Sunday, January 28, 2018

Life’s Greatest Lessons from the Preschool

Choosing the path to be with the four and five-year-olds could be full of plethora of challenges but it’s definitely refreshing to listen to their words and experience their sweetest gestures. Almost 14 years of teaching and here in their small world, I learned life’s greatest lessons from little people with big hearts.

On Being Different

Five months of working at the preschool, not one kid asked me why I look different or why do I have an accent. There was only one time that my being ‘different’ was mentioned. I was reading the book entitled ‘It’s Okay to be Different’ to a five-year-old kid, when I pointed to myself and said, “Your hair is blond and mine is black. We’re different.” He looked at my eyes and told me with all the sincerity he could muster, “I like you because you’re different.”

On Friendship and Forgiveness

A kid screamed and I asked what happened. She said that her best friend told her that ‘She’s breaking up with her and they’re no longer friends’. I tried to explain that when she says those words, she hurts her friend’s feelings. She answered me, “It’s okay. I only said it but I still love her.” After a while, they were playing happily again. For them, forgiveness comes easy.


On Marriage
For being small, they could be very persistent.
1st Kid to the 2nd Kid: I love you and I will marry you.
2nd Kid: I will marry you, too!
3rd Kid to the 2nd Kid: No, I will marry you!
4th Kid to the 1st Kid: What about me? I will marry you!
5th Kid: My mom and dad got married yesterday. I will marry, Ms. Nina!
Me: I’m already married.
5th Kid: I don’t care. I will marry you.


On Love
The purest love that you could ever receive will come from these little people with big hearts.

A five-year-old boy almost asleep takes my hand, puts it on his heart, and hugs it, “I love you and you’re my family.”

A five-year-old girl was talking excitedly about going to her grandma’s house, “My grandma has the best house! Can I bring you with me, please?”

On Settling an Argument
Three kids were talking after an argument.
Kid 1 to Kid 2: You hurt my feelings. That was not so nice.
Kid 2: No, you hurt my feelings!
Kid 3 to Kid 2: Stop it. You’re hurting her feelings. You’re being mean.
Kid 2: No, you’re being mean.
Kid 1: I’m sorry. Let’s just play.


On Death
Death is simple. It's about losing but looking at the brighter side of things.

Kid: Ms. Nina, you have four dogs, right?
Me: No, we have three.
Kid: So, if one dies it's okay. You will still have two.

33 comments:

  1. Preschool can only help your child. Children gain a lot from going to preschool because they become exposed to numbers, letters, and shapes there. But, more importantly, they develop social and emotional skills and learn how to get along with other children, to share and to contribute.

    ReplyDelete
  2. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love this post! Love how you broke it down to topics On Being Different, On Friendship, etc. Great writing.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I love the innocence of children. It is so pure and sweet. My kids went to pre school when they were younger and loved it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes. If there's another group that I would love to teach again, it is this group.

      Delete
  5. I love being around kids too. They are so innocent and honest. I was a pre school teacher for more than 8 years and enjoyed every day being 'entertained' by their laughter and innocence :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. You are the building base of the future of our world! Keep going good.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you. Taking a break from teaching. :)

      Delete
  7. Being different isn't a bad thing. And everyone is different if we look at it logically. It's important for kids to learn, too! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Being different is not a bad thing but it's a struggle being constantly judged based on your accent alone.

      Delete
  8. I love the way in which you drop down the topics very well. Really love your writing, Keep doing good.
    xo Corina
    https://unbouquetdamour.com/plaids/

    ReplyDelete
  9. Tonya MorrisOctober 06, 2018

    I've always thought that being different is what makes everyone unique in this world. "Be yourself because everyone else is taken!"

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Everyone's unique and a lot of people tend to forget that so they judge constantly people who have different accent.

      Delete
  10. I love that everyone is different in their own way and I absolutely enjoyed your post! Thank you for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Elizabeth OOctober 10, 2018

    Teaching definitely showcases how different everyone really is. I think being yourself whatever that may mean makes you unique.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Such a nice post, everyone is unique in there on way and you should always stay true to yourself.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Everyone is unique and other people tend to forget that.

      Delete
  13. Oh those are just the sweetest kids you work with. I had a tear in my eye when the little one told you he loved you because you're different. So nice. I hope they can always be so loving and forgiving.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Love this! There is something so special about the innocence of a child. This age is great because you can start to see their little brains absorbing and processing everything. My wife teaches that age and my daughter is currently in college to become an elementary school teacher. This post reminded me of the book Everything I Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten.

    ReplyDelete
  15. These are great reminders! Kids have such pure hearts and outlooks on life. It seems like it's the adults that teach them they need to accept a harsher reality to survive in the real world.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Such a wonderful age when their language skills develop to this level and they come out with some cracking comments. These are all such lovely examples.

    ReplyDelete
  17. I've taught preschoolers for 12 years and it was such a joy. I looked forward to each day with enthusiasm as I knew that each day was going to be different. I learnt patience, tolerance from them. They also taught me that the greatest joys come from little but valuable things. Couldn't stop crying when one student finally could count, when one could narrate her version of a story, when one got 'old ' enough to sit on the chair and not my lap.

    ReplyDelete
  18. There is so much wisdom in that "I'm sorry. Let's just play." Playing might not be in adult regular vocabulary, but maybe life is one big play. I'm sorry...let's just go about living!

    ReplyDelete
  19. It is amazing how much small children understand and how compassionate they are. Whether they stay that way is mostly up to how they are raised and the expereiences they go through, hopefully all of them stay as sweet as they are now.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Tell your husband you got a new husband Mrs. Nina ....very funny kids!

    ReplyDelete
  21. I would definitely learn a lot from those cute preschoolers. I’m an adult but I could totally have used a forgiveness lesson like that because I hold grudges. Adults over-complicate life, being a kid is where it’s at

    ReplyDelete
  22. I am always amazed at how caring and compassionate kids are. This post reminded of that too. Sometimes I wish we didn’t abandon that as we grow older.

    ReplyDelete
  23. This is the best age...when kids are still sweet, genuine, and even compassionate. If only we could bottle this time and keep them this way!

    ReplyDelete

Comment here!

Translate

Click to Subscribe to My YouTube Channel

Click to Subscribe to My YouTube Channel
Free English tutorial videos.

Free Worksheets, Flashcards, and Other Educational Materials

Free Worksheets, Flashcards, and Other Educational Materials
Visit my educational website and download English worksheets, lesson plans, spelling flashcards, writing prompts and others.