Make me a teacher

I have finally committed to becoming a teacher. My husband told me to just do what I love and not worry about the money. With that I turned in my resume' to the director of the Parent's Day Out (PDO) program that my son attends at a local church. I said that I was available if they ever needed a substitue and sure enough they did. I've been working with two-year-olds and pretty much on a regular basis. It really gives me a great glimpse into managing a classroom. I'm learning a lot of fundamental lessons that I'd have to waste a lot of time and money to get to if I decided to wait and go the traditional teacher education route. Don't get me wrong, I know I still need to obtain more education. I am just deciding which will be the best route for me. There is more than one way to skin a cat you know (who in the world came up with that anyway....ewwwwww). I met with a counselor for the College of Education at Louisiana State University (where I got my Poli Sci degree) and learned after a degree audit that it would take me approximately 3 more years of college going the traditional route. The counselor also told me I could do one of the many available alternative certification programs. These are full-time summer programs. At this time, neither of those are going to work for me. I need something in line with my life at the moment. The PDO program is a pretty sweet deal. My son goes Monday-Thursday from 9-2 with all school holidays off (including Summer) so I'm already on a regular teacher's schedule. I think I'd like to look into an online program. I just don't want to waste my time on fulfilling educational "requirements" that I do not feel are pertinent to my real-life educational needs. I need to know about learning styles, dealing with difficult children, age-appropriate activities, classroom management...that kind of thing. Not college algebra, geology or calculus. I put my time in already for those (as I feel) money-wasting collge courses