My favorite age group to work with is often either high school kids or any well behaved group of kids. After working with primarily 5th graders, I figured this was my lower age limit. Then I arrived at Ferncliff with its brand new nature preschool and I quickly was recruited to help out one day a week at the preschool. The first two days were a shock.  I had never interacted with 3-5 year olds before. It was a wake up call and I had no idea how to handle it.  At first, it felt like I was barely helping out. However, it is amazing how over time one can gain respect and develop an understanding for what these little ones need.  Soon I started to enjoy being with them. There was a Monday I recall when I got called in to help out. That day it clicked. I was confident in my abilities and I knew what I needed to do to be as helpful. I have to admit that it was helpful that the weather was nice and most of the kids took a nap.

This past week I got a chance to work in the preschool all week long. I had been wondering if being a preschool teacher was something I wanted to do. This was my chance at getting a snapshot at the big picture. Some may have thought I wasn’t going to make it because of my previous struggles with this age group. They were wrong. I made it through the week and I had a great time. Yes, nap time was still the challenging, but the challenge was worth it due to the hugs I received.  And a child who rarely naps at nap time, told me next time he’d let me pat his back. Finally, one child told me in his preschool language, “You know all those times I’ve been mean to you? Well, sometimes I forget to be nice. I think you’re pretty cool.” That moment made my entire week.

In the following days, I realized that I could work at or volunteer with a nature preschool program but  although my skills have increased with working with these kiddos it isn’t for me long term.  And now as I continue to keep my eyes open for my dream job, I know more about what I can do and what I like to do and I can add nature preschool teacher to my expanding list of previous work experiences.