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Hello! I am excited to start another year in Preschool. This year will be different from any year I have ever taught, but what remains the same is my love for what I do and my desire to help children be ready for kindergarten next year!
I committed to graduate from Floyd County High School in 1998. From there, I furthered my education at Emory and Henry College. After graduating with my Bachelors Degree in Physical Education, I began teaching for Floyd Elementary School as a Preschool Special Education teacher. While teaching, I earned my Masters Degree from Radford University in Special Education. After teaching for six years in Floyd, I decided to run a licensed daycare from my home.
In 2011, I began my teaching career with Radford City Schools as a Reverse Inclusion Preschool teacher. As part of my coursework to maintain my teaching license, I took classes to become certified in regular education. In 2017, I transitioned into the role as one of the Virginia Preschool Initiative teachers. I love teaching young students. They are excited to learn, have so much energy, and are like little sponges who soak up information provided to them in a fun, playful environment.
I was inspired to become a teacher by all the wonderful teachers I had in school. To this day, I can still name every one of my teachers from my elementary years! Many of them became like second mothers to me. Even in high school, I would go visit my elementary school and help former teachers prepare for the new school year. Teaching also runs in my family as my aunt was a high school math teacher and my grandfather was a college math professor.
Karen Radford
Virginia Preschool Initiative teacher
Endorsed in Early/Primary Education, Early Childhood Special Education, Drivers Education, and Health and Physical Education
Emory & Henry
Radford University, MS
5/26/2020 update:
Wow, the last week of school is here! I am going to miss the end of year celebrations and seeing the excitement of each student's face as they head off to summer break! I have enjoyed getting to know all of the families and helping each student prepare for kindergarten this year. I wish everyone a wonderful summer and bright future! Here is the link to the Continuity of Learning. It will be up all summer to access for ideas to engage your child in educational opportunities at home. My office hours for this week will be:
Tuesday 9-11
Wednesday 12-2
Thursday 1-3
Friday 10-12
5/18/2020 Update:
Good morning and happy Monday! Two more weeks of virtual school remain and then it is officially summer break! Click here to be directed to this week's activities with our Preschool Continuity of Learning. Yearbooks are in and can be picked up at McHarg for anyone who ordered one. Report cards will be sent home at the end of next week through Seesaw and email.
My office hours for this week are:
Monday: 11-1
Tuesday: 8-10
Wednesday: 12-2
Thursday: 1-3
Friday: 9-11
5/12/2020 Update:
Good morning families! I hope all of you had a wonderful Mother's Day weekend. I missed making Mother's Day surprises with the students this year. My office hours this week will be by appointment only due to packing up my classroom at McHarg. Please call, text, or send an email or Seesaw message to let me know you are interested and we can set up a time. Please click here for the Continuity of Learning activities for preschool this week.
5/4/2020 Update:
Wow, it is hard to believe we are now in May and down to our last month of preschool! Hard to believe the year is almost over. I enjoyed spending the time I did with your children and have enjoyed the contact I have had with families since we returned virtually from Spring Break!
The weekly activities for the Preschool Continuity of Learning were posted last night and can be easily assessed by clicking here!
My office hours for this week are:
Monday: 10 AM to 12 PM
Tuesday: 8 AM to 10 AM
Wednesday: 1 PM to 3 PM
Thursday: 9 AM to 11 AM
Friday: By appointment only as I am packing up my classroom at McHarg!
Have a wonderful week and say hi to the preschoolers for me!
4/27/2020 Update:
Hope everyone enjoyed the weekend. It was fun to see the students faces on our Zoom gatherings last week. I hope to have one again this week. We will send out an email invite once we have the day and time confirmed. Click here to be directed to the page of this week's preschool activities.
