I have found a job teaching preschool very part time in Queen Anne. It pays well (much better that the average preschool gig) and is very small (only about 10 kids). The owner/head teacher is a quirky little lady who comes from a Montessori background. I’m a little hesitant because I’ll be on her turf, following her rules, and coming into a tightly knit community of kids and parents. I know I will learn a lot. She hired me largely because she was intrigued by my dance and theater experience–and interested in my hope of incorporating those elements in an academic setting. I’m bummed that the school has a shoes-off policy (which means spending Christmas money on boots seems silly) and I’m actually debating on buying some cute house slippers to wear in addition to my socks (I hate shoes-off policies).

In addition I am hoping to supplement with additional teaching gigs around the area. This means I will be in the car a lot (one of the gigs is on Mercer Island), which I had initially hoped to avoid. However, I will have more time returned to me overall–which is good and bad. I killed an hour and a half sitting around, drinking coffee, and watching my sister make donuts yesterday. I also returned home exhausted, having trekked all over the greater Seattle area…this is where I wish we had a decent transportation system. I have grand plans of buying an unlimited class card at a nearby Yoga center, working on the play I’ve been crafting for five years, creating some meaningful art, and pushing my jewelry sales via website and local venues. I hope to ignore the strangling feeling of being unsuccessful, worthless, partly unemployed, and lost in the sea of employment that is out there.

I had a really great interview at a really nice school…it was for a position that I didn’t really care for (teaching assistant and after school care) but they called and asked me to interview to be a full time teaching assistant in a preschool classroom. The pay starts at $9.50/hr and increases based on education and experience. This sucks. If I was hell bent on being a classroom teacher this would be all about ‘paying my dues’ to get ahead in the teaching world. However, I’m done with making dirt. I’m continually insulted by what people are (not) willing to pay instructors in the classroom. I would much rather teach older children, but I can’t seem to get away from 3-5 year olds–and I can get away with teaching that age without certification. So until I figure it out, I’m piecing together a career out of…something.