Hi Friends,
Hope y’all are having a great week! I’m Kelly and I’ve been teaching pre-k for about 8 years. I wanted to start a blog to share some strategies/ideas that I’ve learned along the way to create a guide for fellow teachers and parents. Please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions and please feel free to leave a question in the comments below.
I always wanted to be a teacher ever since I was little. I truly enjoy helping others reach their full potential. I learned this early on in life. My dad is a full-time basketball coach/trainer who dedicated his life to help players reach the next level. He was always so positive and constantly built them up. I knew I wanted to bring that same positive energy into my classroom.
My 1st grade teacher was also a major reason for my love of teaching. She was my favorite teacher and always kept learning so fun. One of my best 1st grade memories was watching the Polar Express while drinking hot chocolate (with a few marshmallows on top, of course). I knew I wanted to create fun memories for my students as well.
After high school, I went to college for 4 years and graduated with a degree in Elementary Education. Now what? Well, I wanted to get some experience right away and a local private preschool gave me the perfect opportunity. As a head Pre-K teacher, I lead about 15-20 students daily. I was so thankful for an amazing assistant teacher! I created and delivered lessons that aligned to the NAEYC curriculum standards. This was an awesome first year of teaching! I learned how to successfully manage 20 students, venture on various field trips, implement centers, communicate with parents, and hopefully helped to prepare them for Kindergarten. It was also a joy getting to interact with my fellow teachers at this school. Everyone was part of the same team, all trying to achieve the same goal: help each student reach their full potential.
I had to cut my time with the preschool short, due to meeting my future husband. He was moving to South Carolina for his job, so naturally I wanted to be able to spend time with him and build our future together. I packed my bags and headed down South with no job in sight. I applied to a plethora of schools, and finally secured some interviews. My interview went well (whew!) and I became a Pre-K teacher where I would spend the next three years giving students their first schooling experience.
In South Carolina, Pre-K is included in the Elementary schools, so it was fantastic being a part of that atmosphere and team. The students were also able to become more familiar with the school they’d be attending for Kindergarten and the years to come. This was where I truly began to grow as a teacher. I had many superb mentors along the way that helped me get through the tough times and celebrate the small wins.
Sadly I had to leave after my third year. My husband started traveling for work, and I wanted to be able to travel with him. This is when I launched my online teaching career. I’d heard about VIPKID, but the thought of teaching online was a bit daunting. I passed the interview and was off to the races. VIPKID allows you to teach students in China. There was a bit of a time difference, but you get used to it after awhile. The reputation and visual cues were the keys to effective learning for online teaching, and I loved every second of it. The students and I were able to connect live even though we were millions of miles apart.
I’m so thankful for each teaching opportunity and truly enjoy helping students, as well as fellow teachers and stakeholders. Teaching is definitely a life-long learning process and to this day I’m still learning. Thanks for taking the time to read my post and I’m looking forward to sharing more with you each week!