Don't forget to send in pictures of your child with his or her bear! We hope everyone is enjoying their new friend. My office hours for this week are:
Monday 9-11 AM
Tuesday 3-5 PM
Wednesday 1-3 PM
Thursday 8-10 AM
Friday 8-10 AM
4/20/2020 Update:
Good morning preschool families. Hopefully today's April showers will bring some beautiful May flowers for us to all enjoy! I am excited to try some Zoom meetings with the students this week! I will schedule a morning, afternoon, and evening meeting and send the links out to you by email. You are welcome to join all of them, the only one that works for your family, or none of them if you aren't interested or feel like it will be more confusing for your child than good. We had some families who preferred all three times and I want to meet the needs of everyone.
Please click here to be directed to the Continuity of Learning weekly activities for preschoolers. We hope everyone is enjoying these learning opportunities with their child. I miss seeing the excitement in their faces as they learn something new.
My office hours for this week are:
Monday 1-3
Tuesday 4-6
Wednesday 11-1
Thursday 9-11
Friday 8-10
4/13/2020 Update:
Happy Monday to all of our preschool families. I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend and stayed safe through the storms last night. Our Preschool Continuity of Learning will be updated by 6 PM tonight for this week's activities for preschoolers. Click here to be directed to the page of activities. My office hours for this week are:
Monday 9:00-11:00
Tuesday 2:00-4:00
Wednesday 11:00-1:00
Thursday: 8:00-10:00
Friday: 9:00-11:00
As always, feel free to call, text, Seesaw message, or email me with any questions or concerns. I have enjoyed getting some pictures and videos of students doing the activities. Keep up the great work and find ways to make everyday a learning experience!
4/6/2020 Update:
I was so happy to see many of you during the Teacher Parade on Friday. What a special event! I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and was able to get outside and enjoy the beautiful sunshine. The Preschool Continuity of Learning Page has been updated with new activities for this week. These are great ways to bring educational opportunities into your child's day.
My office hours for this week are:
Monday 9:00-11:00
Tuesday 10:30-12:30
Wednesday 1:00-3:00
Thursday: 9:00-11:00
Friday: (Spring Break)
3/30/2020 Update:
My office hours for this week are:
Monday, Wednesday, and Friday: 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM
Tuesday and Thursday: 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM
Click here for the online document with suggested weekly activities for preschool for the week of March 30th. Preschool is a part of the Continuity of Learning provided by Radford City Schools. Even though we are not in the classroom, we want to provide activities that you can do with your child to help them continue to prepare for kindergarten.
3/27/2020 Update:
Hello families. We are excited to be creating activities for our preschoolers to complete each week to continue learning and preparing for kindergarten. The preschool team has worked together to create a document for you to access each week for the remainder of the school year. We will send it out each Sunday night, starting this Sunday! Click here to be directed to the document on the Continuity of Learning website. We are using the Foundation Blocks for Early Learning, provided by the Virginia Department of Education, to create the activities just like we did when we planned activities in the classroom. We hope you will enjoy doing these activities with your child. If you have any questions, please contact me by seesaw or email ([email protected]).
3/23/2020
Hello families!
I wanted to let you know how devastated I am that we will not return to our classroom for the remainder of the year but I fully understand the necessity of the situation. I am still processing this myself and know it is hard to explain the situation to preschool aged children. As a teacher, I am still committed to helping your child prepare for kindergarten! It will look different from how I expected and planned, but I will do the best I can to help each child continue to get the foundation they need to be successful in kindergarten. I have always known that children learn best when teachers and families work together, and this year that is even more crucial than ever! I look forward to working together as a team to help your child get the most from this year's preschool experience.
I will be sending out ideas on Seesaw, making phone calls, and updating my website to stay connected with you and help you embed learning experiences into every day activities. I want to remind you that RCPS has created a Continuity of Learning website for families to use. If you click the link, you will be taken to the Continuity of Learning information specific for McHarg Elementary.
Please click on the Newsletter tab for weekly ideas and activities that our student teacher, Ms. Julianne, and I are creating for thematic ideas each week. All ideas are suggestions but not requirements! Please click on the Links tab to find some websites that preschool age students may enjoy to help them review concepts we have learned about throughout the year and will help them continue to prepare for kindergarten at home.
