Today we’d like to introduce you to Jessica Sheffield
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?
I’m not even sure which story to tell because there’s so many different chapters in my life. I taught elementary school for a total of 15. As a mom of 4, my heart wanted to be with them as they grew up, but my love and need for the classroom was also strong, so I opted to be a part time kindergarten teacher! After 15 years, it became clear it would be hard to continue as a part time teacher and be the mom I wanted to be.
During this time, I had also been sharing my love of teaching on social media. In order to be present on social media though you need to be mentally strong to face what’s involved with putting yourself out there. This required me to start a self love and healing journey I desperately needed.
I had gained enough confidence through my self love journey, that when it came to deciding what to do with both parts of my heart, I chose to be brave enough to start my own in home preschool business, so I could essentially stay “part time”! (No teacher only works work hours. 😉)
I currently provide a preschool experience with professional high standards, fun opportunities and academic results, but in a low key home environment. In my program, I even offer dance and tumbling classes for added development for our littles! I am so very proud of the preschool and pre-K programs I have developed.
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?
In all honesty, starting my preschool business was harder than it probably needed to be.
I was filled with confidence starting my preschool business because I knew my passion for kids was well known in my community; however, leaving my public classroom was mentally harder than I was prepared for.
As I was setting up the legal business things and getting started, my brain was a bit fuzzy (from mental strain) which made it a bit harder to get through everything. I had some new healing I had uncovered.
It was still difficult to visit the school I had been at for the previous 10 years and hear my name called out from previous students. Plus I was figuring out a new curriculum and learning about age development and behaviors.
It was not easy to start over with curriculum and teaching supplies nor to develop a program that provided everything I wanted, but it was worth it!
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
The focus for my preschool has been developing their schema! The more background knowledge in life kids have, the more they can pull from that in their learning as they grow up. With this knowledge, my preschool is designed to give the kids as much exposure as possible. We have academic, creative and social opportunities in class. We also go on a variety of field trips and do community service events. We have two programs a year to showcase what we are learning, but also to give the kids an opportunity to develop confidence in being in front of people.
Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
I don’t think I’d say there has been luck in growing my business, but instead blessings from my community. Through word of mouth, my business has been lucky to continue to fill spots and be apart of the community.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/brightstart_4kids and www.instagram.com/youcan_callmejess
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brightstartwithjess/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessica-sheffield-07248a34b
