- January 3, 2025
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Belle Terre Elementary School Robyn McAnany has been teaching kindergarten since 1999 and, in her opinion, it’s the best grade level “by far.”
“They come in not knowing the letters in their own name,” McAnany said. “And they leave reading passages and writing sentences and ready for first grade.”
She just received her 25-year pin, she said. Over the years, McAnany said she’s personally seen how kindergarten has changed — nap times are a thing of the past and the curriculum is much more academic — but what has stayed the same is how much the kids grow.
They’re like sponges, she said.
“That’s my favorite part of kindergarten,” she said. “Just the amount of growth you see from the time you meet them when they walk in the door, until you tearfully say goodbye.”
McAnany started at the city’s Indian Trails K-8 Center and moved to Belle Terre Elementary School when it opened. Her room was dubbed the “the McAnany Monkeys,” a moniker that she has embraced over the years.
“Because kindergarteners are a little bit like little monkeys,” she said.
McAnany said she tries a variety of educational crafts and projects to get her students excited in learning. When the class learned about Johnny Appleseed — an American pioneer and beloved children’s story — she said the class dried out an apple slice to see how long it took to make an “apple chip.”
Donna Masiello, a fellow BTES teacher and McAnany’s best friend, said McAnany creates a “magical” space for her students. Each child McAnany teaches feels safe and celebrated, she said.
“She's an amazing person and probably the most inspiring educator I've ever met,” Masiello said. “I’m a better teacher for having known her.”
Masiello said she and McAnany often plan lessons together. McAnany has a way of keeping the lessons “fresh” and the two are always going to book studies and teaching conventions to keep up their skills. Her friend has an ability to make “learning fun and meaningful,” even at that early age, she said.
“A teacher who teaches 20 years and still walks in that room with a smile and is excited to teach — I think that speaks volumes about Robyn,” Masiello said.
Teaching has never gotten stale for her, McAnany said, because each child is different and on a different level.
“When they come in, you're trying to help them find their greatest potential, wherever they started, and then knowing where they need to get to to be successful in first grade,” she said. “It can never get stale, there’s just no way. They’re so delightful.”
She's an amazing person and probably the most inspiring educator I've ever met.”
— DONNA MASIELLO, BTES teacher
Both of Cheryl Breckwoldt’s children are McAnany Monkeys, and Breckwoldt herself works with McAnany at BTES as an ESE support facilitator.
McAnany, she said, looks at each individual child and sees their needs and works to fill in the gaps — they’re not just another student passing through her class.
“She looks at them as such an individual,” Breckwoldt said. “She knows how important it is to have that human connection, as opposed to just getting the teaching done.”
One thing McAnany said she tries to focus on is instilling confidence, a love of learning and kindness in each child that comes through her classroom.
“That’s the biggie, to me,” she said, “to get them excited about learning, but even more important, excited about being a kind citizen of the world.”
McAnany said it’s also so rewarding for her to walk through the halls or go around Palm Coast and spot previous “McAnany Monkeys,” her once-students that have grown up.
“I just find such joy in it,” she said.
That’s the biggie, to me: to get them excited about learning, but even more important, excited about being a kind citizen of the world.”
— ROBYN MCANANY, BTES kindergarten teacher
Breckwoldt said McAnany is a part of the family now — she’s in Breckwoldt’s albums for her older son, a former McAnany Monkey, and is working her way into Breckwoldt’s younger son’s albums, too, as he goes through McAnany’s class.
“She's that first real connection that you get when a child goes to school,” Breckwoldt said.
When people ask her if she would ever tire of teaching 5-year-olds, McAnany said the answer is always no.
“I have the best gig around. I get paid to hang with 5-year-olds,” McAnany said. “It’s so funny and so fun and so fabulous. Sure, it’s exhausting some days, but it keeps you young.”
Masiello said she doesn’t think there’s any better way for a child to start their educational career than as a McAnany Monkey.
“She’s doing what she was meant to do,” Masiello said. “It’s not her job, it’s her life.”
