Teacher Spotlight - Jen Leenstra

Teacher Spotlight Jen Leenstra

When it comes to Jen Leenstra, everyday pencil and paperwork doesn’t begin to scratch the surface in her style of teaching. Hands-on experiments, building projects, and getting out into nature are just some of the methods she uses in allowing her class to dive deeper into their creativity and learn from it. Along with her husband Greg and two boys, Jake and Aiden, there is never a lack of projects going on at home.

Be it home improvements, working in the flower garden, tending beehives, or tapping maple syrup from the maple trees on her Grandfather’s farm, Jen is never at a shortage of incorporating these adventures into fun learning opportunities to share with her students. Jen grew up in Holland, attending Holland Christian School. Vividly remembering the enthusiasm and love for teaching her elementary teachers had, she already knew by about 4th grade that teaching was in her future. In the meantime, Jen had many influences in growing her faith and desire to truly know God.

Be it home improvements, working in the flower garden, tending beehives, or tapping maple syrup from the maple trees on her Grandfather’s farm, Jen is never at a shortage of incorporating these adventures into fun learning opportunities to share with her students. Jen grew up in Holland, attending Holland Christian School. Vividly remembering the enthusiasm and love for teaching her elementary teachers had, she already knew by about 4th grade that teaching was in her future. In the meantime, Jen had many influences in growing her faith and desire to truly know God.

By the time college rolled around, Jen had found herself enrolled in the teaching program at Calvin College. Jen started her journey at Zeeland Christian School, working with a student in the inclusion program for a little over three years. She is now in her 8th year teaching 3rd grade, with her main focus being social studies, science, and reading.

The overall feeling of intention, paired with the freedom to be who you are and share your individual gifts as a teacher are just a few of the many things Jen admires about ZCS.

Jen makes it a priority to get to know each student year after year. Understanding their unique talents and personalities helps her build a strong foundation in her classroom, which results in gaining more effective teaching methods. This all plays into assisting different students to learn in different ways that are most beneficial to them.

Overall, Jen recognizes the importance of celebrating her students’ achievements. Whether they are big or small, a child overcoming an obstacle or accomplishing something in the classroom never fails to amaze her. Jen strives to create a classroom environment that is encouraging, inspiring, and most important, filled with the love of God.