My day at the preschool...ugh!

Well, there is a reason why I am a dog trainer and not a preschool teacher. Wow.

Alright, first I am going to tell you a little about myself. I am not natural with children. I have never been. I have been known to fight little kids if they try to sell me candy bars in the grocery store parking lot. Of course, it's the 5th time that they approach me that I get irritated...the first, second or third time I can quietly shrug off and be polite. Regardless, if it isn't my beautiful niece or two adorable and wonderful nephews then I am unnatural and at times impatient. Now, this doesn't mean I don't like kids, it's more that I can't relate...I don't know how to be with them. You know what is more nerve-wracking to me? Trying to be cute in front of the mother...I just feel like an imposter. I know...it's my racket.

I know I was a kid once, but back then it was all about playing, I didn't care what others thought but as I aged, I do now. I have to watch what I say along with watching that I don't get too complicated with my wording...it's like speaking a different language when interacting with children. I do have to admit though, my favorite ages are between 0-6...they are just so cute and funny...I like to laugh at them.

You may be thinking, "why did you agree to do this dog training presentation to a bunch of preschoolers then?". Well, I figured it would be good for me since it's something that I have never done. I am terrified of speaking infront of a crowd, so I figured I would start with people who have barely had any life experiences. I mean, they aren't at the stage of judging others yet...baby steps, people!

My bonus? Jamie agreed to help me...THANK DOG!

Anyway, back to my day...

First, I went to the toy store yesterday to buy a dog puppet. This was actually Jamie's idea, and I liked it. Unfortunately they did not have any, so I bought a big stuffed dog and 3 little ones that looked exactly like it. I then went to Costco to get a big bag of treats. This was all premature being that I didn't really know what I was going to say or do anyway. However, as I have learned from my niece and nephew...presents are always good.

Last night I stayed up preparing for what I was going to talk about and Jamie actually guided me through it. I wrote an agenda and then I had little notecards with an outline of what I was going to "teach". I decided to talk about caring, training and safety around dogs. That's pretty good for 3-6 year olds, right? HA!

Today finally rolls around, even though Jamie was coming, I was still all nervous. I got up around 530am (I have to be there at 930am) to go over the things I want to say, but also because I just couldn't sleep anymore. Jamie is up around 7am and gets ready and we leave around 8am with Emmitt and our Thank Dog shirts...we looked like twins.

We arrived at the preschool which is called Crosspoint...it's a christian preschool. That didn't bother me but I was a little surprised. Anyway, we walk in and before any of this, the principal of the school had told me prior to today that I would be speaking infront of 140 children about training and care. Yeah, that changed.

Jamie and I were led into a classroom, I am a little nervous, but she is calm because this was a familiar setting to her. We originally imagined a gym or auditorium doing one presentation. No, it was 4 presentations in this small room, which was better for me to be honest, but it took us longer to get through.

The first group came in and the fun began.

I led the first presentation and it was TERRIBLE. The children were only 3 years old, they wouldn't stop talking, I couldn't think of what I was supposed to talk about anyway. I just wanted to laugh at them because they were so rude (in a cute way) that it was hilarious. I just didn't have it together whatsoever and our presentation was way too complicated for them.

The second group was AWESOME. The kids cooperated and Jamie took more of a role in this one. She made them laugh and participate, I was impressed. The only thing was that, when it looked like I was struggling, Jamie would pop in, but she felt like she was interrupting me. I didn't care that she was to be totally honest, if it were up to me, she could have done the entire thing while I handled Emmitt.

The third group comes in...this was my worst performance yet. My lord, and I don't mean Jesus, it was terrible. I started to talk a lot and led most of this one because Jamie didn't want to interrupt me (which I would have welcomed, she is great at what she does!). At one point, I looked at the teachers and they all looked mean...throughout the entire thing, they wouldn't even give me a courtesy laugh. Because of this- and it was right after I had already told them to tell me about their dogs-I totally forgot what was next (you would think we would own this 15 minute presentation by now), my mind was blank. So, the next logical thing to me was to ask, "someone tell me about your dog". Both Jamie and I wanted to bust out laughing after I said that. I was drowning...I mean, we just went through 5 minutes of the kids telling us about them. It was terrible, TERRIBLE. Thank god Emmitt was still behaving.

The last group comes in and we rocked it. Jamie took the teacher role and I took the dog trainer role. We were a team. I wish all of them went like that, we should have decided that from the beginning. She made the kids laugh constantly, the teachers were laughing and there were parents in this one and they were laughing too. Everyone was having a good time and everyone was learning. Jamie did her thing and I was doing what I do best and that was just handling and teaching them how to handle the dogs. We even got compliments at the end of it from parents who never heard dog safety like we put it. They actually thanked us!


I guess this is Jamie week, because she has come through for me multiple times.

I need to give a shout out to Emmitt...Emmitt, wow, you were amazing today. I am so thankful that even though we didn't follow through with the training, you still seemed trained today. I love you like you are my own...here's to puppy paws and treats!

Jamie- I can't thank you enough for today. I am not sure I would have stuck through it without you. I am so impressed with your teaching skills and with just you in general. I feel like I can count on you for anything. Thank you.