Preschool Teaching Stories
Inspiration & Humor
Everyone involved in early childhood is filled with great preschool teaching stories - they may be funny, inspirational, or just plain jaw-dropping!
As a teacher and parent myself, I know I have my fair share of stories to share!
Let me pick just a few...
It was my first year teaching and I had quite a few "interesting" students that year. One little girl, who I'll call K, had pica (which her parents hadn't told me about, but that's another story...) - where she would eat things that weren't food. Being new, I had never even heard of that before.
So one day, we were doing a craft project with crayons. I kept seeing K putting her hands near her mouth, but I couldn't figure out what she was doing. Finally, I said, "K, what's in your mouth?" She looked up at me, smiled with her teeth completely blue from the crayons, and said, "Nothing..."!
And now a more serious one...
It was another year of teaching and I had a student who I’ll call J. He came from a very difficult home situation and he was struggling adjusting to school. The first couple of weeks were a strain on all of us, as he was acting out violently towards myself and the other students. I was concerned about everyone’s safety. It got to the point that I was considering asking his parents to pull him out of our program.
However, I refused to give up on J. I could see there was a sweet, gentle boy in there that was just waiting to come out. I began spending more one-on-one time with him, and worked with his parents on recruiting some outside help for J (counseling).
Slowly, but surely, J started to change. He was calmer and more pleasant to be around. That tender spirit of his started to emerge. The last day of school, J came up to me and said, “Miss Lindy, thank you for being my teacher,” and then gave me the first hug he had ever given me. My eyes filled with tears and I replied, “No, J, thank you for being my student.”
I continued to see J in the hallways as he got older. He remained a lovable, mild-mannered boy. I am so happy that I didn’t ask his parents to remove him – I would have missed out on so much without him in my class that year.
A Touching Teaching Story
Some of you may recognize the following story. I received it as an email forward from one of my student’s parents. I realize it doesn't exactly fit into the category of preschool teaching stories, but it is about teaching, so I had to include it anyway.Impact You Make
Original Author Unknown
Jean Thompson stood in front of her fifth-grade class on the very first day of school in the fall and told the children a lie. Like most teachers, she looked at her pupils and said that she loved them all the same, that she would treat them all alike. And that was impossible because there in front of her, slumped in his seat on the third row, was a little boy named Teddy Stoddard.
Mrs. Thompson had watched Teddy the year before and noticed he didn't play well with the other children, that his clothes were unkempt and that he constantly needed a bath. And Teddy was unpleasant. It got to the point during the first few months that she would actually take delight in marking his papers with a broad red pen, making bold X's and then marking the F at the top of the paper biggest of all. Because Teddy was a sullen little boy, no one else seemed to enjoy him, either.
At the school where Mrs. Thompson taught, she was required to review each child's records and put Teddy's off until last. When she opened his file, she was in for a surprise. His first-grade teacher wrote, "Teddy is a bright, inquisitive child with a ready laugh. He does his work neatly and has good manners...he is a joy to be around." His second-grade teacher wrote, "Teddy is an excellent student well-liked by his classmates, but he is troubled because his mother has a terminal illness and life at home must be a struggle." His third-grade teacher wrote, "Teddy continues to work hard but his mother's death has been hard on him. He tries to do his best but his father doesn't show much interest and his home life will soon affect him if some steps aren't taken." Teddy's fourth-grade teacher wrote, "Teddy is withdrawn and doesn't show much interest in school. He doesn't have many friends and sometimes sleeps in class. He is tardy and could become a problem."
By now Mrs. Thompson realized the problem but Christmas was coming fast. It was all she could do, with the school play and all, until the day before the holidays began and she was suddenly forced to focus on Teddy Stoddard. Her children brought her presents, all in beautiful ribbon and bright paper, except for Teddy's, which was clumsily wrapped in the heavy, brown paper of a scissored grocery bag. Mrs. Thompson took pains to open it in the middle of the other presents. Some of the children started to laugh when she found a rhinestone bracelet with some of the stones missing, and a bottle that was one-quarter full of cologne. She stifled the children's laughter when she exclaimed how pretty the bracelet was, putting it on, and dabbing some of the perfume behind the other wrist. Teddy Stoddard stayed behind just long enough to say, "Mrs. Thompson, today you smelled just like my mom used to."
After the children left she cried for at least an hour. On that very day, she quit teaching reading, and writing, and speaking. Instead, she began to teach children. Jean Thompson paid particular attention to one they all called "Teddy." As she worked with him, his mind seemed to come alive. The more she encouraged him, the faster he responded. On days there would be an important test, Mrs. Thompson would remember that cologne. By the end of the year he had become one of the smartest children in the class and...well, he had also become the "pet" of the teacher who had once vowed to love all of her children exactly the same.
A year later she found a note under her door, from Teddy, telling her that of all the teachers he'd had in elementary school, she was his favorite.
Six years went by before she got another note from Teddy. He then wrote that he had finished high school, third in his class, and she was still his favorite teacher of all time.
Four years after that, she got another letter, saying that while things had been tough at times, he'd stayed in school, had stuck with it, and would graduate from college with the highest of honors. He assured Mrs. Thompson she was still his favorite teacher.
Then four more years passed and yet another letter came. This time he explained that after he got his bachelor's degree, he decided to go a little further. The letter explained that she was still his favorite teacher but that now his name was a little longer. The letter was signed,
Theodore F. Stoddard, M.D.
The story doesn't end there. You see, there was yet another letter that Spring. Teddy said he'd met this girl and was to be married. He explained that his father had died a couple of years ago and he was wondering...well, if Mrs. Thompson might agree to sit in the pew usually reserved for the mother of the groom. And guess what, she wore that bracelet, the one with several rhinestones missing. And I bet on that special day, Jean Thompson smelled just like... well, just like the way Teddy remembered his mother smelling on their last Christmas together.
Now that you've heard this moving story and a couple of my own, it's time to share your own preschool teaching stories...
Can You Top These Preschool Teaching Stories?
Sweet teachable moment? Embarrassing teaching story? "Out of the mouths of babes" quote? Share your BEST preschool teaching stories here!
Read Other Preschool Teaching Stories
Click on the links below to see some great preschool teaching stories. They were all written by other visitors to this page...
Why I Became a Preschool Teacher
I became a preschool teacher because of my brother. He is autistic and the doctors didn't think he would be able to function well in society. My mother ...
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