Hi everyone!

When a preschool teacher becomes a first time mom, there’s this unexplainable feeling from the moment you find out that you are having a child. heheh:)

I think any teacher mom will agree with me that probably one of their first thoughts would be aside from the usual, “will my child turn out okay”, is “I wonder how I’ll be towards my own child”. And on second thought, the list of developmental checklist is already running through your mind.

When you have been caring for and teaching children all your life, well, children who are not your own, but of course you treat them as if they are your own, you realize that the way you know your students will never be the same as how their parents know them. After all, we, teachers only get to spend a few hours with these children, while their parents have literally taken care of them from the moment they came into this world. Ever since I started out as a young preschool teacher, fresh from college, I’ve always wondered how the parents of my students do it- work, take care of their children and find time to attend school events. Amazing individuals, indeed! Will I even be like them when I grow older?

It’s only now that I have more compassion towards the parents of my students. It’s not that I didn’t feel such towards them before but I’ve become more understanding of where they are coming from, now that I have become a parent myself. I once hated it when a parent comes late for a parent-teacher conference, not thinking that probably something happened at home, or she probably had to wait for a relative to look out for her child so she can attend our ptc.  (Sorry to my past parents, hehehe)

Now, that I’m a first time mom to my daughter, Ellie, I see how a teacher’s perspective and a mom’s perspective can be my strength. As a teacher, I am more exposed to theories/principles when it comes to child development. And because I’m a first time mom, I look forward to seeing how these theories play out in Ellie. It’s easier to understand what Ellie goes through month after month, especially during sticky situations such as when she refuses to sleep or when she clings to familiar persons. My husband will always tell me, “So that’s what you actually studied, huh!” (But i’m sure he’s happy to be married to a teacher, right Mike? 🙂

Truth be told, I’ve done lots of experiments on Ellie, and yes, she’s been my guinea pig most of the time. But honestly, most of the time, I follow what they call, mom’s instinct, I simply follow what I feel is appropriate at that given situation. Moms know best they say. 🙂

So I came up with this blog because I wanted to share to everyone my personal experiences in raising Ellie. Here, I’ll talk about child development and how parents can apply these principles at home. I’ll also post simple activities that Ellie and I do at home, which parents can also try with their children.

This blog will give you the best of both worlds. The perspective of a loving mom and the perspective of an early childhood educator. 🙂

Feel free to share your thoughts and comments. 🙂

Tanya