April M. Atherton
Hello! My name is April Atherton. I apologize that my photo is rather dated as
it was taken four years ago when I married my wonderful husband Damon. I prefer to be the photographer not the
subject. This year will be my eighth year
teaching first grade at Roby Elementary in Bullitt County. I was also
lucky enough to be a student at Roby years ago so it is wonderful to now be a
teacher at Roby.
About Me
In my free time I enjoy spending time with
my family and friends. My husband and I
are currently “fostering” two albino New Zealand (Pookas) rabbits. We chose to foster the brother and sister
pair after our “baby” Benjamin Bunny crossed the rainbow bridge this past
November. For the last 4 summers, I’ve
spent my time volunteering at a local rabbit rescue and love helping all the
buns and their amazing foster mom. Many
people don’t realize that rabbits are the 3rd most euthanized animal in the
country and most of this occurs because of a lack of understanding about
rabbit care. This spring, I began the
process to become a licensed rabbit educator for the House Rabbit Society so I
can continue to advocate for the house rabbits in our area. When I’m not with the bunnies, I can be found
at the Louisville Zoo visiting the polar bears.
Books
I enjoy being curled up on the couch with a
good book. Some of my favorite books are
anything written by Nicholas Sparks, the Twilight Series, and the Vampire
Diaries series. This past fall I read a
book with other teachers at my school that made a great impact on my
relationship with my students. We chose
to read Room by Emma Donoghue. This book really reminded me that we have
no idea what our kids go through when they are not with us. It made me cherish the time I had them and to
be sure I made each day a positive experience for them. I highly recommend reading this powerful
book. After reading Room, I
wanted a “lighter” read so a friend recommended The Hunger Games. I’m
not sure how she considered that a lighter read but I have enjoyed the series
so far. I am currently reading Mockingjay
(the 3rd book in the series) and plan to have it finished before KRP
starts in July.
My Classroom
I am always trying to improve and discover
new ideas in the area of literacy in my classroom. Three years ago I discovered
The Daily 5 and it has changed my classroom drastically. My students are now immersed in authentic
literacy activities when they are not with me in reading group. I am still trying to find additional ideas
for the Word Work component of Daily 5 and hope I can pick up some tricks this
summer. One area where I really want to
improve is in the area of writing especially in ways to strengthen my writer’s workshop.
Posts
1 comment:
April,
How amazing that you are able to be a teacher where you went to school. You have the ability to provide a unique impact on the students that you teach.
I love your passion for animals. I know that this will be passed on to your students.
You will love the conclusion of the Hunger Games.
I will be interested to see how The Daily 5 is working in your classroom. I know many of us are using it, but it is nice to troubleshoot as a group.
- Tiffany
Post a Comment