As educators, our craft challenges us to design dynamic and enduring learning experiences, and environments that heighten children’s curiosities and spark shared memories. Really great teachers have this talent. One such teacher is Susanne Kenworthy. A pre-K teacher for many years at Pinnacle, Kenworthy first introduced the idea of “Notty the Elf” within her pre-K classroom. She explained, “We want to create environments that encourage writing—where writing is made meaningful and purposeful.”

She added, “We were not sure the children would believe, that it would go anywhere. We risked looking foolish.” But as they so often do, the children surprised the adults.