by Karen Neumann

Created on: August 10, 2008   Last Updated: September 05, 2011

I am entering my 11th year as a preschool teacher and it is one of the most rewarding achievements of my life. It is certainly not an easy job but making a difference in a child's life makes every moment spent with them count. You have to be enthusiastic, patient, loving, firm and unyielding with discipline, supportive and inspiring.

In our preschool program, so much of the lessons that we teach are those of socialization. We teach the importance of waiting your turn, being kind, hands to yourself, using your words, being polite, respectful and how fun it is to learn. The basics that they learn in preschool are fundamentals that will carry them throughout their lives.

For those children who have trouble with patience and using their words, I often give the example of how their parents would act. I ask, "Do your parents run into McDonalds, shove the people out of line and yell their order at the employee?" Of course they say that their parents would never act like that and I point out that we do not either; in the classroom or at home or in public places. Waiting in line to wash hands, to play in a center or to pass an item in rug time; these are all ways that children can learn patience.

Sharing is always a "neon" issue; the toy is mine and no one else will play with it. Stressing the use of words instead of action in sharing is a huge step in development. When there is a sharing problem, get on your knees, at eye level with the children. Ask what happened and then, after hearing both sides of the story, ask them, "What should we do?" If they need some direction, give an idea to try and see if they can agree on a solution. By giving them the power to come up with a viable sharing technique through language is an asset they will use all their lives.

Being polite and respectful is a must in every aspect of our society. The "please and thank yous", "yes sir, yes ma'am" and not telling an adult, "no." In our classroom, we do not tell the teacher "no", we do as the teacher asks. When we are picking up the classroom after free play, some of the children tell me, "I do not want to pick up." I tell them, "It is not a matter of what you want, it is what has to be done, now let's work together and the cleaning up will be quicker." Life lesson.

The best transmitter for learning is a teacher who is enthusiastic, inventive and creative enough to tune the teaching to the tone of her class. If a teacher is excited about the material, then the students will be. Learning comes with play. I also believe the more hands on to teach a subject, the more the children will retain. Want to learn about volcanoes? Build one in the classroom and use the vinegar, red dye and baking soda to erupt homemade lava. I can tell you with much assurance that your students will be talking about volcanoes around the dinner table that night.

Love what you do, love the children and change the world.

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