Preschool Teacher to Educator in a daycare

The transition from a preschool teacher to an educator was definitely a learning experience. I went from guiding some independent 3-5 year olds, to having to care for children aged 6 weeks to 12 years old. 

At first, I was overwhelmed. I am a mom of 4 kids but I still wasn't prepared for how different things would be in this setting. A lot of the things I knew how to do needed to adapt to smaller people and their expanding minds. They were all still learning the basics - quite literally. It did take a few weeks but I eventually got the hang of it and was able to use my programming skills to my advantage. I simplified themes and started following what the children were interested in. If it happened to be a topic I was especially fond of (farm animals) we were able to explore it for weeks!

Another thing that helped, my ECE learning continued, and the more I learned about the various ages, the more I was able to adapt my programming. I do miss working in a preschool, but I love working in the daycare. The simplest things can teach the most complex skills. For example: ripping paper. This simple skill is good for fine motor skills and strengthening fingers. It also encourages hand-eye coordination, especially when trying to rip a straight line. Some of us are still working on this as adults. 

I've recently become an interim director, and I also love that. I have grown considerably in the last few years as an educator. As a parent I can often relate to situations parents find themselves in, while at the same time keeping to the Early Childhood Educator Code of Ethics. I enjoy the paperwork, organizing schedules, dealing with invoices and income reports. I am still learning a lot about these things, and maybe they weren't smooth at the beginning, but every month I've learned something new. I love being with the kids and our team of educators - it's a positive work environment!

During my tenure as director I've had to deal with some complex issues such as injured staff - twice at one time, hiring new subs and employees, reorganizing schedules on a weekly basis to accommodate, toilet overflow (twice), behaviour issues, a change in fees, a new consultant, a financial review of our fiscal year, and the ever-so-lovely Pandemic Covid-19. 

I've used a large variety of skills: 

Organizing

Planning

Adaptating to new situations

Problem-solving

Leadership

Time-management

Communication skills - written and oral

I've also demonstrated: 

Compassion

Patience

Flexibility
Determination

Positivity

I have so much more to offer and as my education continues, my skills grow. These are not all my skills, behaviours, attitudes or strengths, but they have definitely been the top 12 I've been using in the last few months.