Stay At Home Educator

intentional teaching for purposeful learning

  • About
    • Copyright / Disclosure / Privacy Policy
    • Contact
  • Preschool Lesson Plans
  • Literacy
  • STEAM
  • Development
  • Thematic Activities
  • Play Ideas
  • Shop
    • Cart
    • Checkout
    • My Account

Not “Just” a Preschool Teacher

This post may contain affiliate links, which means that at no cost to you, I may earn a small sum if you click through and make a purchase.

March 28, 2016 by Sarah Punkoney, MAT

I’m going to be completely honest here. Straight forward, no sugar coating, and maybe even a little blunt. I’m not just a preschool teacher.

I feel like there is a stigma attached to being a preschool teacher, but there is no “just’ about it. It’s time to give preschool teachers the true credit they deserve.

After all, how equipped are you to spend your entire day with eight to eighteen four-year-olds? Seriously.

I'm not just a preschool teacher and here is why...

Let me tell you a secret. Teaching preschool was not my first choice. I spent five years in college to end up wth a graduate degree, and I had no plans to use it to “just” teach preschool. There were better levels to teach. Or, so I thought.

Pastures Greener Than Preschool

But, I was a young teacher, and when my husband and I moved across the state after spending all our savings on a summer long vacation in Europe, I’d missed all the public school job postings and had to take a position teaching preschool.

It was not what I wanted.

I quickly learned that being a preschool teacher required me to work much harder and for not even barely livable pay. I’m talking $8.50 an hour. How was I supposed to support my husband in his graduate school on that wage?

So, when a third-grade position opened two days before school started, I didn’t hesitate to leave that preschool position for greener pastures. What my new and young teaching heart didn’t understand at the time, is that childcare positions deserve more respect.

They are just as “prestigious” as any other teaching position. And while preschool teachers aren’t teaching their students how to multiply and divide and write three paragraph stories, they do important work.

Such very important work.

But, I didn’t learn that until I became a stay-at-home mom and got to play all day with my children.

Playing All Day

You can take the classroom away from a teacher, but you can’t take the teacher out of teaching. It’s practically compulsive. Teachers cannot help themselves. So when my husband finished graduate school, I was able to stay home with my son, something I always knew I would want to do.

But as a stay at home mom, I am still a teacher. I cannot control it. I must teach.

So, I taught my son. He was just a toddler at the time, but I taught. We would play all morning. While my son played trains we would talk, developing his speech skills. While he practiced his puzzles, I would tell him about the farm animals on the pieces and then I found myself doing farm themed activities with him.

Before I knew it, I was invited to participate in a preschool co-op with three other mothers, each of us sharing the responsibilities of teaching and nurturing these young minds. And then I found myself running a preschool co-op, and then opening my own preschool.

But while the finger painting, the block building, and the fingerplays sound fun and easy, let me be one to tell you…that’s such a small glimpse of what we do all day.

Yes, we play, but we also do so many other things.

This is What Preschool Teachers Really Do

We Play

That’s right. We play. Because children learn the very best through play, and not so well by just sitting and listening. Sometimes that play is child-lead, sometimes it is teacher directed. Sometimes we are immersed in it, modeling appropriate use of materials and social skills, other times we sit back and observe so we can better learn how to tweak our lesson plans. Because even play requires some preliminary planning to be valuable.

We Create

We create lesson plans based on the developmental needs of the children. For the child who is lacking hand strength, we make a special playdough so she can practice squeezing. For the child who questions the way things work, we put together a special tinker tray. For the child who lacks the confidence to make friends, we invite him to play and make him feel loved and welcome. As preschool teachers, we are always creating. Creating activities geared to the need of our students, but also always creating an environment of growth and love.

We Sing, Chant and Do Fingerplays

Wow! There is no much singing and chanting that happens in preschool! We sing good morning to each other.We chant interesting thematic facts. We sing while washing our hands. And we do fingerplays to get our hands and bodies ready for quiet learning. Singing, chanting and fingerplays are not only fun and make the children feel welcome and interested, but they are also some of the best ways to increase oral language skills.

We Care for Children

I know this is a given, but let me explain what it really means. We care for children. We care about them. Their emotional and social well-being, their physical and intellectual well-being. We care for and about all of it. Every little bit. And nothing gets dismissed as trivial. Because to those little people with big hearts and bigger emotions, it is all such a really big deal. We understand that and respect them for it.

We Love

It’s true. We love our students. We understand the development of young children, and because of that understanding we love our students. We know that children are relying on us to help them feel safe, secure and comfortable away from their parents. Children depend on us to teach them academics but to also teach them cause and effect, conflict resolution, cooperation, communication skills, all while encouraging their need to explore their curiosities and make them yearn for more. We provide a safe and developmentally appropriate place to take risks. To try something new just to see what will happen. To make messes and to be special helpers.

