True Life: I am a Preschool Teacher

Well hello! I have been debating on whether to write this post or not because it will become pretty "uncensored". Basically, I want to bust a few assumptions that some other people have about preschool teachers and I also want to share a few of my personal ups and downs so far. I guess I will just jump right in (grab a cup of coffee or a glass of wine..this is a long one!)

My Story/Experience

So, in 2009, I graduated high school. I, like most 17 year olds, had no clue what I wanted to do. The only thing that was for sure was that I would be shipping off to Ohio in August for college. At the time, my major was Hospitality and Tourism Management..that was fun and all but it wasn't my "calling". I finally chose to listen to my heart and switched to childcare. I moved back to Florida and started applying for jobs right away. Being that I had no teaching experience and had only babysat the neighbors children, I assumed I would only be able to be a "teacher assistant". To my surprise, I went to an interview for a TA position but landed a spot as the lead teacher in a 2-3 year old room. 

Busted Assumption #1: Preschool Teachers do NOT just sit around all day and play

When I told some of my friends how surprised I was that I got hired for a lead teacher, they acted like it wasn't a big deal and that it wasn't a very strenuous or demanding position (insert grumpy cat face)

I will admit, when I was first hired, I did not think that I would have had to do as much as I did but, I was quickly corrected. 

Preschools-at least in Florida- are held to pretty high standards. I had lesson plans to do each week following a specific curriculum and also tying in each developmental area, emotional support, spanish and sign language lessons and, a special interest area. Now, I am not saying it was "hard" or looking for a pity party but, it was a decent amount of work and I did actually care and want to put a lot of thought into my plans. 

Continuing on, the director that hired me, told me that she too started the way I was and became somewhat of a mentor to me. I immediately registered for classes to obtain my CDA certification (child development associate).  With this, you are looked at more seriously than a teacher with the minimum requirements from DCF and you are most likely to get a higher pay rate. 

busted assumption #2: preschool teachers didn't go to school/ it is a "cop out" career

You're right, you do not need any form of a degree to be a preschool teacher. All that is required is a 45 hour course through the Department of Children and Families. Now, let me clarify, I have a bachelors in Hospitality Management. I have my CDA. I am completing my Bachelor's in Early Childhood and will be finished in Fall 2015. There are several preschool teachers I know with Masters degrees. Yes, there are some preschool teachers that do not have formal schooling but, they are qualified to do what they do and there are many courses and certificates that they can take. However, not every preschool teacher chose that route. 

So, the first director that I worked with..we will call her "S"... seemed to be the perfect boss. She guided me, offered advice on various issues I had while obtaining my CDA and, it got to where I was promoted to the assistant director. I worked at this particular center for just under two years. Being a "newbie", I was definitely biased and thought my center was perfect until I started to talk to my professors at school a little more. I will not go into extreme detail but, it turned out that the center I was at was not exactly to code-the children were all very well taken care of and it was nothing to do with neglect or the well being of the children but, the bookkeeping end of the center was a disaster and that can get a place shut down. In Florida, if the center gets fined or shut down for any reason, it will go on the record of all of the employees. When I learned that things needed to be fixed at this center, I approached "S" and she didn't take kindly to what I was saying-in fact she showed her true colors and get extremely defensive. I decided shortly after to put my two weeks in and find a different-more legally proper-place to work. 

The second place and most current center I worked at was amazing! It was an 8 room preschool, 18 teachers, 98 children and all up to date! The director and I really clicked during my interview and she said something to me that I will always take with me

"You will only be as good as the center you work at"

this may not make sense to all but, if you are ever a preschool teacher, this will speak volumes. 

At this center, we have monthly inservices, staff meetings, center wide projects, weekend team building projects, course requirements, and mandatory conferences we have to attend...

busted assumption #3:...you're not a real teacher

ugh. excuse my french but bull shit! Nothing..N O T H I N G makes me more mad than hearing this...and I have heard it from teachers in the school system, parents, friends, etc. The only thing I really have to say to this is PLEASE spend a day in my shoes. You have anywhere between 6-12 little two-three year olds running around for 8 hours a day. You have to conduct state mandated assessments, follow a specific curriculum guide, plan for the theme, teach through play, and hit 7 developmental areas each day. 

