MISSOULA - Becky Hellebust is an early kindergarten teacher at Jefferson Elementary School and this week's One Class at a Time recipient.
She loves her 16 young students, but she loves teaching them even more.
“They are some of the cutest little people and just calm, happy to be here, smiles all the time, lots of laughing, lots of playing," said Becky.
Part of teaching these calm and bright kiddos is keeping them engaged with learning in fun ways.
So, Becky will purchase a math game with her grant called "counting stews".
“So on each recipe card, is what they’re called, there’s three items and different numbers for those items. So maybe five bats, four bones, so they count out each one and they put it in a pot," explained Becky.
The early kindergartener students can mix up the stew, sing a song, and learn about the world around them while practicing counting and a host of other skills.
“Seeing their world thru their eyes — it’s really hard to explain but - they’re awesome little people.”
There really are so many ingredients that make a successful classroom — and while the counting stews will benefit each batch of students she teaches — Becky herself is the secret ingredient.