Growing Out West Health Hub

Hi! I'm Emily and I currently teach 8th grade health. My journey to the public school classroom has looked a little less like a Toyota Camry on a suburban highway (i.e. conventional) and more like an Astin Martin zipping through a parrot infested jungle (i.e. unconventional). Allow me to explain...ahem... My background is in public health education which means that I have spent over 5 years teaching community health classes for the general public (on many topics ranging from nutrition and exercise to mental health awareness to substance abuse prevention), youth classes for at-risk teens (they were court ordered to attend my class, so, you know, the LOVED it, obviously), and adult classes for recovering drug addicts. I've had to come up with curriculum, activities, presentations, assessments and lessons from scratch and, boy, do I wish TPT was available then! But, the plus side is I've learned to be innovative and effective using evidence based practices and honing my skills into something that has been proven to be quite successful and effective! Fast forward a few years to where I stopped teaching for pay and instead chose to do it for free as I attempted to grab the attention of hungry little ankle biters known as "my children". As you can imagine, I learned quite a bit more about that varieties of curriculum options as I homeschooled them and I can attest to what a ride that can be--to find what is best in order to meet the needs of diverse learners. But, hey, we are stronger for it, yessir! Well, when my stint as a homeschool mamma came to an end, I honestly decided that I loved the whole teaching and curriculum development side of things so much that I ended up jumping on to that Toyota Camry and (after multiple hoops covered in red tape, over 20 college credits and one successful EdTPA later) I now have my teachers license for secondary education with Health endorsement and I've been teaching junior high ever since...for the last several years, in fact! Hoorah! Oh! And one more thing...crazy lady that I am, I have also decided to pursue a Masters in curriculum development and instructional design. So...there's more I'm learning there (insert sly wink and finger gun point right 'atcha). Ultimately, my experience has been a roller coaster, but it's a roller coaster that has filled my life with the most valuable of experiences possible. It's helped me to learn how to reach kids who aren't supposed to reachable. It's also made me solidly proficient in how to use the incredible ideas, resources, research, and best practice methods to be as effective and dynamic as possible (until I learn more, because, lets be honest...we're always learning, right? RIGHT?) I have benefitted from amazing friends and colleagues who have shared ideas, curriculum, lessons and activities with me. And I've created a few myself. So I decided to post them here, in the hopes that they can be as helpful to you, as so many others have been to me!

I try my best to be an interactive, dynamic educator who finds the most value in practical application and hands-on learning. My favorite way to get students engaged (young or old) is through doing, not just listening. My activities, curriculum ideas and focus gets students to be directly involved in their own education by utilizing experiments, problem solving and engaging in real-world scenarios.

I mean, I don't want to brag or anything, but my son once gave me a mug that stated, "Worlds best mom"...so...

Bachelors degree from Brigham Young University in Public Health Education. Secondary Ed endorsement in Health. Currently working towards a Master's degree in Curriculum and Instruction.

Congratulations if you read through the entirety of my "Experience" section. I give you an A+ or a gold star, whichever you prefer. But...I've got a couple more things to share, because...well... it will also reflect on the kind of resources I include in my wee shop. And at the risk of looking like a crazed ADHD cat lady with the most random of random ideas (ok...not entirely untrue) I want to justify it. So I'm putting it here. Ahem... I am a classically trained pianist and I also teach private music lessons. In addition to my health ed stuff, I will also post some helpful resources in music too. Also, my husband is a Pediatric Physical therapist with a whole WELL (a mean it, a well) of knowledge in that spectrum. For now, because he is just too busy to set up his own online space, I will be throwing some of his resources here too. Why not? I'm a team player after all. Last thing, I just want to say thank you. Thank you for taking the time to read this and thank you for giving my little shop a little look. I hope you have all the success you desire in your pursuit of top notch educational resources!!