The Importance of "New-ness"

I am so excited to start blogging here and expanding connections through our members' pages. This month, I also started journaling with a subscription journal community. I feel reinvigorated by all these new projects. This feeling of new-ness and excitement was unexpected and, I think, speaks to staleness or sameness that I didn't even know I was experiencing.

As you know, Preschool Peeps, I like to think about how our adult and very human behavior can inform us about our interactions with children. I didn't know that I was feeling like I was on a repetitive treadmill, or maybe in a rut, until something new and different started. I used to travel for work before the pandemic. While I am happy to be working at home - it's a lot more physically and emotionally healthy - I can see how going to different places kept my need for new adventures constantly being fed. It is true that my conversations with consulting clients vary and podcast topics aren't the same each week, there are aspects of them that are part of a consistent routine.

I wonder if early childhood professionals and, yes, even children aren't always aware that they are in a "same old, same old" rut. The Creative Curriculum guides teachers to have one WOW! experience per week. A WOW! experience is something out of the usual routine. It could be a special visitor, a walk to a new place, or anything else that would make a child say for feel like "WOW!" I think it is a great idea no matter the curriculum you use. It keeps the children interested and motivated to learn.

Do you need more new-ness in your professional life? Is there a way to infuse excitement through new projects or activities that would reinvigorate you and/or your students? Share in the comments!