January’s Center Spotlight shines on the Jungle Wing Teachers! The Jungle Wing is lead by Kay Myers, who was featured in September’s Center Spotlight on the Team Lead Teachers.

The Jungle Wing is comprised of three classrooms, the Panthers, the Jaguars, and the Tigers. The classes are taught by Khali Shaw, Carlina Bratlien, and Kay Myers.

This month in a continued series meant to introduce all the BGCC Teachers we did a Q&A with our Jungle Wing Teachers.

How long have you been teaching overall? At BGCC?

“Overall, I have been teaching for 30 years,” said Kay, “I have been at BGCC for 14 years.”

Khali has been in the Early Childhood Field for 10 years. “This is my 3rd year as a teacher and my 2nd year teaching at Becky Gates.”

Carolina has been at BGCC for 8 years. Carolina has been working in Early Childhood since 2001. She began teaching preschool at Becky Gates Children’s Center in August of 2012.

What is your favorite thing about teaching the Jungle Wing age group?

Kay loves 4-5 year olds because they can respond back to you. “I love watching their little minds work and it excites me when I see them learn a concept that I have been teaching.”

“One of the main changes that happens in my classroom is that children start being more collaborative with each other,” said Khali. “Before this age, children tend to play side by side each other and not really interacting with one another. In my classroom, their social skills blossom and they start playing together and bounce ideas off one another to create this grand event in their play.”

Carolina’s favorite thing is watching as the children really finally understand something or when they finally get it. Watching them explain it to each other how something works. She also enjoys being thanked by the children with notes and cards and the love they share with her throughout their journey together with them. “Everyday brings a new development, new challenges and something funny to laugh at the end of the day. You never know what will come out of this group. I try to embrace the unexpected parts of life, and celebrate it with them.”

What does a typical day look like for the kids in your class? What is your favorite part of the day?

A typical day in Kay’s classroom is helping each child be successful at transitioning through their day while having fun and watching them learn. “My favorite part of the day is music and movement. I have always enjoyed music! I was in choir all of junior high and in high school I was in performing choir and on the drill team. I loved dancing during halftime at my schools football games.”

“We listen to a lot of music in our classroom. The students all think something is off or weird if there is not music playing,” said Khali.

Her favorite part of the day is when she gets to read a good book with them. “I also highly enjoy Music and Movement time. The kids really get to see my personality and how crazy I am with my dancing and singing. They all laugh at me and it always makes my day.”

Carolina said, “The children discover new ideas and solve problems and learn from each other. I love to introduce things from around the home (such as milk crates, pipes and wooden planks loose parts) into my classroom and see how children work to make it something you haven’t seen. I love learning how many ways they can come up with something new that challenges them.”

What makes working at BGCC different from other childcare centers?

According to Kay, the difference between other childcare centers and BGCC is that we have a curriculum and lesson plan to follow and each classroom from 1 year olds to 4 year olds are working on skills that build on one another. “Most places you are just babysitting. We also have the opportunity to teach college students how to be teachers. And, we have organizations from Texas A&M who we get to collaborate with and share resources.”

“Hands down, the diversity,” said Khali. “I have seen more cultures here at Becky Gates than I have seen at all the other centers I have worked at. Not only are there so many cultures, but we celebrate and embrace every single one that walks through those front doors. I have loved getting to learn about my students, their families, and where they come from. It’s probably one of my favorite parts of the job.”

For Carolina, BGCC is just not a school but a community that is made up of families of different cultures, religions, skin colors that make each and everyone special. “We learn to respect and value each other’s differences.”

How do you help your student workers learn about early childhood education?

Kay has discussions with her teaching assistants about the curriculum. She shows them the charts BGCC teachers use and discuss what they are looking for to assess each child.

“My student workers are amazing! Whatever they want to do, I am here for them,” said Khali. “We work on the dialogue to use with children whenever a problem arises. We work on open ended questions to help children grow their critical thinking skills. I model process art and teach them the importance of the process to foster creativity. They can read books and plan activities. I try to get my student works as involved as they want to be.”

Is there anything else you would like parents/families to know?

“I have always loved children! I was the oldest of 5 cousins and we would always play school when we were kids. I love watching children learn! Seeing the light bulb go off in their little minds is very gratifying to me. It is not uncommon for me to tear up when I witness this,” said Kay.

“I absolutely love teaching. Teaching not only gives me a purpose and realization of the difference I am making in the world. But, I get to see the world through a child’s eye everyday. I can’t imagine doing anything else in this entire world. I love watching them and learning from them each and every day,” Carolina said.

“My kindergarten teacher actually inspired me to be a teacher. I love her so much. I remember loving school and being excited to go each day. Then, after I left kindergarten and got older, I would periodically go to her class to read stories to her kindergartners. Since then, I have always known I wanted to work with children and be a teacher to do exactly what my kindergarten teacher did for me,” concluded Khali.