Heidi Hochrein

As the Assistant Director at Gretchen's House Stadium, I wear many hats. Many of the tasks that I do regularly are creating staff schedules, maintaining both staff and child files, supply purchasing, and staff support. One of my proudest accomplishments during my time at Stadium has to be becoming the first Gretchen's House Center to become Nature Explore Certified. Sharing a vision with the team about providing a nurturing natural environment for the children to learn and explore in has been such a fulfilling experience for me.

As a Lead Teacher of the Lake Infant-Toddler teaching team, I strived to maintain positive relationships with children and staff, during my time as a lead teacher I became HighScope Certified. I worked with my co-teachers to find developmentally appropriate activities for the children based on interest and need. as a leader in this classroom set up, I found that it was important to have consistent routines within the classroom not only for the children, but of the staff as well. Making sure the teaching team was meeting regularly, meeting planning time needs, and making sure we did all we could to create a nurturing and interesting environment for the children.

As a Family Group Teacher in the Meadow Preschool, I was first introduced to the HighScope Curriculum. I met with my co-teacher daily to plan small group and large group activities. Basing our activities on the interests and developmental needs of the children. Conducting parent-teacher conferences and completing comprehensive assessments of each of the children throughout the school year.

As a teacher and eventual lead teacher at Northville First Care, I worked in many classrooms and with various age groups. My role was to help create any environment that allowed for the children to explore and learn through play. I created staff schedules, provided evaluations, assisting in the professional development and being a role-model for other staff. My time at NFC was so valuable to me, for while I was there I learned more about becoming the best version of myself so I can provide the best possible care for the children I work with.