About Me

Hi, my name is Heather Cacak (pronounced see-sack). My students call me Mrs. C.  I have been married to my high school sweetheart since 1994, and I have two college-age kiddos. I love to spend time with my husband and two boys, drink coffee, run, lift weights, cook, eat, sew, craft, organize stuff, and make all kinds of fun teaching resources for my classroom.  In my spare time, I create curriculum resources for teachers all over the world. I find it beyond exciting to connect with other early childhood educators worldwide!

Although I have had the opportunity to work with teachers all over the world, I am not a world traveler (yet). I have, however, made multiple cross country moves.  I was born and raised in Irving, Texas, which is suburb of Dallas. When I got married, my husband and I moved to Salem, Oregon. Due to my husband's job, I have lived all over the U.S., but my most recent move was from Cincinnati, Ohio to Vancouver, Washington in June of 2010.  {I refuse to move again until we are ready to retire!}

Mr. M & his munchy mouth!

I can remember wanting to be a teacher as early as age four. I was one of those kids who constantly played "school", and I spent much of my imaginary play time deeply engrossed in my role of "the teacher". In kindergarten, I fell in love with The Letter People, which was a phonics-based literacy curriculum made especially for kindergarten. They taught us all about the letters and the sounds letters make; my favorite was Mr. M.  Each Letter Person had their own theme song, and Mr. M's song was super groovy.  He sang all about his munchy, munching mouth and the things he liked to eat that started with the letter M (meatballs, marmalade, mashed potatoes, milkshakes, and more). I still to this day remember all of the lyrics!  When you come into my classroom, you will find an original set of The Letter People hanging out in my classroom. They still bring me a great deal of joy to this day!

This is me "playing school" at age 4 in my parent's family room.

At the end of fourth grade, I brought home an entire box of old worksheets my teacher no longer wanted.  (I literally had to go home to get my little red wagon in order to get the giant box of heavy paper from the school to my house!) Guess what my neighbor friends got to do each time they came over to play that summer?    

My senior year of high school was life-changing. I worked half of my school day in one of our local public school kindergarten classrooms under the direction of Mrs. Lewis. It was a program designed especially for high school seniors, and it allowed college-bound students a chance to see if the field of education was a good fit.  Although I was NOT college-bound, it did not take me long to discover teaching was the best fit ever!  By the end of my senior year, I made a vow to overcome several challenges in my life and find a way to attend college. Here's another fact about me...I still to this day use several teaching techniques I learned from my mentor teacher, Mrs. Lewis. Although I did not realize it at the time, she was a huge blessing to have in my life that school year, and she was an amazing kindergarten teacher!

A thank you letter from one of my kindergarten students.

My career in the field of early childhood education began in 1994.  I currently hold degrees in Early Childhood Education, Human Development with emphasis on Early Childhood Education, and a Master of Arts in Teaching.  I hold endorsements in early childhood education, elementary education, and reading intervention. I am currently working on my doctorate in early childhood education leadership.

Although I have degrees that primarily focus on young children, I have taught people of all ages over the years.  I believe I was led into the field of education! My passion is working with young children, and I look forward to teaching your little learner!

Me...surfing alongside a dolphin. Drawn by one
of my kindergarten friends, of course.

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