A Toddler Teacher

There is a teacher at one of our centers who epitomizes what I would call a toddler teacher.  You can just LOOK at her and know that she is a teacher in a toddler classroom.

How?  I’m not exactly sure, but I am going to try and describe some things that stand out to me:

She is calm, cool, and collected no matter how chaotic the environment is around her.  This is the case whether she is in the classroom or in a meeting.

She is somewhat quiet and soft spoken.  I find this to be a much needed trait in a toddler room so that the children remain somewhat quieter as well.  They will only get as loud as the teachers get.

She has a confidence and comfortability about her.  Any child, even on his first day, would (and does) feel safe with her and easily bonds. 

She always has a smile and a great disposition.  I have seen her in very frustrating situations and she is still smiling.  Nothing seems to phase her. 

Most important, she is huggable.  What I mean is that she is ALWAYS willing to give a warm hug and will wrap her arms around any child whether he needs a hug or not.

There is so much more.  She just has this way about her.  The first time I met her was outside of the classroom.  If I hadn’t known she was a teacher, I would have guessed.  Since I did know that she was one of our teachers, but didn’t know which center or classroom she worked in, I immediately pegged her as one of our three toddler teachers (out of 26 teachers total).