Heidi Weller
Maugansville Elementary · Maryland
Verified
- Grades:
- 5
- Subject(s):
- ELA, ELS Supplemental, Science/Social Studies
A note from Heidi
For 19 years, teaching has been so much more than a career to me—it has been a huge part of who I am. I spent 15 years teaching Pre-K, helping some of our youngest learners take their very first steps into school. Four years ago, I made the leap to fifth grade, and while the students may be bigger and the learning different, one thing has never changed: my students deserve the very best I can give them. I teach fifth grade in Maryland at a community school where every student receives free breakfast and lunch. My students come through my classroom door with different experiences, abilities, challenges, personalities, and needs. My goal is to make sure that when they walk through that door, they know they belong. I want my classroom to feel like their second home—a place where they are safe, comfortable, encouraged, challenged, and loved. A place where making a mistake means you’re learning. A place where it’s okay to ask for help. A place where every child knows there is an adult cheering for them. That is why I put so much of myself into my classroom. I spend countless hours planning lessons, creating activities, finding resources, decorating, organizing, and searching for ways to make learning more meaningful and engaging. I want students investigating, creating, collaborating, discussing, moving, questioning, and discovering—not simply sitting at a desk completing worksheets. Sometimes that means purchasing classroom supplies myself. Sometimes it means creating a DonorsChoose project or sharing my classroom wishlist and hoping someone sees it. Asking for help isn’t always easy, but I’ve learned that there are some incredibly generous people who believe in teachers and students. Every item donated to my classroom has a purpose. Flexible seating gives a child another way to be comfortable and successful. Markers, folders, highlighters, and supplies allow students to create and learn. Anchor-chart materials help make learning visible. Classroom organization gives students independence. Even the smallest item can make a difference when it is placed in the hands of a child who needs it. After 19 years, I still get excited about a new lesson. I still rearrange things because I think, “This might work better for my kids.” I still bring things home to work on at night. I still worry about the student who had a difficult day. And I still celebrate those little moments that might not seem huge to anyone else—the reluctant reader who finally volunteers, the student who says, “Oh! I get it now!”, or the child who realizes they are capable of something they thought they couldn’t do. Those moments are why I continue to teach. My students may only be in my classroom for one school year, but I hope something they experience there stays with them much longer. I hope they remember that they were important. I hope they remember that someone believed in them. I hope they remember that learning can be exciting. Most importantly, I hope they leave my classroom knowing they are capable of doing hard things and that they matter. I don’t teach because it’s easy. I teach because kids are worth it.
A book Heidi recommends
The One and Only Ivan Katherine Applegate, with illustrations by Patricia Castelao.
Adopt Heidi’s classroom
A wishlist is one moment in a long year. Supplies run out, holiday projects need their own things, and the snack drawer is empty again by February. Adopting means Heidi can tell you what comes up next, and how the year is going in the room itself.
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