We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Bri Johnson. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Bri below.
Bri, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s start with education – we’d love to hear your thoughts about how we can better prepare students for a more fulfilling life and career
Before starting The Little Red Barn Preschool I taught kindergarten in public schools. As a kindergarten teacher, I saw play disappear from the classroom and get replaced with “rigorous instruction”. However, the more instruction we added the more negative behaviors increased. There is a disconnect in education between what we expect from children (standards) and what children can actually accomplish (brain development). Currently, we do not involve psychologists in the writing of educational standards. Thus, what we are expecting from children is not always in line with their development. If I could change anything about the education system it would be involving psychologists in the writing and implementing of educational standards so that we are meeting children at their developmental stage and setting them up for success. Also, keeping play in early childhood education. Children learn through play at a young age, research has proven this over and over again. Yet we continue to see play as a hobby and not a learning tool. By incorporating more play we are setting our children up for success in their future.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
Before starting The Little Red Barn I was a kindergarten teacher. When I had my first daughter I struggled with dropping her off at daycare every day while I taught other people’s children. I spent a lot of time thinking of how I could be with my own child while still continuing my love for teaching. I knew I didn’t want to do traditional daycare so I spent a lot of time researching other options. This is when I came across the nature preschool collaborative in Duluth, MN. I connected with some of the teachers from there and got a lot of tips and advice on starting my own preschool. Along the way, I decided to incorporate my love of animals into my program and create a farm-based preschool. In college, I was interested in becoming an occupational therapist and using animals in therapy. Instead, I am using animals to teach children important skills like responsibility, empathy, and patience.
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
Word of mouth is huge. I live in a smaller town outside of St Paul, MN and word gets around about new small businesses. My first year was obviously hard because I didn’t have any previous families to share their experiences at my preschool. However, as time went on and I had children attend word began to get around town. Asking parents to share their experience at The Little Red Barn, whether it be through writing a review on my Facebook page, or commenting on a local group asking for preschool recommendations has been the biggest way of building my reputation. People really value honest personal experiences.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
As a traditionally trained teacher, I had a lot of unlearning to do when starting a play-based preschool. There are still many times I get the urge to plan more parts of the day and have more teacher-led activities. However, I always go back to research and some of the leading child psychologists to remind myself how important unstructured play is for early childhood education. I do get parents occasionally who come to tour and care about curriculum and teacher led activities and that reminds me that my model of education is not for every child and every family and that is ok.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.thelittleredbarnpreschool.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thelittleredbarnpreschool/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thelittleredbarnpreschool
Image Credits
Hannah Mae Photography