No! This Is SERIOUSLY My Life!: Miss Marilyn...

Thursday, March 7, 2013

Miss Marilyn...

I've known a lot of amazing teachers!!

But there's this one...

Her name is Miss Marilyn and she teaches preschool out of her home in Stilwell, Kansas.

And she is AMAZING!!

I first met her when I was a Principal. I got to know her when she came to kindergarten round up to listen and help "her babies"...that's what she calls them "her babies".

I instantly loved her. She is an amazing human being and just an incredible teacher. I got several of her babies in my school and each and every one of them was a caring, compassionate kiddo who knew how to say please and thank you and push in their chairs.

They were definitely academically prepared, but they were prepared for so much beyond academics...

They had learned how to be beautiful human beings.

I knew that when I had children, I wanted them to go to Miss Marilyn's Preschool (we write it as MM) because I wanted the best for them!

So Zach got old enough to go to preschool and I was able to get him enrolled.

Brian and I picked him up his first day and took him to school.

He was REALLY excited and I made him wear his button pants with a zipper because I wanted him to dress up for the first day.

I taught Kindergarten, I knew we needed to practice to make sure he could button and unzip so if he had to go potty, he could do it.

So we did.

We left Zach with a smile on his face and a skip in his gate and he had a BLAST!

I got an email from MM that night.

I could hear her giggling.

Apparently, "Zacharoonie" as he will be forever known to her as...had a little difficulty with that zipper and button...

So he walked out of the bathroom bare bottomed and asked for help!! :)

Sometimes, you have to laugh!!

MM taught these kids everything they needed to know...they got their academics but they got it through play and creation, no worksheets at MM's!!

There was no TIME for worksheets, we have to LEARN!!!

And she took them all over the world...the kids even chop down their own Christmas tree (with her help of course) and then they have to figure out how to drag it back to the truck, and they can't have any adult help. It's priceless!!

She gave each of her students an education and she taught them to believe they were special and magnificient and wonderful.

She also taught them to mind their manners and be thankful and thoughtful.

I credit her for my son's bed and room looking like this yesterday:

She is the reason I catch him up at all hours reading with a flashlight under the covers.

MM taught them to LOVE learning!! He's never forgotten that!

And I got more incredible crafts and projects from her than I can count. Those things matter...they hang on our Christmas tree every year. She even invited Braden out to do crafts!!

And when the cAncer mess came around, MM made Zach a "student teacher" his kindergarten year so he could still go out to her house and help with the 3 year olds and feel great about himself and get some MM lovin'!!

I really think MM is one of the most amazing people I know!!

Here are some pictures of things at MM's. Everything was active and creative and required problem solving and thinking and it was FUNNNNN!!!!!!

If we could all have an MM when we were little to show us how to behave, respect, love, explore, create, and love it would be a MUCH better world!!

We love you MM!!! :)