Meet Our La Petite Academy Staff – Ms. Chelsea, Lead Pre-K Teacher

Meet Ms. Chelsea, the lead pre-kindergarten teacher at our La Petite Academy in Fayetteville, AR! She has been at La Petite for one year and has previous experience working with two year olds, as well as an associate’s degree in early childhood education. Read our Q&A to learn more about Ms. Chelsea!

Take us through a typical day in the pre-k class!

In the morning before breakfast we usually do centers, and then they eat breakfast and we do circle time. After that, we do our large group activity for the day and then we do centers again and have lunch. And then they take a nap and we do our small group activity in the afternoon. Then they do centers after that.

What are some examples of large and small group activities?

Recently we did an experiment with ice and we had four different bowls – one of them was just regular ice, one of them was ice wrapped in foil, another was wrapped in plastic wrap and another one had salt on it. We were doing an experiment to see which one would melt the fastest. That was the large group one. An example of a small group activity is that today we made rainbows and put clouds on them because it was raining. We then talked about the colors in the rainbow.

Can you share a proud moment you’ve had since you’ve been at La Petite?

I had a kid start in my class and he didn’t seem to know any of his letters or know any letters of his name. As of recently, just with me working with him every day, he knows most of his letters and he can write his name. It only took him two weeks!

How is your relationship with your students’ parents?

I talk to them in the morning and ask them how their day has been. We definitely make sure to communicate with them and tell them how their child’s day was at pick up. Really, I try to make good connections with the families.

What’s the overall work environment like?

We all work together as a good team. We all love working together.

Why did you decide on a career in early education?

I’ve known I wanted to be a teacher since I was little. My kindergarten teacher completely changed my life and I just really liked the thought that I could change other kids’ lives, too.