Kindergarten is described as a preschool for children age 4-6 to prepare them for primary school.

Janet Dickens, a Kindergarten teacher at Fairlane Elementary School, received an early Christmas present last week when she was asked to speak at the National Kindergarten Teacher Conference in Orlando, Florida in July of 2005. The event will be held at the Renaissance Orlando Resort July 17-20. This is a very high honor for any teacher. Teachers from all across the United States can apply and only two are chosen.

Last spring, Janet was awarded a grant through the Macon County Education Foundation to go to the 5th Annual National Kindergarten Teacher's Conference held in Chicago, IL. The conference was held in July 2004. She said, "It was a great experience. I met teachers from all over the United States." Teachers were able to interact with each other and obtain new ideas to bring back to their classroom. Last year was the first year for Janet to attend the National Conference. She has attended the state conference two times.

It was from this convention that she learned that she was able to apply to be a presenter. "I have always wanted to do something like this, so I thought why not," she said.

She will present her project "Science in a Shoebox" in a session titled Practitioner Showcase.

There is a Kindergarten Science curriculum but no individual text or workbooks to use. Teachers pull their lessons based on the state standards.

Janet said, "When I go to conferences, and I hear these speakers they have such wonderful ideas and I feel like they must be wonderful teachers. To just be one of those presenters is an honor for me. I feel these teachers don't just teach from the books they come up with more ways to learn than just the book way. By doing this they are trying to reach all learners. Children learn in different ways."

Janet lives in Lafayette with her husband Troy, and two children Hunter age 6, and Hallie age 1. Janet has been teaching school for 10 years. She is very involved in school activities and even designed the web page for Fairlane Kindergarten.

For more information on the National Kindergarten Conference you can contact Janet at 666-2970 or visit the website at www.iteachk.com