08/28/2026
Fun Fact Friday! Episode 1!
- Kindergarten and preschool are NOT required grade levels in the state of AZ, but ARE beneficial to your child’s development.
Not only does preschool prepare them for grade school by teaching them the basics… letters, numbers, shapes, colors… they also learn social emotional regulation. They learn what their emotions are and then they learn how to use coping skills to regulate themselves along with how to communicate with adults and peers to express their needs and feelings appropriately. Yes, these things CAN be taught at home, but you’d be shocked at how many kids go straight to kindergarten or first grade not knowing any of these skills and academics.
Also, no degree is required to teach preschool unless you’re wanting to be an ESS teacher to evaluate and write up IEPs and 504s to support kiddos with with developmental delays to have necessary accommodations. Something I’d love to do, but don’t have the means to do so at this time. I do not have a degree, but have passion to teach these little ones. It takes passion and patience to take on this role. We may not have the debt and documentation of a certified teacher, but we are still creating lesson plans, preparing sub plans, preparing materials for lessons, implementing schedules, supporting behaviors, communicating with parents, hosting parent/teacher meetings, collecting and reporting progress data. Attending training and professional development meetings. If you’re working with kids that are high behaviors, you’re being safety care trained as well. Everything certified teachers do. Oh, and we need to be CPR/first aid trained along with having fingerprint clearance and food handlers cards.
A lot goes into these lil ones because we love them and want to create a smooth transition and bright future for them.
Happy FFF!
