The first full, 5 day week of my new job is officially in the books as a success! I was nervous - its been a while since I have consistently worked 40 hours a week and with children none the less, it is exhausting. But I love the job so much, I truly don't mind my new routine of coming home, grabbing dinner and curling up in bed shortly after. It works for me and my homebody self.
As much as this week flew by, I'm really glad I did start before the new year. Not only does that mean I am awarded an extra day of PTO, but the weeks were shorter, the number of children was down and the need for specific curriculum was not there at all. I was able to get the feel for the demands of my job, the expectations from management, and of course start to learn the kids. Smaller numbers made that a lot easier - I know I would have felt overwhelmed walking in to see 20 children and not knowing their names or typical behaviors. I am someone who is big into names and feel it is one of the easiest but useful tools I can utilize to actually be helpful to my co-workers. Coming into a brand new job January 5 and having to work the full 5 day week, I know I would have been overwhelmed.
Right now I am a float, meaning I am basically the assistant to all of the classrooms in the age group I am assigned. For me, its preschool. Of all my past years of working with children, the majority of my experience is with preschoolers, so I was so happy to be placed in that program. I cover lunch breaks and planning periods, and also help out as an extra hand when necessary. This means that instead of just learning the children in one classroom, I have to learn the children in multiple classrooms. While I have spent time in a dozen or so classrooms by now, there are only 3 or 4 classrooms of children who I will be with consistently throughout the year, so my focus has been learning the names of those 70 or so children.
Because I am a float, however, I do need to lend a hand to other programs when necessary. This week I have spent time with toddler and / or infants almost every day. And while I love babies and playing with them, spending time in those rooms just helps me know my calling is preschool, not babies. I don't have the confidence in myself with that age group and certainly have a lot of learning to do when in those rooms. I know I need the exposure with those kids if I will ever gain the level of comfort I do with the older ones, but it will for sure be a stressful experience for me until I get there.
The children I did get the chance to work with during the holiday craze I am starting to feel a real connection to - not all of them, but enough - and they are part of what gets me excited to go into work each and every day.
I have so many opportunities to grow and build a career in the position I am at right now. I can continue in the teaching direction and move towards the public schools, a private school, or stay in the daycare world and work my way up as a program manager and eventually director. After I become a lead teacher, of course. There are so many opportunities awaiting me, and while I know there are many more hurdles and stresses to be had (believe me, there have already been plenty) I can't help but feel thrilled with the fact I feel as though I have finally found my calling. One which I always tip toed around and didn't want to fall into. But is entirely too perfect for me :)
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