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I would like to see my program enrolled to capacity so we could rebuild our playground area. This probably means about 5 more students.

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A simple, well-organized website is that includes your program philosophy, dynamic photos of the center, program schedule, tuition costs and staff bios. I cringe at my online bio but know it’s important, parents need faces and educational information about the staff. Parents want to feel like they already know you before they even call. Social media can help too, but the website is your foundation.

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I rely on my coworkers when things get stressful. I work with a great team and we are always very supportive of each other.

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My go-to stress busters are walking and going to the gym—both help me clear my head and reset when things feel overwhelming. I also find a lot of relief in cooking, especially when I get to be creative and come up with new recipes. Lately though, with the pressure of finishing my CDA before the licensor visit in the 2025–2026 school year, I haven’t felt much like cooking. Hoping once the deadline passes, I’ll get back to finding peace in the kitchen again!

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The rules in my classrooms are focused on what children should do (never what they shouldn’t do)In my mixed age classroom older children model behavior for their younger peers.Take advantage of teachable moments (specific praise for positive behavior, kindly pointing out the consequences for negative behavior. For example, Johnny trips when running in the classroom. I would go to him and say “are you ok” and assuming he is I will remind him this is why we use only walking feet in the classroom.)

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As a superhero in the classroom, I’d use my powers of calm presence, clear routines, and joyful guidance to help each child feel safe and confident. I’d introduce them to the space like it’s their own special world. I would point out cozy corners, favorite materials, and friendly faces,so they know exactly where they belong from day one.

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How do you think Montessori’s ‘prepared environment’ and letting kids work at their own pace help them grow in areas like life skills, math, and language?Do you think it’s tricky for teachers to guide kids without stepping in too much, especially for gifted kids or those with special needs? Share your thoughts!I currently work at a Montessori program and I see how the prepared environment helps children grow. We have one child who I think is especially gifted and he is thriving in the environment. At the age of 4 he is doing addition and subtraction as well as reading at a 1st grade level. This is a direct result of the prepared environment. Our classroom is a mixed age group of 3-6 year olds. Each year and throughout the year we are assessing and rotating the materials provided. As far as guiding without stepping in to much, the only challenge for me is how excited I get seeing the children doing such advanced work and wanting to talk to them about it. We as teachers are there to support their learning but the children are able to choose their areas of interest and develop them much beyond what is available in a a traditional preschool.

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I’ve been fortunate to be able to experience many cultures through travel, something I’m passionate about.i like to support multicultural learning by first looking at the world. One of the classroom lessons centers around making a map of the world. This is a great chance to sit with the child and talk about the part of the world they are currently working on. Together we can explore classroom materials related to the area. I’ve also had children looking for more materials and information which then can roll into working with them to make a presentation that can be shared with other children during circle time.

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My go to for stress reduction is taking a walk especially if I’m able to take a walk in nature and thought could mean a city park or rail trail just anywhere where at least briefly I see only natural objects.

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As far as I know there are no written policies regarding screen time at my preschool but children have no access to screens during the day. There is a staff tablet used for taking pictures that are shared on the school online portal for parents to see what children are working on during the day. Other than this the only other instance of use of a screen in the school has been during the extended day program when a child has asked me to take a picture of their creation which could be an art project, sand castle or something built with blocks. In this instance I’ve used my phone and the child has then looked briefly at the picture on my phone. Our school day has no place for screens and our parent handbook discourages the use of screens in the morning as it has shown to negatively impact on classroom performance.