Judy Allan, Pre-K Teacher at Walnut Hills Baptist Church, is Teacher of the Month – May 2014
Judy Allan, Pre-Kindergarten Teacher at Walnut Hills Baptist Church Learning Center accepted her Teacher of the Month award from Sherry Phipps owner of School Crossing. Voting took place WilliamsburgFamilies.com & School-Crossing.com. (Actually they just celebrated Judy’s 20th anniversary at WHBC LC, so this award comes at a perfect time!)
1. How long have you been teaching and teaching at Walnut Hills Baptist Church Learning Center?
I am privileged to have been a part of the Learning Center in some capacity since its beginning in 1991. The establishment of a Christian preschool was the dream of a small group of young mothers who met for Bible study every Tuesday morning. They wanted a special place for their own children and they brought me along with them. For personal reasons, I have had to briefly leave the Learning Center twice, but cumulatively, I have worked at the Learning Center for 20 years.
2. What drew you to teaching, teaching at Walnut Hills and was there any particular reason you chose to teach Pre-K?
I can’t remember not wanting to teach. At age 4, I told my parents God wanted me to be a teacher. At age 10, I told my mother “we” were going to teach kindergarten together. She smiled and encouraged me, but I’m not sure she believed it. Years later, she and I did teach kindergarten at the Learning Center. Over time, there became a greater need for a class of young 5-year-olds, who were not quite ready for kindergarten. Once again, God found a spot for me. I teach a Pre-K class now and love it!
3. Can you mention a project where you were able to engage the kids outside of the classroom or stories that you heard where they brought their learning home?
The main comments I hear from parents involve two things dear to my heart. (I suppose the children are exposed to them the most.) We spend a great deal of time observing wildlife from our classroom windows which overlook a protected area. We also enjoy spotting animals near our hiking trail. We discuss their habitats and care. We even have a “Buggy 911” program where children and teachers rescue tiny bugs or creatures, always using ‘gentle touches’. The parents quite often come to me saying their children made them walk around an ant hill or rescue a bug instead of swatting it. The second most common comment involves new things discovered in the Bible – especially knowledge gained about our ‘Bible friends’. We connect each letter of the alphabet with a new friend in the Bible (ex. A for Abraham). Over time, we see the children bringing in their own Bibles and parents discovering new Bible personalities they hadn’t known before. These moments are priceless.
4. What perspective have you gained from being around preschoolers all day?
My children have taught me so many things. I appreciate their curiosity, enthusiasm, energy, wonder and awe of everything around them. I too am curious and there always seems to be an urgency to learn something new.
5. What do you want your students to be able to do when they leave your classroom – that you know will prepare them for further education and life in general?.
I want to prepare my children to explore life and use their brains to think and discover new things on their own. I want them to feel confident and successful. Mostly, I want them to love and cherish what they see in the world around them, including each other.
6. If you could ask parents to do one thing to help their children’s academic success what would it be?
I actually have three things I encourage parents to do:
— Read daily to your children and include a variety of books
— Have conversations with your children. Share your perspectives and validate theirs
— Allow children to do for themselves. We cheat them out of moments of success by doing everything for them.
7. Do you have a favorite quote that inspires you and/or your class that you find you post, read, share or just meditate on?
I have two favorite quotes: Our school motto: “Let the little children come to me… for of such is the kingdom of God.” Matthew 19:14
“I did the best I could with what I had and when I knew better, I did better” Maya Angelou
8. Are you from Williamsburg? If not, where are you from, what brought you here?
I consider myself a native of Williamsburg. My parents moved here from Phoebus, VA. They wanted a slower, more rural lifestyle. When I was growing up, Williamsburg was not the town it is today. There were only a few small neighborhoods and the rest was made up of woods, dairy farms, and the Historic area. Everyone knew everyone else and most did their shopping on Duke of Gloucester Street. (There was an A&P grocery, Rose’s, and two drug stores then). For clothing or other items, shopping was done in Hampton or Richmond and we knew the direction people were traveling by the phrases ‘down the road’ or ‘up the road’. It was a quaint and friendly place to call home. I actually graduated high school with the same children from my kindergarten class. When I was 4, I lived on S. England Street, just across from Powder Magazine. At the time, CW was filing the original “Patriot” movie. I remember the scene where the powder was being stolen and the British were coming. It was very noisy and I was terrified we were really under attack. My parents used this as a learning experience. Their approach stuck with me.
9. Do you have any life lessons that the students in your class have taught you – maybe a short story about kindness, sharing or just a preschooler’s perspective?
There have been so many things my children have taught me over the years. (They have been ‘growing me up’). When I was a child, I was painfully shy and played it safe most of the time. My children have taught me to be bolder and to attempt to embrace new things. I have found I can do it when they are with me to provide encouragement. Through their example, I want to encourage others. We spend a great deal of time in our classroom matching our academic and life lessons to Biblical truths. Many times over the years, when I have been cautious or reluctant to try something, the children have encouraged me by saying things like, “Come on, Miss Judy, God will help us.” It’s been a wonderful adventure!
Voting for Williamsburg’s Choice ~ Teacher of the Month will begin again on Sept 2, 2014
For more information on Teacher of the Month and to see who our past winners have been visit here
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