And the nominees are..

Coincedently with the Oscars happening this weekend, I have my own nomination to report as well.  Not for an Oscar (obviously) but in the Alberta Child Care Professional Excellence Awards. 

Crazy, right?!  I'm still in shock myself and feel so honoured!

The families of the preschool are nominating me for an award on behalf of the province of Alberta.

 

As the humbling person I am, I really don't think I deserve the award as really, I just love what I do and always feel I can do better for my preschoolers.  But.. as I was told this past week, "people need to know about you and the differences you make". 

This afternoon, I did an interview with one the parents who is organizing the nomination and I do have to say, reflecting on the seven years (offically, unoffically nine) I have been in the field.. it was tough answering some of the questions.  Areas that are judged include how the nominee supports learning in children, involvement with parents, and of course, involvement in the professional world as well.  It wasn't till this morning when I annouced the news to my ELAA group, that we went through a list of things that should be mentioned in the letter and realized, "Holy crap - I've done alot in seven years!". 

With this reflection underway, I realize more of it should be done on life itself.  Seven years ago, I never imagined myself as a preschool teacher in Calgary, Alberta.. being nominated for a provincal award of excellence.  Instead, I envisioned myself working in a private-run daycare in Ontario, barely making ends meet and considering another profession altogether.  I also didn't envision that at the age of 27, I would be gaining a degree in Bachelor of Professional Arts. 

With that said, I am offically done my program this Thursday, February 28th. 

Yep.. lots of reflection needed at this point in life! 

Now that my educational career is finally coming to an end, where should I see myself in another six years?  Where do you see yourself?  Are you happy with the choices you've made, for the most part anyway?  Because we all make choices that were bad.  And somehow, we made it through those bad choices.  But what are you doing now with your life and are you happy with it?  Do you want to do something different?  These are the questions I'm asking myself at this very moment.

I think I do know what I want to do next.

I've always been interested in some form of consultation in the childcare field.  Obviously, licensing is the dream goal but we all know those jobs come only when someone retires.  I've also wanted to open my preschool.  Will that happen?  Not sure.  But its worth exploring..

And so is everything else.