The Truth About Preschool Teachers

But this all boils down to one thing: we clearly don’t do this for the money.

Because while one group of students are exploring an invitation to play and taking it further than you ever imagined, making you proud and excited for them, there is another set who might be smearing slime on the walls. Or there might be a biter. Or half the class doesn’t like the snack while the other half spills their water at snack time. Or playdough gets smeared into the carpet while another student has just thrown about fifty small plastic bears up into the air to scatter them everywhere. The list goes on.

While the content of preschool may not seem too difficult, or “rocket science” as a friend put it, let me be clear that this is a profession that deserves respect. It may not require a degree or licensure, but it certainly takes a special kind of person to play with and teach three and four-year-olds all day long.

But we do it. Because we love children.

As individuals.

As people who need hugs and magic blows on hurt elbows. As people who make us happy and make us better teachers.

We are not “just” preschool teachers. Just ask any child who has been in one of our classes or schools. We are preschool teachers. A profession we work for and are proud to be a part of.

What Every Parent Needs to Know

I’ve paired up with some of the best childcare and preschool bloggers to bring you several posts about childcare. Each post below features a unique perspective about what childcare and preschool looks like and what it means to be in this profession.

What every parents needs to know about childcare - from childcare professionals

5 Myths About Early Childhood Educators // Preschool Inspirations

What an In-Home Preschool Looks Like // Things to Share and Remember

What Does a Childminder Do? // Clare’s Little Tots

8 Truths About Home Daycare // Where Imagination Grows

More Than Just a Provider // Little Sprouts Learning

Not “Just” a Preschool Teacher // Stay At Home Educator

Sarah Punkoney, MAT

I’m Sarah, an educator turned stay-at-home-mama of five! I’m the owner and creator of Stay At Home Educator, a website about intentional teaching and purposeful learning in the early childhood years. I’ve taught a range of levels, from preschool to college and a little bit of everything in between. Right now my focus is teaching my children and running a preschool from my home. Credentials include: Bachelors in Art, Masters in Curriculum and Instruction.

stayathomeeducator.com/

Filed Under: Cognitive Development, Development, Preschool Co-op, Preschool Methods, Preschool Planning, Self Help / Adaptive Development, Social / Emotional Development Tagged With: featured

« Initial Sound Letter Cross Out
Planting Sunflowers with Preschoolers »

Comments

  1. Christina says

    March 28, 2016 at 4:24 pm

    This article has some lovely points. Thank you for writing it and for supporting young children as you teach them. Thank you for understanding the value of play!

    • Sarah Punkoney says

      March 29, 2016 at 2:03 pm

      I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for the kind comment.

  2. Stacy says

    March 29, 2016 at 2:57 pm

    Great post Sarah! You are so right, there’s very little respect for preschool teachers and yet it’s such important work. I think you must be an amazing teacher. I aspire to your level!

    • Sarah Punkoney says

      April 1, 2016 at 1:20 pm

      Ha! I read your blog and think the same about you!

  3. K says

    March 31, 2016 at 10:12 am

    I appreciate this article but I have to say that the school system where I am employed requires preschool teachers to have a degree and licensure. I hold a BK Bachlors degree and teacher licensure. We are still categorized as “just” preschool teachers. Thank you for your words of support.

    • Sarah Punkoney says

      April 1, 2016 at 1:19 pm

      I think it is so unfortunate that there is this stigma of “just” preschool teachers or “just” day care providers. Those who work with children have incredible callings, and their work cannot be replaced by just anybody.

    • AC says

      January 29, 2020 at 2:14 pm

      My husband and I are lucky enough to work in a school district that supports the preschool, and its teachers, like any other school. My husband is a certified teacher. He is also one of the top five teachers of the year for Arizona. People STILL degrade what he does. We have to keep putting messages like this out there and showing people that preschool, and birth to kinder child development is SO important. Thank you for this post!

  4. Lisette says

    April 2, 2016 at 2:01 pm

    There is so much more to working in early childhood than people realize or give us credit for. This post sums it up perfectly! I loved reading it!

  5. Tina B says

    May 3, 2016 at 4:55 pm

    This is so true people don’t realize how much is involved with being a teacher of young children! I wouldn’t change what I do ever!

