About me

Before I began working in the early childhood education field, I was a domestic violence counselor. As a domestic violence case manager, I conducted support groups and facilitated workshops on the education of domestic violence. I taught the clients I worked with about the effects of domestic violence on a child's development, and here's where I began to do more studying on child development and fell in love with the field of early childhood education.

A couple of years later, I finally made the switch from social services to my current field, where I am an assistant teacher at a private preschool. I find great satisfaction seeing the children in my 2-year-old class grow as a consequence of what they are being taught. Their growth motivates me everyday to teach better, to prepare better lesson plans and to set a good example for them in every situation. One cute story comes to mind of a 2-year-old student in my class, where during meal times he would eat and drink his food very quickly and as a result he would begin to cough. I'd remind him constantly to chew his food and sip his drink slowly. Then one day out of nowhere, he began to take his time during a meal and he turned to me and said, "See Ms. Yenni, I'm eating slooooowly." Moments like that remind me of why I love working with children even in the most challenging days.

Working in a school with teachers who hold master degrees in education, one can easily feel intimidated. But I've learned that a degree does not make you a good teacher, nor does it better help you understand children. Working with children is a gift, a skill that you either have or not.