WEEK     JOB: PRESCHOOL TEACHER

LOCATION: MERIDIAN, IDAHO

EMPLOYER: NATURE’S CHILDCARE

WAGE: $26,610 YEAR [Source: BLS]

JOB DESCRIPTION: Led four-to-five-year-old children in hands-on educational projects such as art, cooking, reading, and math.

INDUSTRY IQ:

• To become a preschool teacher you need to study early-childhood education at a postsecondary institution.

• The average income of a preschool teacher is around $25,000, while a kindergarten teacher earns $50,000.

WHAT I LEARNED: Be careful what you say in front of your kids.

When the kids first met me, they were scared, shy, staring at me with blank faces. Five minutes later, we were best friends and they wanted to tell me everything. I’d sit on the ground, then they’d all huddle around me and pull at my hair and clothes, each one firing off random stories in an attempt to get my attention. “Um, I went for a walk, um, with my dog. And, and, he found a stick.” “My dad drives a truck. It’s green.”

Some of the things the kids would say were hilarious, and I wondered if some of the parents realized just how much their kid was absorbing at home.