I have been a teacher at SHED Children’s Campus for 12 plus years. I started in the after school program and made the switch to preschool last year. This year, my second year teaching preschool, has been a bit unique. We have a classroom of 10 boys. Not. One. Girl. It just happened that way. When I first learned about my new class the summer before school started, my first thought was “What am I going to do with TEN BOYS?” (Coincidentally, my co-teacher Emily and I both only have daughters at home). Teaching at a Reggio inspired school I realized, “I know what I am going to do….I am going to let them lead me in what we learn.”
First day of school we were sitting in our morning meeting and one my little friends asks, “Miss Shana, where are all the girls?” I answered, “Well… Miss Emily and I are girls”. His reply was, “But where are all the LITTLE girls??”. That was the first and only time any of my “awesome buddies” (as I like to call them) ever mentioned it. We do get the occasional teacher, visitor, and mystery reader walk in and say, “Wow! You have a class of all boys!” There are a few differences compared to my class last year that had an even mix of boys and girls. There is a lot more “Big Body” (aka physical) play and Emily and I have learned more about dinosaurs and construction vehicles this past year than we ever have in our lives. Aside from that, there is just as much curiosity, interest, need to explore, playfulness, and laughter that you would find in any preschool classroom…full of boys or not.
