Preschool Teacher Theresa Suplee Loves Her Job at Joyful Noise

By Lauren Rose Correa, February 20, 2025

In addition to being a preschool teacher, Theresa Suplee is a wife and mother, happily married to her husband of 35 years. Together they have three children and now, four grandchildren – with a fifth on the way! She’s very involved in children’s ministries, including Vacation Bible School, and she loves to read and work on puzzles in her spare time.

Theresa works at Joyful Noise Christian School. She’s been a preschool teacher there for 20 years. “It’s the job I went to after being home for 16 years with my kids.” She loves her job for many reasons, but especially for the opportunity to influence young lives and the ability to have work-life balance, since the job is part-time.

I sat down with Theresa and chatted with her about what her day looks like, what she most enjoys about being a preschool teacher, and much more.

Q: Walk me through a typical day with you on the job.

I am one of the openers of the school. Around 6:30am, I head in and open the building and turn on all the lights. School opens at 6:45am, so I set up what needs to be set up in my own classroom, and then as the kids start coming in downstairs, I’m the one who greets them until 8:15am. [This involves] meeting the parents and hugging the criers.

At 8:15am, I take my kids, which are the pre-kindergarten kids, up to our classroom, and they have some free play. Then we gather together for morning circle and Bible time. [We also have] an academic time and lots of music, lots of movement. Once my teaching morning is over, I’m done at 1pm.

Q: What is the biggest challenge that comes along with your job and how do you tackle this challenge?

My challenges [as a preschool teacher] are just meeting the needs of the kids. I make sure that they have the attention that they need. I make sure that I’m focusing on what’s important to them.

[Because it’s pre-kindergarten, some kids have been in preschool now for three years, and some kids [are in] their first year. [I need to] challenge the ones that are ready for the challenge without making the other kids feel like they’re missing something. I don’t like do a lot of individual challenges. [They are] something I’ll present to the whole class. They can answer as a group, so I can see the ones that are really getting it, and I can see the ones that don’t [without singling them out].

[Another important aspect of teaching] is loving all the kids. I pray every year for a love for the kids, and God gives it to me every year.

Q: What is your favorite aspect of your job?

The kids! [I enjoy] getting to greet them each morning. Every day is a clean slate. Whatever happened yesterday, today’s a brand-new day. And [I love] the relationships that I get to form with the families, because for some of these families, I’m teaching their second child, their third child, their fourth child. The families become my friends, and there are just great relationships that are formed – and I love that. I love the family feel of our school

[I also enjoy] seeing when that light goes on for a child. [Perhaps] they’ve been struggling to write their name, and now all of a sudden, they can write that one letter that they’ve really been struggling with. They’re just so excited that they learned how to write an “E”, because they’ve worked hard get there. I love the kids. I love to celebrate the kids.

Q: What advice would you give to someone else looking to step into the same vocation as you?

It always has to be about the kids. No matter what is going on personally, no matter what kind of day I’ve had, no matter what I’m thinking or feeling, the focus has to be on the kids. You have to give them an upbeat, positive day no matter what. [This] is good in a way, because a lot of times that you forget what you’re worried about. [You have to give] them the safe, secure, and happy environment that they’re deserving of. It’s not about you, it’s about them.

[It’s also important to be] able to laugh at myself and laugh with the kids. I do think it’s a career that will bring more joy and laughter than any other career out there, because every day is funny.

Q: What qualities about you do you believe help you to do your job well?

I think my love for music [is important], because we’re [listening to] music all day long. Also, I enjoy people, and I don’t sweat the small stuff. [It’s important to remember] that it’s preschool, and I’m not looking for perfection from the kids. I can be spontaneous, and I don’t have to be rigid and locked in [if my plans for the day don’t pan out]. I think being a mom and being a Mimi helps me. You look at a child and ask, “How would I want [my child] to be treated right now? If [my child] came showing her teacher this picture, how would I want the teacher to respond to that?”

Q: How has your walk with the Lord influenced your career choices?

I pray a lot, and I pray specifically for the kids and their families. I had a little girl who, if her mother didn’t pack her fork, it didn’t matter that I could give her a fork. If her mother didn’t pack it, there was a meltdown. On my way to work, I would be praying, “Lord Jesus, please let her mother remember to pack her fork.” I pray for little, specific things to make their day go as smoothly as possible. [I also love being able to say to families,] “I’m going to pray for you,” and then to follow up with them.

When the kids leave Joyful Noise, half of them won’t even remember me. They’re not going to remember that I taught them the letter “A”. I always say that I want them to remember that God always loves them and that the Bible is always true. Maybe someday, when they are faced with something, those two truths will come back to them. They might even not even realize the seed was planted at Joyful Noise.

Q: How do you balance your career with your personal life?

It’s funny to me that you called it a career, because I don’t even feel like it’s a career. My job is so fun! It is part-time, and the schedule has worked for our family. My hours have always worked so that I could take [my kids] to school. I could pick them up from school. I could get to any game, even if it was away.

I’m done my day at 1pm. It has allowed me to be able to food shop or run an errand before picking up the kids. On Fridays, we can just get on the road to Ohio [to visit my kids]. It’s not an all-consuming job. I think my family has benefited from it.

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