Preschool Love

Now, before all my blogging friends throw the book at me, I know this is a total blogging "no-no." I already get it, so don't judge. This old post showed up on my Timehop app this morning and it just made me so happy that I wanted to re-post it. 

This was written 4 years ago. Matthew and Jonathan were just little squishy babies. I had just quit my job teaching 8th graders, which was all I had ever done, and accepted a preschool teaching position. I wrote this after attending my first Weekday Ministries Conference and I was hyped up on all things preschool. I wanted to re-post this because 4 years later, I feel the exact same excitement. Tomorrow I will attend the same conference and I am just as excited as I was the first time, but much less nervous. Ya'll, I truly love my job. God has given me an opportunity to love these babies and I don't take it lightly. Every year I am blessed to start a new year with this crew is such a blessing. 

I guess I wanted to share this for two reasons....

First, as an encouragement to others. Usually, all we hear about are people who hate their jobs. Who hate waking up every morning. Who hate traffic and their mundane life, but they "do what we have to do." But you know what, it is possible to find something absolutely perfect for you. God wants us to be happy and successful and will open doors if we let Him. Search out the job you want and make it happen. 

Second, if you have little ones in preschool, I want you to know that there are thousands of teachers out there who absolutely love what they do and love your babies. Many, many of them will be at the same conference with me this week! These teachers have been praying for you and your kids all summer and are just as excited as you are to start school in the fall. Make sure you get one of those great teachers. Make sure you and your babies feel loved and special from the very first encounter. And if you don't, talk to your director. Talk to your teacher. Pray hard for answers. But do not just accept mediocre. I've heard too many of my friends across the country say, "Oh, their school is alright, I guess. It's not perfect, but it works." This is the first stop on the education train for kids! Speak up if you have concerns. 

(And just FYI....Teachers love treats. Just saying...)

Preschool, here I come! (re-post from August 2012)

This week I changed up our routine up a little in preparation of our new schedule once school starts. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday I attended the Weekday Ministries Conference with my new First Steps team! It was my first look into what goes behind teaching preschool and it was delightfully surprising! Coming from a public school background (and a middle school one at that!) made everything I heard and learned this week, new and exciting. For example, the very first thing that happened Tuesday morning when we all met at the church to carpool, was our director starting our day off with a prayer for safe travels. I mean, seriously? What kind of awesome job have I stepped into!?

The rest of the week was not only encouraging but it built my confidence as a new teacher. I left this afternoon feeling excited and ready to get a hold of these sweet little kiddos!! One of the sessions I went to was called "Faith Development" and it equipped me with some great tools to help build the faith foundations in these 3 year olds. Teaching 8th grade English has always been fun and rewarding, but I truly feel like I have the chance now to literally shape the future for these kids. We are their first experience with teachers. We are their first step in a long journey of learning. If we screw this up......oh man. I don't like to even think about that.

So yeah, I am excited. However, I really need to practice my finger puppet shows and brush up on preschool science lessons! Matthew and Jonathan have really enjoyed watching me learn these new tricks:)