Take this Job and Love It - Preschool

Parents know taking care of a toddler can be difficult.

What would you do if you had 20 of them to care for. That's what pre-school teachers do every day.

In this edition of Take this Job and Love it, Sharon Pelletier decided to try it out.

Being a teacher takes a lot of preparation, so I entered the classroom at the Parkside Learning Center in Bangor, prepared to be a co-teacher.

That basically means trying to keep lots of 3 year olds, with short attention spans, on track. That's not easy, but a lot of fun.

"Milk"

When I got to Miss Brandi and Miss Bri's class the kids were enjoying a snack.

"Oh, there was a little bit more left."

Like anything in the world of a three year old, snack didn't last long. It was time for the next thing. For some it meant getting to know the new kid,me.

"What did you get that for? I got it at a race."
"First off, you have to love the kids, that's first and foremost."

Miss Brandi, has been working with kids for years, so she gave me some helpful advice. As far as liking kids, I've got that covered,after all I have two of my own, but 20 toddlers! That's a different story.

"How do you keep your sanity? I'm a big kid"

So, I get to play, although I learned that there's a very important question to ask when your in this classroom.

"Did you go potty yet?"

It's best to ask it often.

"If you went potty make a fishy face"

"You don't do it like that. Am I doing it wrong?"

That's Emily, she's trying to show me the ropes in this room. In fact, I got to sit next to her during circle time.

That's when the kids learn what day of the month it is, we hear about the weather forecast,

"Sunny."

and Miss Brandi tells us we're going to be playing with goop later on.

"Do you like messy stuff? Yeah. Do you like to play with it? I like to play with messy stuff. Do you like to play with glitter?"

Emily is very curious.

"Do you like to go very far far away?

Miss Brandi is very good at making sure all 20 kids are paying attention.

"Turn your ears on really big. Don't touch my ears."

Well most of the time, after all they are only 3. Then the kids are broken up into groups where they color, paint, play with blocks, and play with goop.

"It's funny goop isn't it. Yeah funny goopy."

It sure was a treat hanging out with these kids, they keep you entertained, and you realize, kids really do say the darndest things.

"what do you think it feels like I think it feels like chicken. It feels like chicken."