Catherine Needham was named a WRE Super Teacher in October
Keeping students of any age engaged during virtual instruction is a challenging task for teachers. Grabbing the attention of kindergarteners might seem near impossible. White Rock teacher Catherine Needham got creative during the pandemic, and she’s got kids counting the minutes until class begins.
Needham is using puppets to teach her onscreen lessons, and her students aren’t the only ones who enjoy it. She spoke to NBC 5’s Wayne Carter last week for his “Carter in the Classroom” segment.
“It’s been a lot of fun,” said Needham. “I just really, Wayne, I lay on the floor and I crack up at myself all day.”
Needham uses an entire cast of puppets to keep the kids excited about learning, and now others in their household are tuning in.
“I’m hearing from other siblings who come to my math videos because they want to watch the puppets.”
Carter spoke to Owen Burns, a 6-year-old in Needham’s class who recounted “doing number lines” with a smile. He nodded enthusiastically that Ms. Needham is a “really good teacher,” and shared proudly that he can now count past 100. Burns has become a puppeteer in his own right, inviting his puppets Stuffo and Cow-Cow to participate in the lessons.
“It is just so funny,” said Burns.
You may watch Carter’s full story here.
