she created for her classroom, called “Light up
Learning.”
“Light Up Learning” includes the purchase of a light table and
hands-on materials to use with the table. Marden said that she didn’t want a
one-time project, or something that would only be used for a little while and
put aside. “I want something that’s going to be a permanent fixture in the
classroom, that I can take any curriculum we’re doing or anything the kids are
interested in doing and put this in,” she said. Having attempted numerous times
to create her own light box with minimal success, Marden feels that the
commercial unit will be an investment for the classroom. The box will allow her
to incorporate many different materials, from letter tiles and x-ray cards to
translucent building bricks, and involve all learning areas, including math,
science, literacy, art and dramatic play. The versatility of the light box will
also be a big advantage, as it can be used for large groups, small groups and
individually. “That’s kind of how I made my choice, looking at the many
benefits this would have,” said Marden.
Marden
and Birchwood director/owner Connie DiBiase will fly to Philadelphia for events
honoring the recipients on April 2nd. At a luncheon that day, the
top ten will speak about their projects. The following evening, the awards and
grant money will be presented at a banquet.
Marden applied for the recognition and grant after DiBiase put the
paperwork and a note encouraging her to apply in her mailbox. At first glance,
Marden said, she was intimidated by the idea of applying for a national award
but ultimately decided to go for it. She collected the necessary
recommendations from a parent, a colleague, and DiBiase, filled out the
application, and put together the project proposal. Marden submitted her
application in late fall of 2013, and was notified by letter in early February
that she had been selected.
Marden
began her career in education after college, working as a educational
technician in special education for three years, then becoming a certified
Wilson reading specialist, working one-on-one with children in Kindergarten
through 12th grade. The field was a little too structured and
routine for her, she said, and didn’t allow room for her creative side. Seeking
an outlet in education that would incorporate this aspect of her personality
prompted a move to the early childhood field. When she was offered a preschool
position after moving to Portsmouth, NH, she jumped right in. “It was an age I
hadn’t done yet, and I thought it would be interesting to learn more about that
age,” she said. “Immediately, I just knew, this is me.” She enjoys the preschool age group, she said,
because there is room for creativity, and teaching this age allows her to play
a large role in the children’s first introduction to learning.
“I
just love that they ask so many questions, and that I
can ask just as many back. That’s the fun part for me,” she said of working
with preschoolers. “They’re asking questions because they want to learn. When
you get to that point in teaching when they’re not asking questions any more, something
is wrong.”
DiBiase said that she encouraged Marden to apply because of the
creativity she has seen her use in the classroom, from finding ways to engage a
child with trouble entering into play by using his interests to her detailed
artist studies.
Marden has worked
at Birchwood for four years. She has two classes of nine children, a
Monday/Wednesday/Friday group and one on Tuesday/Thursday. The children in her
classes attend for 3 ½ hours a day, from 8:30 am to12 pm. Marden said the
things she enjoys most about her job are the creativity and flexibility. “I
love how I can have a lesson plan written up for a day and come in and never
touch it because of what the children are doing. It’s what keeps the day
interesting. No two days are alike,” she said.
Winning the award was a very
humbling experience for her, Marden said. She had convinced herself that she
didn’t have a chance in a nationwide competition, thinking that awards like
this were only for teachers who were on committees, or working with the state chapter
of NAEYC. “I haven’t really gotten to that point in
my career yet. All my efforts are focused here in these four walls. So when I
opened it up and saw that I got it, it was very humbling to know that the
efforts you put into a classroom can be rewarded like that,” said Marden. She
said she always feels personal satisfaction in her job, but to have someone
outside recognize her efforts validated what she does even more.