My name is Elizabeth Sorrell, but I usually go by Beth. I am thirty-four years old and I have been working in early childhood for eighteen years. I started work at First Baptist Church Daycare in Pell City when I turned sixteen: literally, my first day was on my sixteenth birthday. I worked there for five years with church nursery as well. I worked for a year at First Baptist Church Daycare in Gadsden while I was getting my associates degree at Gadsden State Community College. I have been at Head Start for twelve years now. I currently hold a Bachelor’s in Early Childhood/Elementary Education and a Master’s in Early Childhood Education.

I feel that my love for literature aids in my push for early literacy skills in my students. Because I truly love the books that I am reading to them, I also am instilling a love for books in them. I was particularly amazed with my students a few years past. We were reading Library Mouse. When the book mentioned chapter books, my kids wanted to know what chapter books were. I explained to them that they were books that were broken up into pieces and most of them did not have pictures. I told them that they were the kind of books I read. I even pulled out the book I was currently working on to show them. My kids were so fascinated that they begged me to read them a chapter book. I tried to explain that they were really long books and that it was hard to sit through a whole book, especially for three year olds, but they were insistent. I finally gave in. I told them that I would look around at home and in the store to see if I could find some chapter books that we could try reading at nap time. We spent the remainder of the year reading at least one, usually two chapters, a day as they fell asleep. I was absolutely impressed; they were so interested. It was truly amazing. I had a class of younger three year olds that year, and we read chapter books including: Black Beauty, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Alice in Wonderland, The Secret Garden, and Moby Dick. After that, no one will ever be able to tell me that my love of reading does not make a difference in kids. Since that year, I have continued to read chapter books to my three year olds as they are settling down at naptime. I have expanded my personal collection of child appropriate chapter books.