Teacher Spotlight: Mrs. Arens – 1st Grade

Last year Mrs. Arens was at Mt. Mahogany Elementary part time and Central Elementary part time as an ESL teacher! We are so excited to have her HERE with us full time as our newest 1^st Grade Teacher!!! There’s a lot of singing and dancing going on over at her classroom! (Ask to see her Peanut Butter Jelly Time Dance!) Students love their rewards system that she implements. Some of the rewards entail coupons that allow kids to have lunch with the teacher or have Mrs. Arens clean their desk for them!

Mrs. Arens was raised in a small town in Michigan called Allegan (population 4,998).  She wasn’t kidding when she said it was small! She graduated from BYU in Elementary Education with a minor in TESOL. Her favorite treat is Chocolate Covered Caramel Anything! Favorite color is Grey. Favorite Book is the Fablehaven Series. She loves Horses, Painting, Laughing and Singing and Dancing when nobody is watching. Well except for her 1^st graders. She LOVES to Laugh and to get others to laugh, which she says is pretty perfect for her job since it’s easy to get 6 year olds giggling!
Grades Taught: ESL & 1^st Grade
Teaching Motto: We’re ALL Teachers & we’re ALL Learners, working together to lift each other up within a safe learning environment.
How many years have you been teaching? Her 2^nd Year and many more to come!
Who or what inspired you to become a teacher? I have just always wanted to be a teacher! I am the 6^th child of an 8 children family, so I always had nieces, nephews and foster kids to teach…much to their chagrin.
My best day in the classroom was when: I’ve had a lot those days with my current class. One day during an art class there was a huge mess and I look back and 4 of my students are mopping up the floor without even me asking them to. I often find these students being kind, charitable and proactive!
What’s your one must-have item for your classroom? Books!!!
If you could have one teacher superpower, what would it be? The power to enthrall all students to attention, so that they’ll listen and look at me when I’m teaching.
What was the last non-academic book you’ve read? The Fablehaven Series, which I haven’t read since last year! By the end of my day…I’m usually done with letters, words, reading!
What profession other than your own would you most like to attempt? I would open my own healthy restaurant. I LOVE Food! And my husband is a Health Freak!
Have a question you’d like to ask your fellow educators? I feel like I’ve already asked so many questions of my fellow 1^st grade Team! They are AMAZING women and have so much experience and wisdom to share!