Appreciating Preschool Teachers at Young Hearts

National Teacher Appreciation Week is May 8 – 12, 2023.  This week you will hear some incredible stories behind some of our great-hearted teachers. Help us express gratitude and share your appreciation to the men and women who are making a daily impact on the lives of our scholars.

Young Hearts is a Great Hearts Preschool that exists to build a strong foundation for students’ success in their educational journey. Our teachers provide our preschoolers, ages 3-5, with a classical preschool educational experience that opens the doors to a world of learning.

Our Young Hearts teachers aspire to instill the love of learning in our preschool students by providing a caring, learning environment in which they will flourish. They teach in a manner which fosters self-confidence, the joy of childhood, critical thinking skills, and elementary school readiness. Our preschoolers gain knowledge, friends, and mentors while pursuing an education filled with the virtues of humility, integrity, friendship, perseverance, wisdom, courage, responsibility, honesty, and citizenship.

Young Hearts Director, Maria Rodriguez, shared how Teacher Appreciation Week was celebrated at Young Hearts. “The teachers decorated a poster board with ‘All About Me’ to display outside their classroom,” said Rodriguez. “The parents and students have been leaving ‘love notes’ [to the teachers] in heart shape forms.” These types of activities and celebrations show our preschoolers how it’s important to show appreciation for the hard work of their teachers. The hope is they will carry this gratitude with them as they graduate to a Great Hearts academy.

Rodriguez explained that while the day of a Young Hearts preschool teacher may look different from an elementary or upper school teacher’s day, the schedule is robust with intentional learning from the start of the day at 7:00 AM until the last student goes home at 6:00 PM.

“Our teachers begin their day by conducting a group time activity. They sing songs, read stories, and engage in a fun roll call, ‘Johnny, Johnny, jump up and down.’ Each student gets their name called and can jump as roll call is taken. Our teachers interact with students during interest areas such as art, science, math, and manipulative activities. Teachers have fun with students during outside time and engage in conversation during lunch and snack time,” said Rodriguez. “Our teachers are the BEST!”

The teaching team at Young Hearts looks forward to partnering with families to provide each child with an outstanding beginning of an amazing educational journey. Learn more about Young Hearts at https://younghearts.greatheartsamerica.org.

Do you have a story or know of a story that you would like to see featured at Great Hearts?  Please contact jmoore@greatheartsamerica.org.