That is the question of the day...
I taught pre-school today, and let me just tell you - I WAS SO NERVOUS! I felt a million times better last night after I had my lesson planned out and all my worksheets and crafts printed and prepared, but this morning when everything was ready and the first little knock tap-tapped my door... KABLAM! Enter the butterflies! It hit me all over again that I am going to be responsible for teaching not only my daughter, but 3 of my friends' daughters! AAAAAAAAAGH! I have to watch them write and make sure they do it the correct way so that when they get into school they already do it right instead of going a whole year+ doing it wrong. I have to help all four of them at the same time. I have to cater each lesson to each girl - make sure each is stimulated, involved, interested and capable. Yeah, I know what you are thinking. I honestly do. "Tiff, don't think about it so much! It's not that complex! Plus, you're teaching the letter "O" and the number "1"... how hard can it be? It's PRE-SCHOOL for crying in a bowl of beans!" and you are exactly right... except that you're wrong. It IS a big deal and I want to make sure I do the best I can EVERY lesson. I want to help them ALL as if each of them was Madison. They each deserve that special attention.
As I was prepping last night, I kept thinking "I have TWO hours to fill! TWO!!! How am I going to have enough for TWO educating but fun hours?!" I ended up with 2 worksheets, 3 crafts, a story and a snack. And you know what? We didn't even get to one of the crafts. I honestly didn't think we would, and I'll just save it for Thursday so it's not wasted. But just the stress of trying to make sure I had enough just for two hours kept me on my comp for over an hour last night. How do you full-time teachers DO IT? Just the prep work was enough to put a kink in my neck {it doesn't help that I sprained my shoulder a few days ago - I think wrestling with Clint, not sure there}. You must all have full-time massage therapists.
The lesson was a lot of fun, it was awesome watching all the girls and seeing how different they all are. One girl was really good at coloring, one was really good at cutting, one was really good at writing, one was really good at paying attention... They had fun, I had fun and it ended with Oreos and milk. Yeehaw!
It DID make me realize that I need to do more of this stuff with Madi on our own though. Cutting, coloring something specific, one-on-one crafts... She's already pretty good, and I know that Pre-School will help her learn a LOT, and that by watching her friends she'll pick up a lot too... but I need to make sure that I don't count on it. This is going to be a good thing for her... and for me.
2 comments:
It's better to over plan than under plan, right? You did great! Britt was so excited to show Andy & I everything she did. This is so fun, I'm glad that we're doing it! But yeah, there is NO WAY I could ever be a teacher. Four is perfect!
Trust me-even as a teacher for 4 years, the nerves don't go away and nor does the planning. You'll get the hang of it though. Good for you for getting involved in the first place. It does make you think more creativly and fun for sure. Good Luck!! If I can help at all-let me know ;)
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