Trish Rice, Preschool Teacher at Walnut Hills Baptist Learning Center is Teacher of the Month for Jan 2016
Mrs. Trish Rice, Preschool Teacher at Walnut Hills Baptist Church Learning Center, with her teacher aide Jeannie Bartlett, accepted her Teacher of the Month award for January 2016 from Sherry Phipps owner of School Crossing. Voting took place WilliamsburgFamilies.com & School-Crossing.com. Teacher of the Month is a program presented by School Crossing, The Virginia Gazette and WilliamsburgFamilies.com. A. Mrs. Rice did not want to be recognized without Mrs. Bartlett. The two are quite a teaching team! Learn more about Mrs Trish Rice from the following Q&A.
1. How long have you been teaching and teaching at Walnut Hills Baptist Church Learning Center?
I’ve been teaching almost 31 years! Hard to believe! The past 5 1/2 years have been at Walnut Hills Baptist Church Learning Center.2. What drew you to teaching, teaching at Walnut Hills Baptist Church Learning Center and was there any particular reason you chose to teach PreK?
I’ve just always wanted to teach! I have always loved children and planning fun activities for them. I used to organize neighborhood clubs for kids when I was growing up. I came from a big family and also wanted a big family. I just love kids!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?
We did a graphing lesson at school one day, and that evening one of the moms texted me a picture of a graph her daughter made on the refrigerator at home while she was making dinner. Her daughter used all the right vocabulary to go with the graph (more, less, equal). Her mom was so impressed! Many times when the kids are asked what they did at school that day, they say, “I don’t know.” This little girl went so much further than that!4. What perspective have you gained from being around 3, 4 and 5 year olds all day?
Oh my goodness! Everyone should look at life through the eyes of a 3-5 year old! They think life is amazing and they go through most days with a sense of awe at the world! I think we are all born naturally curious and happy and loving, and the adults that impact our lives as children help determine how long we keep those qualities.
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 them to leave my classroom feeling great about themselves, like they can do anything they put their mind to. I also want them to always love to learn. As a teacher of very young children, I feel like I help them decide if they like school or not. And I want them to like school!6. If you could ask parents to do one thing to help their children’s academic success what would it be?
Oh my! Narrow it to one thing? I think parents need to let their child learn and make mistakes. We need to encourage our children, but not do too much 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?
One of my favorite quotes is “I wish you enough”. The story behind that is so powerful!9. Are you from Williamsburg? If not, where are you from, what brought you here?
I am from Alexandria, Virginia. After college I got a job teaching Kindergarten at Matthew Whaley, and I just stayed. I love Williamsburg and think it is a wonderful place to raise children!10. 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?
They have taught me to look at every day as an amazing adventure. Actually, my 12-year old taught me that. He once told me about how his day was amazing, and ever since then, every morning before he leaves for school he says, “i hope you have an amazing day!” That’s how I start my day! And it usually is amazing!
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