Meet Mrs. Buttars

Hello there! My name is Mrs. Buttars. I am an elementary education major at Brigham Young University who is scheduled to graduate in December 2017.

I really could say I have always wanted to be a teacher. As the oldest of six children from a small town in Washington state, I had plenty of opportunities to teach. I enjoyed mentoring gifted and talented middle school students in the national History Day competition every year. I also volunteered for a preschool in my church where I taught lessons and singing to children ages two and three. As a teen I volunteered to direct and teach teenage girls in small musicals, and I enjoyed teaching piano to five elementary school students on a one-on-one basis over four years. My favorite youth experience was teaching ballet to a class of second grade girls.

As an elementary education major at BYU, my experience in teaching has expanded. I interned in Romania as a kindergarten English teacher and orphanage caretaker for three months. I was the sole designer and developer of units, curriculum, and individual kindergarten lessons to four different classes of young children ages three to six. At the orphanage, I worked with one and two-year-old orphans on developmental milestones. I also traveled to Peru where I again created and taught English, Spanish literacy, and dance lessons to a fifth grade class, sixth grade class, and to 60 children at an after-school program. I designed all the after-school center policies, library, and discipline system. In Peru I spoke fluent conversational Spanish to parents, teachers, and community members. I also have a TELL minor and teaching endorsement. I am fluent in conversational Spanish.

I was introduced to the idea of Arts Bridge by Teresa Love, the faculty facilitator for drama in Arts Bridge, and my Drama in the Elementary Education classroom teacher. She recommended I apply, and I am so glad I did! My interests include music, dance, and theater. I have a contemporary dance minor from BYU and volunteered with BYU’s Kinnect dance program teaching core-curriculum subjects to classes of varying ages through a creative dance medium. Having the opportunity to continue my interest in drama and the arts in a 6th grade classroom is such a priviledge.

This opportunity is granted to me on the generosity of many BYU Arts Bridge donors, the schools of education and fine arts at BYU, and of course, the patience of my mentor teacher, Mrs. Geer. I am so excited to get started!