First-grade teacher Jenny Karel has taught at Beechwood Elementary for 15 years, but that doesn’t stop her from trying out new things in the classroom.

“Something fun we recently did was I let the students use shaving cream to write their spelling words in on their desks,” she said. “They loved this activity.”

Karel, a Mississippi College alumna, said she believes every child can learn.

“We are all different and learn differently and do things differently,” she said. “We as teachers have to figure out the best way to reach that child, and I not only want to teach academics, but I want to teach the whole child.”

Karel’s students also do a lot of hands-on activities and thematic writing units, including St. Patrick’s Day, Western and Dr. Suess.

“We also made Oobleck after we read Dr. Seuss’s book ‘Bartholomew and the Oobleck,’” she said.

Karel said she and her assistant teacher Felicia Tweedle try to create a nurturing, loving environment for students.

“We just try to make learning fun, and we want the kids to want to come to school every day,” she said. “We try to figure out what motivates them because they’re all different.”

Karel said she loves teaching and working with children, though it isn’t what she thought she would spend her life doing.

“My mother, grandmother and a lot of my aunts were in education, so I really didn’t think I wanted to be a teacher,” she said. “I think in my heart I knew I wanted to be a teacher, but I tried to steer a different path.”

Attempts were futile, and Karel declared elementary education as her major her sophomore year.

“I love teaching and hope that I am able to inspire each of my students to become lifelong learners,” she said. “I want to make a difference in their lives.”

Karel said Beechwood has adopted the Leader in Me program, so she has been encouraging her first graders to be leaders each and every day.

“My assistant and I enjoy listening to our students read to us on a daily basis,” she said. “Especially when they read a book of their choice to us before they take an Accelerated Reader test on it. We love watching them take an interest in reading and understanding what they have read.”

Outside of school, spending time with family is important, Karel said.

She and her husband Nathan have three children, Tyler, 13; Kayleigh, 9; and Kinsey, 4.

“We are very busy with baseball and softball right now,” she said. “Tyler plays tournament baseball with the Vicksburg Blue Jays and Kayleigh plays softball with Elite Sports. This past weekend my son played in Pearl and we will be playing in Pearl again this weekend.”

Kinsey is in the 4-year-old pre-kindergarten program at her mom’s work, Beechwood Elementary.

Karel is also involved in her church, Westminster Presbyterian, where she participates in a “small group” Bible study and volunteers in the nursery.