Author: Nan'an Village Kindergarten Teacher Zhang Dexiu

Nice to meet you all in this way!

I am a grassroots early childhood educator from the Jingdong project, 28 years old, currently serving as the lead teacher at Nan'an Village Kindergarten. I have been in the education field for only a short time—just one semester—during which I've taught 19 children. My class is mixed-age, and the children's situations are relatively complex, yet every day we live, learn, and play together.

Personal life photo

When it comes to entering the field of early childhood education, it was actually quite accidental. On an ordinary Friday, I went to pick up my niece and nephew from elementary school, and several teachers noticed me. After a few conversations, I happened to learn that the school was looking for a preschool teacher—so I had the opportunity to join the world of early childhood education.

At first, I was hesitant, unsure if I could handle this job that requires immense patience. But Principal Wang's invitation really appealed to me. The teachers also mentioned that the school has a professional preschool teacher who is temporarily teaching elementary grades and can't manage the kindergarten class at the same time, which made me feel somewhat more at ease.

And so, I stepped through the school gates, driven by curiosity and a desire to explore, opening the door to a new chapter of my education.

The place where I began my journey in early childhood education

I didn't graduate with a degree in early childhood education, so this job has been full of challenges. At the beginning, I felt anxious and uncertain, worried about whether the children would accept me as a new teacher who had just arrived. On my first day standing before them, I was genuinely nervous—my decision to take the job came suddenly, leaving me feeling rushed and unprepared. But as I began communicating more with them, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the children were even more innocent and adorable than I had imagined.

At the beginning, I felt anxious and uncertain about how to connect with the children. I was also worried whether they would accept me as a new teacher who had just arrived. To be honest, even though I was facing a group of young kids, I still felt nervous the moment I stepped into the classroom and stood before them. The decision to join had come suddenly, and my start was rushed—I hadn't fully prepared myself, leaving me feeling somewhat overwhelmed and unready. But as I began communicating more with the children, I was pleasantly surprised to find that it wasn't as difficult as I'd imagined. In fact, they were even more innocent and adorable than I expected.

Each morning after that, accompanied by birdsong and the sound of bells, I looked forward to sparking new moments with the children. Days passed one by one.

The nail art my kids did for me

Before I knew it, mid-semester had arrived, and my relationship with the children grew unexpectedly wonderful. Every day, someone would knock on my dorm door—either a mischievous little one coming to "report" or a sweet voice calling out: "Teacher, play with us!" "Teacher, help me braid my hair..." They'd even pull my hand and give me beautiful "nail art." In these small, everyday moments, our closeness became evident—they seemed to have started falling a little in love with me.

Every time I return from training, as soon as I step through the school gate, I see little faces rushing out to greet me. At that moment, my happiness simply overflows. By the end of the semester, I’ve grown so close with nearly every child in class that they confide in me all sorts of little secrets—each one a sweet, thoughtful little comforter. In the kindergarten, I feel their boundless love, and I, too, have become hopelessly fond of them.

Of course, educational life isn't all sunshine and roses. There are constant challenges—exposing one's own shortcomings, difficulties in home-school collaboration, children's natural mischievousness—and a host of other headaches that keep arising. Once during class, I suddenly hit a wall: my teaching methods were monotonous and lacked creativity. Fortunately, at just the right moment, HUAMANAI provided timely support.

One day in class, I suddenly realized I had hit a bottleneck. My teaching methods had become narrow and monotonous, lacking creativity, and I urgently needed to learn and adopt new educational approaches. Fortunately, at just the right time, the "Himalei People-to-People International Movement Federation" provided me with timely support.Just at that moment, the "Humen International Movement for People to People" provided me with timely assistance.

Attending the training was highly rewarding.

Due to the limited time available for my school's early childhood education major, I got my first opportunity to participate in early childhood teacher training. Mr. Yang Shao-kui, the project coordinator of ChildFund Jingdong, took us to observe a county kindergarten, allowing me to experience firsthand what a real kindergarten is like and helping me understand the direction I should strive toward.

The four-day training organized by Camfed in Kunming during the summer vacation was highly beneficial to me. Particularly the section on home-school collaboration provided me with new perspectives and methods for addressing challenges in parent communication.

Kunming training group photo, the warm companionship of the Mutual Love family

Since joining the kindergarten, I am deeply grateful to Principal Wang for giving me the opportunity to enter the early childhood education field, and I am also profoundly thankful to the HUmanA family. At the end of the training in Kunming, the teacher who presented the graduation certificates sang a song titled "Little Grass," saying, "HUmanA is one big family, and we are all members of this family. On this long journey of early childhood education, we are never alone." Those words warmed my heart and filled me with strength.

In the days to come, I will keep striving forward. I firmly believe that with the companionship and support of the mutual love family, my work will become increasingly smooth, enabling me to provide children with better and more professional education, so that our children can grow stronger and healthier.

Let's work together and do my part to spread the "Light of Child Love."

This article represents the views of the author only and is not related to the position of the funding party.