What People Typically Won't Tell You:

-If I had a complaint about preschools vs. school boards, there is no real chain of command. It is teachers and director. If the director is doing something wrong (like at my first center) you can talk to them but if they don't agree, you are pretty much SOL. Yes, there is a labor board; yes, there is DCF; yes there are private lawyers but, it is pretty damn hard to swing people to see it your way if you are a new teacher with limited experience- believe me, I tried. 

-No, you will never get rich. In fact, you will end up spending A LOT of your own money. I started at $9.50p/h and currently am at $15.50p/h. I am fortunate enough to work somewhere that reimburses the teachers for classroom supplies but, that is not the norm. I spend at least $30 a month and around back to school/August, I spent $375. 

-It is hard work and can be heart breaking. I have now had to talk to DCF three times about a child's well being. obviously I would never want to see a child separated from their family but, you are a state mandated reporter when you are a teacher. Toddlers and any child really, will be children but you know or will learn the signs of abuse and neglect and it will never get easy to make that call, write the statement or bring it to a 'higher ups' attention. But, it is your job to ensure the well being of the children. 

-It is R E W A R D I N G! It is W O R T H IT! It is F U N! Each and everyday with these children is different and you can do your best to plan but, sometimes you just go with the flow. 

The bottom line is that teaching children from birth-5yrs. is extraordinarily rewarding but it is also a time consuming commitment. Some of these children have little to no stability in their homes and look to you as the one constant so you can not bounce in and our of classrooms from center to center because these children need you. Watching a two year old come out of his or her shell and start to develop 2-3 word sentences is a feeling that is indescribable. Walking into your classroom of 6-10 little ones on a monday to get attacked with hugs and "hey hey guess what I did this weekend"s will bring a wave of emotion you didn't know was possible and hearing the tiny soft voice of a toddler saying "I did it!" "I love you Miss Sarah" or "see you tomorrow" brings so much joy into your day. Regardless of what is going on in your personal life, it is impossible to be sad around all these smiling faces. 

I know that this is very long but, thank you for sticking with it! I appreciate you stopping by. 

I will now leave you with a photo montage of some of my favorite moments:

Playground Time!

Snuggles!

Water Day

Name Practice

Fire Week!

Ringing in the New Year

Classroom Hop Scotch

Strawberry Shortcake

Reading time!

Night crawlers!

Whiffleball Manipulative!

Hey teachers! 

So, I came across a pretty neat idea for a manipulative. My children are two years old so if they can do this, a lot of ages can! 

How easy is this? I bought a 3pack of whiffle balls at Walmart for $2.49 and a package of pipe cleaners for $1.89. 

My class loves this! I usually do this a a group activity so that I can keep a close eye to make sure no pope cleaners go into their eyes but, it is easy, quick and simple. It is great for little hands and fine motor skills  

I originally saw this on pinterest. 

What do you use to strengthen fine motor skills? 

Fashion in a Preschool

Hello readers! 

Thinking back to when I was younger (13-14) I always dressed "ahead" of my age. I was never a ripped jeans and tube top kind of girl-I'm not saying I don't own a few pairs of ripped jeans that I may or may not rock here and there- but I just preferred dressing up! Still, at 23, I make a point to always go for jeans over sweatpants to run errands. 

One of my favorite parts of being a teacher is being able to dress "teacher-y". I promised myself that I would never be like my high school science teach who rotated the same moo-moo like shirt in 4 colors! I always strive to put together a cute, affordable, and PRACTICAL outfit! 

In August, I finally gave in and signed up for stitch fix and I fell in love! If you haven't heard if this monthly box yet, 1. Get out from under your rock 2. Click here! Anyways, I am obsessed with SF and I have kept a LOT of the pieces I've been sent! 

For this post, I just wanted to show you five of my "go to" toddler/teacher friendly outfits and I have put together. (Excuse the mirror pictures, J was working when I wanted to write this and my four legged babies are not good picture takers!) 

Outfit 1: 

Coral Blazer: Kohls 

Black&White Striped Top: Old Navy

White Shorts: New York& Co. 

Black Ballet Flats (not pictured): Target

Outfit 2:

Navy Blue Rope Print Top: New York& Co

Magenta Tank: Forever 21

White Shorts: New York& Co 

Sandals: Southen Fried Chics 

Outfit 3: 

Chambray Shirt: New York&Co. 

