Hello!

My name is Sara Hofner, and I am a junior Early Childhood Education major at the
University of Dayton. As part of my field experience this semester, I have the opportunity to work
with your children once a week in Ms. Neals classroom! I am from the Chicago area, and I have
had significant experience with children during my high school career and college experience so
far. I am so excited to have the chance to work with your children during my time at Ruskin this
semester, and I look forward to gaining valuable experience as a pre-service teacher in Ms.
Neals classroom!

Hello! My name is Maggie Engels. I am currently a 4th year student at the University of Dayton
pursuing a degree in Early Childhood Education. This semester I am very excited to be working
with Ms. Neals class every Tuesday morning! In the past, I have had a lot of experience
working with children, and am looking forward to adding to that with the experience I will be
gaining this semester in Ms. Neals classroom.

Along with observing and helping out with classroom routines in Ms. Neals classroom this
semester, we will be conducting a scientific investigation with the students. Our investigation will
focus on the topic of nocturnal animals. We will be exploring concepts such as what it means to
be nocturnal, why some animals are nocturnal, different types of nocturnal animals, and how
nocturnal animals survive. We will be conducting a total of four hands-on lessons throughout the
semester that will allow the children to experience, explore and discuss these ideas. As the
students participate in these lessons, we will be observing, asking questions, and collecting data
to assess the students learning. At the end of our investigation, we will be sharing the results of
our investigation. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask us! Thank you so much for
the opportunity to work with your children!

-Sara Hofner and Maggie Engels