Easter Blessings

Happy Easter!  

What a blessed weekend, filled with good food, family, a walk with my husband, and finished off with me totally burning a batch of chocolate chip banana bread!  For future reference...when the recipe calls for a 10 inch tube pan, do not decide that a bread pan will work just as well.  Yuck.  My oven is a mess, my bread doesn't smell quite as yummy as anticipated.  Oh Well!

My thoughts over this week have been about redemption.  My husband and I are applying to be marriage mentors at our church.  We don't know what God has in mind for us but we're following in faith to be obedient to Him and try to serve Him in a way that will hopefully bring others to Christ.  Our church service today was a wonderful reminder that redemption is what Christ did for us on the cross.  Good Friday was actually a Bad Friday for Jesus but with a little faith and a "Wow Factor" of the resurrection, we have the opportunity to have and live a redeemed life!

How do I share this with my preschoolers?  I love them, I'm patient with them, I teach them about forgiveness, kindness, cooperation, and a daily dose of laughter.  I show them understanding when they have moments where they are sad, angry, or upset.  I have just finished a fantastic book called "The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog."  Written by a man who has spent his career treating children who had suffered trauma, this book reaffirmed my belief that positive relationships with people and love with support is the best way to help children learn and develop.  How does this connect to my faith?  Jesus, the ultimate healer, loved people, healed people, and held children close to His heart.  I  want to continue to let the love of Christ work through me to be one who teaches children about their world around them, about how to have fun and learn, to give them experiences to be independent thinkers, explorers, and teammates.  I know that my faith will lead my steps, with my preschoolers, with my decisions after I graduate, and with my family.  

Have a blessed week!

The Flu That Started My Blog...

I've been home with some sort of flu like stuff for two days so instead of getting caught up on homework I decided to start my blog, something I've been wanting to do for some time now! 
So here's the deal, I went back to school quite a while ago and received my Associate's Degree in Early Childhood in 2007.  Thinking that would be enough, I continued to run my gymnastics and dance studio and opened a preschool in the neighboring town.  A friend who had her son in my "Mommy & Me" gymnastics class mentioned their town needed a preschool!  Got the paperwork going and by the fall had children enrolled, toys dug out of closets, and garage sales searched.  What an adventure that has turned out to be.  Fast forward to this year, I'm closing in on my Bachelor's Degree in Early Childhood, have been teaching preschool for 3 additional years and now wondering where God wants me to be after I have my teaching degree. 

I've been to 3 conferences within the last 2 months that have reinforced my core belief that children don't need all this pressure to "be ready for Kindergarten".  Children will be ready as their brain and body develops and I need to foster their development where they are today and quit worrying about "next year, next year, next year", (thanks Lisa Murphy for reminding me of that!)

So hopefully, through this blog, I can not only share what I know to be true about children's development, but give you some funny stories that children give me every day, how my co-workers have become my counselors, friends, and encouraging voices, but somehow along the way, discover where I should end up at the end of this long college journey!

Children love to learn, we don't have to make it miserable, drudgery, and by only trusting assessments.  If you engage with children, you can hear and understand what they know through their play, their conversation, and their natural abilities.  Pay attention, stand back and observe, play, and offer positive choices.  Above all, teach them to advocate for themselves, give them a chance to have their own voice.