Education plays a key role in safeguarding the well-being of refugee children but providing high-quality educational experiences to the approximately 500,000 Syrian school aged children living in Lebanon is an unprecedented challenge. This exploratory case-study utilizes phenomenological interviews to explore the lived-experiences and perceptions of two Syrian refugees, working as teachers of Syrian refugee children in a Non-Formal Education (NFE) program in Lebanon. Both our research participants developed perceptions of NFE, in line with current emergency education best practices, based upon in-service training and lived experience only. We conclude that in-service training combined with an appreciation of refugee lived experience can provide a powerful model for creating effective emergency education programs. We propose that Lebanon take steps to capacity build existing NFE programs, by providing a pathway to accreditation, to help incentivize educational improvements, while maintaining the unique benefits of these programs.