Heather Culli Who: I am blessed to be the Third Grade teacher at Grace-Menomonee Falls. I am also part of a great family with my husband Ben and our children Rachel(freshman at Living Word High School in Jackson), Nathan(6th grade at Grace) and Leah(3rd grade at Grace). I love chocolate, reading, music, decorating, my kids' laughs and spending time with friends and family. What: I use the gifts God has given me to grow, nurture and stretch young minds and hearts to the glory of God. Where: I grew up at Grace! After graduating from 8th Grade, I attended Milwaukee Lutheran High School. I earned my BA in Early Childhood Education from Concordia University in River Forest, IL. My family and I currently live in Germantown, WI. The kids and I are members at Grace. My husband is the Music Director at Our Savior Lutheran in Whitefish Bay, where he is a member. During the week, he is a music editor at Hal Leonard, Corp. in Milwaukee. When: I began teaching in 1997 but felt the call to teach at a VERY early age....I was always playing teacher! My Lutheran teaching experience includes: Kindergarten Teacher- Baltimore, MD Third Grade Teacher- Houston, TX Third Grade Teacher- Elm Grove, WI Preschool Director- New Berlin, WI Why: Ecclesiastes 9:10 "Whatever your hands find to do, do it with all your heart." Teaching is what I do! I then daily rely on God to give me the patience, grace and wisdom that my heart lacks. How: I believe in using a variety of different approaches to learning. You'll find our class partnered up, working in small groups, even sprawled out on the floor in the course of a typical day. I love to get children involved in learning through hands-on experiences, group projects, student-selected literature and clear expectations for success. I believe in always having open lines of communication with parents *so that we partner together in this awesome task of raising His little ones. *"And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another." Hebrews 10:24-25