By Hope House Colorado’s Early Learning Teacher, Camryn Nelson
How I got here:
I work as an early learning teacher at Hope House and to me, it is easily the best job here. I say this because I get to work closely with both our beautiful moms and their children. I never would have pictured myself in this job though. Since I was in high school, I thought I wanted to be a therapist. I did not even like kids for the longest time, which I know sounds bad. However, the Lord had other plans for me, thankfully. In college, I started volunteering at my church with the kid’s ministry. I did this just to get involved, but I was worried I wouldn’t have fun with the kids. God quickly started changing my heart and showing me what a gift it is to work with children. When I moved to Denver this past year, I was looking for a job and my roommate recommended that I apply to Hope House. At first, I was very hesitant because I did not know if I was a good fit for the role, but again the Lord had other plans for me. I eventually decided to apply after my roommate kept bothering me about it and now, I am so grateful that I get to work as the early learning teacher at the wonderful place that is Hope House.
The joy of working with kids:
You never quite know what kind of a day you’re going to have when you are in the classroom. At Hope House, some days we have one kiddo in the classroom at a given time and then later that same day we could have nine. We have a large range of ages which makes the classroom dynamic and unexpected! But I love it- I thrive knowing that every day holds something new. Whether it is a kid learning a new skill, or the wildest thing coming out of their mouth; they say the craziest things that make me laugh so hard. It is so cool to observe how quickly their little brains are learning so many new skills at once. They are also just so creative and love to explore. I am thankful that they keep me on my feet because I am not someone who could sit at a desk all day. They are the Lord’s blessing to us, bringing so much laughter to the simple things in life.
My favorite thing to watch the kids learn about is Jesus. Every day I have the opportunity to teach the kids about the God who created them and about how special they are to Him. He is the reason for every blessing in our life and He loves these kids more than I ever could. The Gospel is what changed my life forever. It is an honor to get to teach them this good news: that there is a God who sent His Son to die for us, so that we could be saved and have an eternal life with Him, if we just believe and trust in what He did for us and how much He loves us.
The joy of working with the mamas:
Another unique part about my job is that I also get to spend a lot of time with the kids’ moms. It is fun to learn about the mama who is raising the kiddo I get to work with so closely in the classroom. I notice their similarities, and it helps me understand the child better. The bond that moms and kids have with one another melts my heart. I love the moment when the mom comes to pick up their kiddo and they are greeted by a little munchkin smiling and running up to give them a hug. Pick-up is always a sweet time. Some days I get to spend a lot of time chatting with moms about their kids or even just catching about their life. Often a mom will linger in the classroom longer after she’s done with class, and we get to really go in-depth chatting about the early learning session. It allows time for them to ask questions about child development if they have any or just for me to tell them fun stories from class that day. This is for sure a highlight.
I love my job because I get to watch our amazing kiddos grow, teach them about Jesus and get to know their mamas!
