Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Latest Adventure

It's been a long time since I've posted anything, so most of you (the few who may read this blog, anyway) know about this, but I'm starting a preschool. I got the idea from my sister, Suzanne, who is doing a preschool co-op with some friends, and I am really excited about it. Occasionally I wonder what I'm getting myself into, but for the most part I'm just pumped about classes starting. I'm going to do one class during the summer (June and July) and then two classes starting September (assuming I can find enough students...). I think it will be a really good thing for several reasons:

1) Since Evelyn will be there, too, she'll be able to do preschool, something I don't think we'd be able to do otherwise. And I'm excited for her to learn new things and interact with other kids on a regular basis.

2) While I'm not in it for the money, it certainly will be nice to add a little bit to our pocketbook.

3) I'm looking forward to having something for me to consistently work on. I have a hard time getting and staying motivated with some things, but doing preschool, where others are paying me to teach, will more or less force me to stick with it and do my best.

4) I also know that I'm going to learn a lot. Right now I'm reading a book about classroom management and discipline that is opening my eyes to a number of things, most of which can also be applied to parenting. (The book is called Teaching With Love & Logic, and there's also a book called Parenting With Love and Logic by the same author.)

David is excited, too, and is the "business manager" (and technically the owner since it's registered under his name with the county). In other words, he takes care of the things that I'm either intimidated by or don't want to do, like marketing and keeping the books. And Evelyn can't wait for it to start. Several times she's asked me if preschool is starting tomorrow, or talks about "when I go to preschool."

Now I just have to figure out what to do with Edison while I'm teaching....

6 comments:

Suzanne said...

How funny--I had just finished getting my preschool lesson ready for tomorrow when I read this post. I think that you're going to have a wonderful experience with your preschool, and the social interactions will be really good for Evelyn. As for Edison (he'll be the same age Miriam was for me this year), my biggest piece of advice is to try and include him as much as possible. Have a carpet/fabric square for him to sit on, let him join the kids for snack, have paper and crayons for him to color when the kids do crafts, etc. You could also have a basket of toys that he only gets to play with during preschool, to keep him occupied. Good luck!

Ashley Funk said...

That's great, Marie! I really wanted to do a co-op/joy school with Spencer, but, oddly enough in UT, I can't find mothers who want to do it. So I've enrolled him in a regular preschool, which will be great for him - but I am the one missing out! It's fun to hear what your family is up to. Good luck!

Katie said...

Whoa, that's quite the undertaking! You and David will do great at it though! Maybe it'll still be up and running by the time Tyler is preschool age? Good luck, and give those babies of yours kisses from me!

Destiny said...

Hey, I love Love and Logic, it's so great! I am hoping to get Lyndon into one of the fall classes!

The Coxes said...

Marie - that's great about doing a preschool! I've also heard those books you mentioned are great - I need to check them out. I'm sure Evelyn will love preschool. Good luck! Kendy :)

Christine said...

Hey! I own the book Teaching with Love and Logic. I just randomly picked it out at the BYU bookstore and bought it with graduation money two years ago.
And it actually helped me get my job at La Europa. When I was interviewing, I noticed that Gen had that book on her shelf, and I commented that I owned it and was currently reading it. She launched into an explanation of how La Europa had a whole training seminar on it and that a lot of their teaching philosophies were based on the principles found in that book.
Let me know if the Parenting with Love and Logic is worth owning.