Today we’d like to introduce you to Jennifer Hill.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
When my youngest was probably around 3 years old my husband suggested that I go back to school. That way when my son was in school full time, and I wanted to get a job it could be something that I enjoy doing. I wasn’t too thrilled about the idea but I prayed about it and I always felt like God was prompting me to teach preschool. I even mentally planned out how we could have a preschool in the education wing of our church. I decided to enroll at Colorado Christian University in 2018 and major in Early Childhood Education. I had two years of schooling to do in order to get my ECE bachelors degree. Since I was a stay at home mom of 3 I did online courses. As I was getting ready to start that journey I was presented with the idea of being the Children’s Ministry Director at Roy Christian Church. I took the job to help pay for my tuition. I graduated in the fall of 2020. My son was in preschool then and as a family we decided that I should take the rest of year to stay home with him while he finished preschool. I continued working as the Children’s director at RCC and did substitute teaching to keep me in the classroom. The summer of 2021 I started looking for a part time teaching job with Davis School District. I needed part time because my son was going to be in 1/2 day Kindergarten the incoming school year. I applied for a few positions and didn’t even hear back from anyone. The idea of starting a preschool at my church would always come up when I prayed about it. I was still unsure about taking on such a big project and unsure about what our church family would think of the idea as well. That summer I also went to Intermountain Church Camp in Idaho with my daughter and every lesson they talked about that summer talked about stepping out in faith and every time the idea of the preschool came to mind. I knew God was telling me that’s what he wanted me to do. When I got back from camp I met with our pastor and presented the idea. He told me that he had actually been thinking that we should offer some kind of program or ministry that could service young children and families. After getting the full approval and making all the preparations to open our school, Kingdom Kids Preschool had their 1st class on September 7, 2022. We started with just 5 students and 1 teacher. Since then our program has been growing little by little each year, we currently have 12 students, a teacher, a teacher’s aide and a few volunteers. We have had close to 40 students be a part of our program in the last 4 years and several families have also had siblings in our program. Kingdom Kids Preschool is focused on caring for and developing a love of learning in a Christian atmosphere, Our program is very play based. We believe that young children learn best through play and exploration. We try to foster a love of learning in a fun and comfortable environment. Each student is treated with love and respect. My favorite part of teaching is watching the awe in wonder in my students eyes and they discover something new. They help me to remember to always be amazed by God’s amazing creation and to appreciate the little things in life.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
For the most part there haven’t been too many struggles. It takes time to work through all of the steps to start a new business. It was a little difficult to figure out how to run a private preschool as a ministry of our church. There aren’t a lot of preschools in churches here in Utah.
I didn’t have any students signed up the 1st year until our open house 2 weeks before we opened our doors. I was a little nervous about that! God provided the right kids at just the right time!
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
At Roy Christian Church I am the preschool director as well as the youth director. My specialty would be Early Childhood Education but I enjoy working with students of all ages. What makes me most proud and makes me feel successful is when my students love coming to school. I have had students that are sad when we have breaks. It makes me happy and warms my hear when that are so comfortable around me and enjoy being in our program so much that they miss it when they can’t come. That’s what school should be. A place you love to be where you can be comfortable to learn and explore.
In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
As our program and my family grows the next 5-10years, I definitely see our program expanding to have multiple classes. Morning and afternoon, maybe running 5 days a week. I would be open to working with someone to make into a preschool/daycare program as well.
Pricing:
- 3-day class
- 2-day class
- Classes are Tue, Wed, Thur
- ages 3-5 years
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.roychristian.org
- Instagram: kingdomkids_roychristianchurch
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/KingdomKidsPrekRCC