Gray Tank: Old Navy

Maxi Skirt: Stitch Fix 

Sandals (not pictured): Old Navy 

Outfit 4: 

Sun Dress with Coral Sash:Mint Julep Boutique 

Sandals (not pictured): Southern Fried Chics 

Outfit 5:

Red Kimono Top:Forever 21

Khaki Tank: Forever 21

Boot Cut Jeans: American Eagle

Brown Belt:Body Central

Shoes (not pictured): Khaki Sperrys

What are some of your favorite outfits?

Welcome to My Space

When I first decided I wanted to be a teacher, I had all of these visions of having the cutest room with a decked out desk and everything being in its place.

Reality Check

Being in a toddler class, the whole room is "their space". There aren't formal desks or a teacher desk but, I love it. Thankfully, the director of my center understands the importance of some 'teacher space' and had shelves and built in areas installed in each room. I'd like to share with you what I have done with mine. 

I have two filing cabinets that I now use for storage since I am no longer a file folder user-I upgraded to binders! I store extra supplies in here, my substitutes 'survival pack' student folders, extra file folders in case of emergencies and of course, snacks! 

On top of these cabinets, I have my students art center-again, the whole room is the toddlers play space. Even though most of this area is "mine", the art center made the most sense here as there are many art supplies we use that I can't just leave out without direct supervision such as scissors, glitter, small parts, etc. 

The children have direct access to their markers, crayons, chalk, and paper. Paint and the items in the purple drawers are "teacher jobs". In the purple drawers, I store everytime from pipe cleaners to brown bags to fabric scraps to googley eyes. 

Moving up to the second shelf, I have attached wore baskets to hold our items for the week. I preset and precut everything for a smoother time during our art centers. I also usually plan 3 weeks in advance meaning that all of my crafts and books are picked out, pre cut and pre set for 3 weeks. I also keep our lunch supplies, my lesson plan binders, and all of my post its, pens, hot glue guns, staplers, scissors, etc on this shelf in organized and labeled drawers. 

Finally, on the third shelf, I keep my bag, a jacket and a spare change of clothes, playdoh supplies and random art suppose such as foam stickers, shaving cream, and rainy day activity supplies. 

Although my room is not traditional, I love it and I love that my class loves it! 

What does YOUR space look like?? 

Sarah 

Five for Friday!

Happy Friday Fellow Bloggers!

I feel like this week just flew by. I wish three day weekends happened every week.

Before I get into my Five for Friday hosted by the lovely Kacey at Doodle Bugs Teaching, I was selected by Lindsey at Thriving in Third for her Featured Teacher Friday! Lindsey is such a sweetheart and she is a Jill of all trades from her TpT store, to her blog designing, to her awesome teaching and ideas! Head over to her blog to see some great ideas and you can also find out more about me!

Anyways, here we go with my Five for Friday!

 My dad and I have really been trying to spend more time together and you should know, that makes my heart happy! On Saturday, we started our with breakfast by our houses and it turned into a day of fun. He bought a Tesla (all electric car) last December and they just put in a new high tech, high speed charging station in Fort Myers which is about 1 hour south of is. He was so excited to have me go see it so we 'road tripped' down there.

We also stopped for lunch at PF Changs and did a little shopping! (He's quite the model)

Ginger Panna Cotta with Strawberries from PF Changs

Modeling this seasons trendiest clothes

Big changes are a comin' my way and this quote couldn't have popped up on my pinterest board at a better time! Stay tuned to hear the big news!

So, J works six days a week and most holidays. It was a huge surprise to us both that he was off on Labor Day! We spent the day lounging around the pool with food, drinks and each other's company. (He was also such a great student and did his history homework poolside)

We finished up our Labor Day with a dinner out!

I have been bored with my hair for a long time! It has been the same for the past two years. I very suddenly decided to change that!

Hello red ombré headed Sarah!

 Whoooooo's ready for football?!?

They are!

And so are we!

For our one year anniversary, I bought J tickets to the first patriots game of the season! We will be driving down to Miami this Sunday to watch them kick some dolphin tail!

I hope you all have a fun and safe weekend!

Thanks for stopping by.

My First SLANT BOX Review!

