About Dr. Petty
This website, Drkarenpetty.com is an online learning community for those work with and on behalf of young children. It provides training/professional development with certificates upon successful completion.
Coursework has been approved by the Texas Education Agency.
MY STORY - I help teachers who work in early childhood programs. care for young children to grow professionally through learning and being in a community of learners.
CURIOUS TO KNOW MORE? Here are 10 facts about me...
PROFESSIONAL LIFE
1. I have a 40+ years of experience in teaching and administrating early childhood / family programs at the private school, public school, child care and university level. I have 20 years experience in teaching in early childhood classrooms, 6 of which were in public school child care. I have 20 years teaching and 5 years in administration at a public university.
4. I have a Bachelor of Science in Education with certification in Early Childhood Education through 6th grade in Texas public schools. I have a Masters of Education in Early Childhood and a PhD in Curriculum & Instruction with dual emphases in Child Development & Early Childhood Education. I attended wonderful programs at Stephen F. Austin State University and Texas A&M University!
5. When I'm not teaching online, I am also a writer. I have authored two books, Deployment: Strategies for Working With Military Kids and Developmental Milestones of Young Children (both by Redleaf Press and can be found on www.Amazon.com) and about 20 published articles on early childhood topics including resilience.
6. Consulting has been a passion of mine as I worked for the US Air Force for many years as a consultant to Air Force Installations where children were cared for around the world. I taught wonderful child care providers about the curriculum that I wrote on children and families. Those experiences were the springboard for my Deployment book. (The photo below was taken outside Alamogordo New Mexico, near Holloman AF Base)
7. Years ago, when Blackboard was in its infancy, I won a national award for online teaching due to the way I used online chat in my courses.
FUN FACTS ABOUT ME!
♥ I am a mother of two girls and 5 grandchildren (four boys ages 16, 14, 13, & 13 and precious girl who is 7).
♥ I am a Texas "girl" and have never lived outside of Texas! My ancestors were Tejas Native Americans.
♥ I went to Russia and loved the people...also got to visit a child care center! The biggest challenge was that I only speak English.
♥ I bought an Airstream travel trailer and picked it up with NO towing experience and took off from Texas to Gulf Shores Alabama not knowing a thing about travel trailers and traveling. It stayed hitched to my car for a week because I did not know how to hitch or unhitch it (OMG!). It was awesome and scary. Someday I will live in an Airstream! I can hitch, unhitch, and even back it up now!
Update: I just bought my second Airstream, "Little Shine", and camp every chance I get.
♥ I once sat down in Narita Airport in Tokyo and cried because I left my orders to get on the AF base at home back in Texas; I missed my bus to Misawa. Kind people let me on another bus and my connection at the base helped me get on.
♥ I am a die-hard professional basketball and football fan of Texas teams. I get sad, mad, and so happy over losses and wins. BTW - My grandsons love/play basketball, baseball, soccer, and football WOOHOO!
♥ I got my driver's license with driver's education at age 14...what was Texas thinking? They regained consciousness and cancelled that program after two years.
♥ I bought a red Volkswagen convertible at age 60 as my change of life ride LOL! It had a 5-speed stick shift. I felt like I was nineteen again.
♥ I have a hard time focusing so I have to use tools like Cal Newport's Deep Work to accomplish as much as I do.
♥ I dabble in watercolor and you will see some of my work as free downloads here in the courses. I absolutely love the freedom of the movement of the paint mixed with water. I also love the analogy of not "hiding your brushstrokes" in life...letting everyone see that you are human and make mistakes on the journey that got you from there to here.
Update: I now "dabble" in acrylics!
♥ I am a quilter...well that's a stretch...I love my Bernina but I mostly buy fabric and use it as art in my sewing room :). Someday I'll get those projects finished!
