Several years into my career in early childhood I knew that I had found my people! I was surrounded by little people that made me so happy each and every day, and I had adults that were full of information and support, yet I still did not have an "AH-HAH moment"...
And then it happened...
...my "AH-HAH moment" happened while I was watching an amazing training by Lisa Murphy, or, what she prefers to be called, The Ooey Gooey Lady, at an NAEYC conference. The video above (originally posted on The Ooey Gooey Lady's youtube.com page), is a small representation of one of her trainings. During her whole presentation I found myself nodding, "yes...Yes...YES!". Her energetic explanation of early childhood gave me that moment of clarity, the moment where I knew that I was exactly where I wanted and needed to be.
The Ooey Gooey Lady inspires me about the field of Early Childhood Education, and keeps me excited about working with children. She fuels my passion for working with children on a daily basis.
I like to share her teachings with the teachers that I work with, some are scared at first. "You want me to put a paint brush on a helmut and let the children do WHAT with paint?" But after seeing the joy in their children's faces many of them start to feel how I felt when I first saw Lisa Murphy. Inspired.
I encourage you to visit Lisa's website: http://www.ooeygooey.com and explore her other videos, online seminars, and check out her books. Let me know what you think!
Oh, Machalea, I just love this! Now THAT is passion, is it not??!!!
ReplyDeleteIncidentally, my daughter's preschool had "ooey gooey" week this week! It is so much fun. The kids and the school have been covered in paint, jello, glue, toilet paper, you name it.. ALL WEEK! My daugher woke up sick this morning and begged, yes, BEGGED to go to school!
At Hand in Hand Parenting, where I work, we call it "playlistening" and it's all about meeting the kids where they are at, following the laughter and joy, and letting the kids break the rules a bit.. LEAD for REAL. I love it!
The kids at my daugher's school have been over the moon all week. It is such a gift, and those "jonathan's" and those "McKenzie's" are the ones who shine the most! They open up and suddenly show you their softness and their joy. That kind of connection can change world.
If this is part of your passion, sister, we are going to have a lot of fun together!
Okay. Deep breath. I'll calm down now. Thanks for posting! That was so much fun.
-Lauren Scout
P.S. I am going to post a picture of one of the ooey gooey activities that I love most on my blog. Check it out! I think you'll appreciate it.
Hi Machaela, congratulations on finding your "Ah- Ha" moment! That must be a great feeling! I have never heard the" Ooey Gooey Lady" speak before until watching the video clip that you posted. No wonder why you made such a connection with her values and beliefs regarding children. It is amazing to have such a wonderful person to look up to. I think we can all relate to having the "Jonathan's" in our classes!! I think that some educators are intimidated, overwhelmed or even nervous by children who have these big personalities. Like it was said in the clip, take time to find out their interests and the things they like. Try and make a connection whether big or small to help them feel they too belong in the classroom community.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the resources! This is definitely something that I could bring into my classroom as a teachable moment for my students. I am very excited to share this with them. This gives me something look forward to! Thank you again!
Take care,
Stephanie
Hi ladies! I'm so glad that you enjoyed this little clip from the Ooey Gooey lady! She really does inspire me to be a better educator, and I'm constantly getting ideas from her teachings!
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