Story 6

Story 6

Kaylee Hanowski

She is a dedicated teacher who does more with her summer than most teachers do. Being busy with her and her husband’s lawn care business, she still finds time to teach young children during her busy summer days.

Carrie Christenson, age 47, of Cambridge has a full time job teaching at Cambridge Primary School as a 1^st grade teacher. Apart from that she works for Anoka-Ramsey Community College three weeks out of the summer in July. For four to eight hours out of the day she alternates from the Coon Rapids campus and the Cambridge Campus being a Kid University Instructor.

The Kid University Program held at the Anoka-Ramsey Community College Campuses is for Children ages six through 12 years old. 

“It’s something I’ve always thought of doing when my own kids were older.” Christenson stated. This coming summer will be her third year teaching. Things like arts, crafts, games, math, debates, and other things keep the children learning and well entertained at the Kid University Program.

“I like seeing the kids use their imagination,” Christenson continued, “and I like working with small groups, it’s so different than what I do during the normal school year.”

Christenson only works with about six children in a class at the college. Her average classroom size at the Cambridge Primary School is 24 students. The program welcomes children that attend any school to be a part of Kid University Program, not just Cambridge and Coon Rapids students. Christenson not only finds joy teaching the children at the program but she also loves getting to know other instructors and teachers.

“The directors and other instructors are really fun to work with, and everyone at the campuses are really friendly.” She said and continued, “ It’s fun to work with people that I’ve never worked with before.”

Work for Christenson and other instructors begin mid March for planning the Kid University Program. In planning the classes she gets to voice her own personal ideas, whether it is for her own class or someone else’s class, which she enjoys to take part in.

Christenson stays busy in her summers. Along with working as an instructor her and her husband’s business, ‘Rick’s Lawn Care’, take up precious summer hours from when the sun comes up to when it goes down.

Even though the Kid University Program only takes up three weeks of Christenson’s summer, it is still considered a break for her because of her busy hours taking care of the lawn service.

“It gets me off the lawn mower,” Christenson explains, “which is nice in those hot, July, summer days.”

Teaching is quite a passion for Christenson. A variety of teaching from the Cambridge Primary School to Anoka-Ramsey Community Colleges leave Christenson meeting new instructors along with getting to know all the new fun children who are involved each year, some of which come back to see her for more experience and fun.