Top Ten Things I'll Miss About Teaching Preschool

1. Playing. There are some things you just can't do without feeling strange unless you have a 3-year-old with you. Things like writing in shaving cream on the table, having a "snowball fight" with cotton balls, and playing with moon sand!
2. Watching them play from a distance. Teaching preschool is a little taste of parenthood. I loved seeing their personalities come out. We had one very reserved little boy who rarely smiled. One day we let the children build with blocks in one of the centers, and not only did he enjoy it, but he was so proud of his work. I'll never forget his cute dimples as he showed me his amazing tower.
3. A set schedule, same days, same times, every week, and getting a paycheck that's always the same size. After working in retail, it's not something I take for granted. Adults need schedules just like children do!
4. Going to class and learning. The music teacher taught my 3-year-olds things that I didn't know! We raised some tadpoles too; I never got to do that as a child so I had just as much fun seeing those grow as my children did!
5. Hugs that come out of nowhere and knock me off my feet. Literally.
6. Teacher Appreciation Week, and Christmas, and Valentine's Day, and all the other times our children's parents lavished gifts on us. Starbucks cards, candy, cupcakes, scarves, earrings, plastic tumblers. Yup, preschool teachers get spoiled.
7. Access to the church kitchen. Anytime there was an event at church, you could count on getting the leftovers the following week. If I forgot my lunch, there was a 9 out of 10 chance I'd still get plenty to eat.
8. Naptime. Wait, wrong list. That should be "When naptime is OVER!!!" If you think naptime is when 3-year-olds fall asleep and teachers get a break, think again.
9. Hearing the children attempt to recite the Pledge of Allegiance. Mostly it was a jumble of sounds with the same vocal inflections and meter as the Pledge. A couple kids tried to pray out loud with the teacher too, even though she said something different every morning. I think it annoyed the teacher, but how can you tell them to stop?! Another thing I got to hear were their stories. Whether their big news of the day was about the mother duck with her ducklings that they saw at the park, or how their baby sister, uh, lost her breakfast, their enthusiastic retelling of their life never failed to make me chuckle.
10. Seeing my children learn over the course of the year, not just letters and numbers, but things like listening to directions, making friends, walking in line (seriously, the change was phenomenal), coloring in the lines, developing self-control to lie still (relatively speaking...) during naptime, and overcoming some of their fears. As a Christian preschool, we taught our children a short Bible verse every month. At the end of the year, I would prompt them with the first word of each verse, and they could all say it still. Some of them even remembered the book and reference numbers! Such a smart group of kids! And I know from experience, the things you learn as a 3 or 4-year-old, you NEVER forget.

Bonus: One day I was leaning over a little boy to write his name on his paper. He looked up and told me, "You have spiderwebs in your nose." I laughed; only a 3-year-old can tell you that without it changing how much they like you or respect you.