transition(not the band,even though i like that one song of theirs...)

(my co-teacher Schimere, me(duh), and our support teacher Suzanne around Christmastime)


It's official. As of last week,every single kid that was in my class when i started teaching preschool has transitioned to PreK. To my credit, i only ALMOST cried when one of them left. It's easy to say "They're just moving across the hall,you'll still see them every day." But it's really not the same. That once or twice a day where you see them just long enough to give them a big hug and tell them how much you miss them does not compare to watching their faces as you read them their favorite story, or the feeling of pride when they finally count to 20 without skipping 6 and 11, or even just knowing that when it's free time, that little Johnny is gonna want to dance along to music in group area while Jenny is going to want to color. When I started as a preschool teacher, i figured i would bond with a kid or two...i never imagined i would bond with a whole class. I truly loved every single one of those kids in different ways, and no matter how much they weren't listening or being quiet when i needed them to be, i could still see the good side of them (usually...everyone has their days,haha).

My class was especially interesting because they had been through so many teachers before me and Schimere became their official teachers. For small children, that can be very hard because every teacher has different ideas and different styles on how to handle the class. So basically,whenever a new teacher would come in the kids had to learn a new set of rules and adjust to different teaching styles as well. Needless to say,by the time me and Schimere got them,they were a MESS. The first 3 or 4 months of us being in that classroom was focusing on class management and "training" the kids to do what it was we needed/wanted them to do when we wanted/needed them to do it. I'd say we were pretty successful at it. By the time the first few kids started transitioning out earlier this summer we had a generally well behaved class (there was a straggler or two,but in a class of 20,i think that's pretty typical). Our leadership team was always telling us at how far our class has come since one year ago when we,both being brand new preschool teachers who have no previous preschool teaching experience, had entered the classroom.

Now I have 20 brand new kids and as much as i'm going to miss my first class of preschoolers, I'm really excited about teaching these ones. These kids are our OWN. We are and will be(hopefully) the only preschool teachers they have, so if we somehow never get the class managed,or none of them are ready for when it's time for them to head to PreK, it's our fault,and our fault alone. But at the same time, when they leave knowing the information they need to know in order to be successful in PreK,that is our doing as well. I really lucked out by having such a great co-teacher who has taught me a lot and i can also consider a friend. That,I'm sure is a HUGE factor in how successful our classroom is/will be. This new class of kids brings along new challenges that we didn't experience with the last class, further helping us grow as teachers and child care providers. That's the main thing i LOVE about my job. I can and will always continue to grow and learn things. If that ever stops,then i know it will be time to move on to another profession. I'm crossing my fingers that never happens because i am really enjoying where i am now and am hoping that never changes.