Oh my goodness! I am so so so excited to finally be sharing my first SLANT box experience. When mustering up the motivation to start blogging again, I came across the #SLANTbox. Naturally, I keep clicking and clicking and reading more posts and reviews until I was practically obsessed. If you haven't heard of SLANTbox, click here. Jameson, the SLANTbox originator, is a rockstar! She takes the time out of her personal life to come up with awesome themes and match over 200 teachers with two partners. Each teacher sends to one person and receives from another, how cool?! 

In August, I was paired up with Angela Gatt from Fun in Fourth to send to. Angela lives in Canada. She is so incredibly sweet and I had an awesome time getting to know her and pick out items that I hope she will love. 

I was matched up with Kristy Fasano from Librarian Life to receive from. Kristy lives in New York. Although we didn't speak much, the gifts I received were pretty spot on to my personality. 

Super cute NY--> FL 

Birthday/Hello Note

All my awesome items! Including:

Blueberry preserves (yum!)

purple glitter pencils

purple stamp pad

lots and lots of stickers

jeweled nail file

heart and star cut-outs

washi tape

a gorgeous purple and turquoise necklace

several keepsake boxes

a compact mirror

letter stamps

Thanks Kristy! 

I can not wait for September's match ups! 

Read All About It!

I am not sure why, but bulletin boards are probably some of my favorite things! I love to find neat quotes for them, fun borders, and the perfect background paper to tie it all together. In my classroom, I have four. 

 

This first board is a mandatory school information and "teacher board". On here, I have a list of all the allergies in the center, our monthly menu, class roster, and proper table washing procedures. I also hang notes that I get from staff members and families, our current class picture, and "Praises for Young Children."

This next board hangs right above the changing table. I have our daily schedule, proper diapering procedures and our daily/weekly cleaning list. 

This is the Parent Board. I hang our monthly calendar, daily schedule, weekly lesson plan, and my "Why I Teach" note here. I encourage parents to bring in interesting articles, questions, etc. to hang here as well. 

And last but not least, our classroom board. I change this board monthly based on the themes. For July, our theme's were Fourth of July, Pets, Jungle Life, Reptiles, and Dinosaurs. I typically make my board correspond with the theme that I have the most decorations for and this month it happened to be the jungle! "Monkey See, Monkey Do. We Love to Learn, How 'Bout You!"

How do you decorate your bulletin boards?

-Sarah

Five for Saturday!

Hello Weekend! This week was wonderfully chaotic! Our 'first day' was Monday the 18th-being that I work at a preschool, we are open year around but on Monday, we welcomed 40 new children to our center! 

On this lovely, Saturday morning, I will be linking up with Kacey from Doodle Bugs Teaching for another Five for Friday. 

During my lunch break on Monday, I sent out my FIRST slant box. For this match up, I am sending to Angela from Fun in Fourth. I can not wait for her to receive her package. 

For my birthday, I received an amazing set of brand new stainless steel pots and pans by my super sweet parents and a Chopped cookbook from my perfect boyfriend. I have always loved cooking and baking so both of these were perfect gifts. I wasted no time breaking out my new toys. The first meal I made was: 

Apple and thyme stuffed pork chops over a bed of sautéed greens and a baked potato.  

On a more casual note, tacos are a big hit in this household. We both appreciate and love quick and easy meals. In this house, "Taco Night" is more commonly referred to as "Kitchen Counter Tacos" This started because one night that we were making tacos, we were both starving and just started eating as soon as food became ready-instead of waiting for everything to be done at once and eating at the table. 

Yes, we he is standing in the kitchen eating...yes, I am sitting on the kitchen counter. Hey, traditions are traditions, right? 

What is a week without these adorable furbabies!? I can't believe little yodaman is 5 now!! We spent last Saturday downtown at the Farmers Market. I love taking them down there because they get to meet a ton of doggy friends and they just love all the sights and smells. 

So, if you have ever read any of my other blog posts, you'll know that family time makes my heart so happy. My sister is in town for summer break so I am making every effort I can to spend a ton of time with her. This past Wednesday, we met for dinner with our parents. My mom is anti cameras but my dad is a selfie master so... 

So, this handsome fellow:

nominated me to the ALS Ice Bucket challenge...yes, a 5 year old nominated me. Obviously, I couldn't let this sweet face down so...

I hope you all have fabulous weekends! 

-Sarah