Meet the Teacher

Hey everybody! My name is Danielle Wokanick and I live in New Paltz, New York with my husband and my dog. I teach first grade in Washingtonville, New York and I am obsessed with all things teaching!

I love my life here in little New Paltz. With every season comes something unique and beautiful in this town. I spend a lot of time up in the Shawangunk Mountains hiking and wading in freezing cold mountain water (this is the poor
man's version of a pool in Upstate New York).

I was also married up in those mountains at Minnewaska State Park. Are you painting the picture of me in your head as a frizzy-haired hippie yet? Well you're probably not far off!

Those that know me also know I am also OBSESSED with my dog so I can't do an About Me page without including a photo of my baby boy Smokey. He'll probably pop up in a lot of my posts. I don't know what I talk about more sometimes; my dog or teaching. Come on, look at that face!!!!

Now that you have the picture of me as the frizzy-haired New Paltzian who has a dog, let me introduce myself as a teacher! I am currently a first grade teacher and I guess most people in education would consider me a newbie in the field but I feel like I've been teaching forever! I really can't imagine doing anything else. I'm in my first official year of being a classroom teacher, but in the past I've worked as a museum educator, sign language interpreter, preschool teacher, camp counselor...if there were kids around, I was working there! First grade definitely feels like home and I hope to stay in this grade forever! I love read-alouds, writing workshop, science experiments, working in small groups, connecting with my students, and teaching!

Thanks for following along and visiting. I'm happy to have you along!

Happy Teaching!

Mrs. Wokanick