Trackbacks

  1. More Than JUST a Provider - Little Sprouts Learning says:
    March 28, 2016 at 6:05 am

    […] Stay At Home Educator […]

  2. What does a childminder do? - Clare's Little Tots says:
    March 28, 2016 at 6:50 am

    […] Not “Just” a Preschool Teacher by Stay At Home Educator […]

  3. What an In Home Preschool Looks Like » Things to Share and Remember says:
    March 28, 2016 at 10:57 am

    […] Not “Just” a Preschool Teacher // Stay At Home Educator […]

  4. 8 Truths About Home Daycare from a Provider - Where Imagination Grows says:
    March 28, 2016 at 11:54 am

    […] Not “Just” a Preschool Teacher // Stay At Home Educator […]

  5. When to Worry About Your Preschooler's Cognitive Development says:
    July 13, 2017 at 5:41 am

    […] even their most absurd questions seriously. It’s a sign of their growth and learning, and even if you don’t know how to answer […]

  6. 15 Ideas for Teaching Preschoolers Emotional Skills says:
    July 29, 2017 at 9:41 pm

    […] Not “Just” a Preschool Teacher by Stay at Home Educator Kind Words Sensory Lesson Friendship Activity by Preschool Powol Packets Books to Help Kids Understand their Feelings by Rhythms of Play Teach Children to Have a Strong Inner Voice with “Wonderful You” by Children’s Music…With a Purpose! One Simple Trick to Stop Tattling by Stay at Home Educator […]

  7. Fall Math and Science Center for Preschoolers - Stay At Home Educator says:
    October 17, 2017 at 5:48 am

    […] an early childhood educator, I’m always looking for the simplest ways to bring the best learning into my classroom. In […]

  8. Back-to-School FREE Printable for Preschoolers - Pencil Dominoes says:
    November 8, 2017 at 2:21 am

    […] low pressure. That help the children feel comfortable. That help them feel welcome. That help them gain trust in you. That help them want to come back the next day with a few less tears than […]

  9. 5 Myths About Early Childhood Education - Preschool Inspirations says:
    November 14, 2017 at 9:33 pm

    […] Not “Just” a Preschool Teacher // Stay At Home Educator […]

  10. What You Need to Know about Emotional Development in Preschoolers says:
    June 18, 2018 at 5:56 am

    […] so incredibly strong. This post is all about emotional development in preschoolers and what you, the teacher and/or parent, need to know about […]

  11. Use FREE Farm Animal Printables to Develop Language Skills says:
    September 8, 2018 at 7:28 am

    […] of the things that can be so frustrating about teaching preschoolers is their developing language skills. They come to you still learning how to form words clearly, how […]

  12. Sneaky Squirrel Counting Game + Other Fall Printables for Preschoolers says:
    September 17, 2018 at 3:34 pm

    […] time of year for preschool lesson planning because after a nice summer break we all have renewed enthusiasm for teaching our little preschoolers! Or is it just […]

  13. Autumn Activities for Early Years - Fall Playdough Invitation to Play says:
    September 18, 2018 at 12:16 pm

    […] Teaching preschool can be difficult if you teach a mixed age group of children. I can say that because I’ve been there. […]

  14. 6 Apple Theme Math Activities for Preschoolers - Stay At Home Educator says:
    October 8, 2018 at 1:33 pm

    […] love teaching preschool from my home. I having a job where I can be at home with my little boys, but by the baby’s […]

  15. 8 Rainbow Snowman Winter Fine Motor Activities - Stay At Home Educator says:
    December 13, 2018 at 10:47 am

    […] You can read more about the importance of hand strengthening here, here, and here. […]

  16. Rainbow Shamrock Color Sorting Printable Activities Preschoolers Love! says:
    February 21, 2019 at 7:20 am

    […] their hands. You can read more about the importance of hand strengthening here, here, and here. If you have a young preschooler or a toddler, she might choose to use her hands to transfer the […]

  17. Teach Colors to Preschoolers with an Invitation to Play says:
    March 4, 2019 at 5:52 pm

    […] means that the teacher steps back and acts more of a facilitator and follows the lead of the children while they play with […]

  18. FREE Fruit and Veggie Color Sorting Mats - Stay At Home Educator says:
    July 24, 2019 at 6:03 am

    […] You can read more about the importance of hand strengthening here, here, and here. […]

  19. The Toddler Club Preschoolers Learn Best Through Play | The Toddler Club | Margate FL says:
    January 30, 2020 at 10:48 am

    […] To read the original article by Sarah Punkoney, author and creator of Stay at Home Educator please click here […]

Search This Site

Stay Connected

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter


PRINTABLE SHOP
PLANNING
LITERACY
MATH
DEVELOPMENT
THEMES
PLAY
Visit Sarah @ Stay At Home Educator's profile on Pinterest.
Stay At Home Educator

© Copyright 2015 Foodie Pro Theme · Genesis Framework · Customizations by Kara Carrero ·

Wordpress