Debbie Lee, Ed.D., has spent 44 years teaching in the field of early childhood education. She came from a family that valued education. Her grandmother, born in 1896, had a master’s degree and taught at the college level. Lee initially planned to teach geometry but, after working with young children in a day care center, she discovered her true passion: early childhood education. After earning her bachelor’s degree in early education from Marycrest College in 1979, she spent the next 20 years teaching preschoolers and kindergarteners, operating her own home day care program and serving in a variety of positions for the Moline School District in western Illinois. She received her master of science degree in early childhood education from Western Illinois University in 1986 and her doctoral degree in early childhood education and teaching from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2003. Dr. Lee recently retired from her position as an associate professor of curriculum and instruction at Western Illinois University, where she taught methods, family engagement, play, assessment and inclusion courses. She has also served at the local and state level for the National Association for the Education of Young Children. Dr. Lee believes that the developmental foundation built during the early years has a major impact on a child’s future, so she is thrilled to be writing for Math at Home’s guest blog!