It has been a crazy past few months! My husband and I had returned from visiting family to no jobs. I had been teaching and directing an early learning center and my husband was a sous chef. This was the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, and because of regulations put in place both of our workplaces had closed. Unfortunately, mine would be permanent. My husband's was temporary, but we weren't sure how long the temporary closure would last.
The same week my job closed, I had accepted a job with TSD9 as a Special Education teacher, which meant that we had made the decision to relocate back to the town I grew up in. My husband also landed a job pretty quickly. We were excited for a change, and for our son to be closer to family.
A couple of weeks after moving back I had found out that my job with the district was no longer available. The budget didn't allow their preschool to move forward, which meant the teacher I was replacing had to have her job back. Needless to say I was upset. Covid-19 struck again. We had just moved back, and the plan we had in place suddenly fell apart. I wasn't sure what to do. My husband told me I should start a preschool, as I had years of experience and a passion for early childhood education. Starting something seemed really big, and frankly scary with the state that the world was in. I had taken other job interviews and quickly found that finding childcare here is difficult.
Deep down I wanted to continue teaching and working with children. I have spent most of my working-life working with preschoolers and their families and it wasn't something that I was ready to give up. After several sleepless nights thinking, and talking about it with my family, I decided to move forward with the idea of opening my own preschool. I knew I could do it, I just needed to have the same faith in myself as my family and friends had in me.
My husband came up with the name Tilly Tots (Tilly short for Tillamook, and Tots for children). The name immediately stuck! I had a ton of people supporting me and telling me that it could be really successful. Tillamook needed another high-quality preschool option. I love supporting fellow educational programs because we are all in this field for the same reason - the children and their families. I am excited to offer another option to families.
I am so excited for this next chapter. I am excited to get to know my students and their families, to help prepare them for kindergarten, and to get to celebrate their accomplishments. I am excited to continue teaching with the same curriculum I have used for the past several years, Experience Early Learning. Thank you to everyone who is supporting Tilly Tots Preschool, I can't wait to meet your preschooler!
Ms. Jennifer