The Samuel Morey Preschool: Mrs. Jen

From a Preschooler's Perspective:

Preschooler to Teacher: "Can you put (my friend) in time out? He's not listening to me!"

Mrs. Jen

Eleven years ago, when we first opened up the Samuel Morey Preschool, Jen Parenti was brought in to be the classroom assistant. At the time I didn't know Jen, but I quickly came to value all of the exceptional qualities and the special personality that she brought to our preschool environment. After six years with us Jen left the preschool to become a home based child care provider. This year we have been very fortunate to welcome Jen back to the program as our primary substitute teacher.

As Jen has already been in for a good amount of days this year, I am again reminded of how exceptional she is with the preschoolers and how quickly she forms close and caring relationships with them. Since Becka, Jen and I all worked together over the course of several years, we have all enjoyed our "reunion" and have found ourselves reminiscing about children that we taught years ago and many of the special and funny moments that we had with them.

A highlight of last week was on Thursday when the preschool band "Jenormous" got back together. When Jen was with us as the classroom assistant, she and Norm Page (who had been the Samuel Morey custodian) performed for the preschoolers on a regular basis with Jen playing piano and singing and Norm playing guitar. At times they were joined by various additional musical guests. It was great to have Norm and Jen playing together for us again and, as usual, their musical talents and Jen's beautiful voice captivated their preschool audience.

I believe that one of the really exceptional things about the Samuel Morey Preschool experience has been all of the meaningful connections that have been made between children, parents, families, and staff over the years. Having Mrs. Jen back with us this year is another reminder of the the positive relationships that are formed while we share the responsibilities, and the joys, of caring for our wonderful young students together.