Week #13

WOW one week left! Where has the time gone? I feel like we are finally making progress and building meaningful relationships with both the children and their families and I can honestly say I am going to miss seeing them each week. In the beginning it felt like we had a lot of time with the children and today I was reminded of how short this experience really is; I wish the program ran longer each week. The children arrived eager and ready to participate and I noticed that little validation and communication was needed by the children from their parents. It was a true testament that the children are comfortable with the students and feel safe in the program. The children’s personalities are shining through and they aren’t afraid to show off their sillies and to really engage in the activities we provide. Having the opportunity to run a program such as this is truly a wonderful experience and opportunity that I believe has helped to prepare me for my future in the field.

We were short a lot of students today which presented a few challenges, but I feel like together we planned a great day. All the absent students were the ones creating provocations, so we had to come up with some last minute and I believe on the spot we really showed our creativity. The hardest challenge I faced today was keeping all the children busy. At one point I was sitting at the snack table watching the children eat. Some other children went to run behind the piers towards their parents. I knew their parents were there as well as a faculty member, so I made the decision to stay with the children eating; they were eating grapes and that makes me nervous. I believe that was an area of growth for many of us to have the ability to watch and keep multiple children safe. Again, a learning experience. When venturing outside today we hadn’t prepared as it was a last-minute decision to go out. Robbie and I had planned a scavenger hunt and the children showed very little interest to participate. Charlie, Conner, Emmett, and I went over to examine the melted snowman that we had built the week before. There was one small chunk left over and Charlie and Conner started to kick at it trying to break through. I gave them each a stick to help dig until they final broke through. Conner reached his hand and grabbed Charlie’s hand, “I got him” he said in excitement. The two boys continued to reach through and crouch down and peak at each other letting out full belly laughs. Conner then experimented with adding the snow back in and filling the hole just to dig it back out again. It was a great observation to see them explore a previous experience and create a new one with little to nothing left to work with.

We have such a great bunch of children and families within our program and I do wish this experience would carry on. However, it is bittersweet as the ending means we are one step closer to finishing our degree and venturing out to creating relationships with our own children. It’s surreal to look back at the beginning of this journey and all the fears and uncertainty that I had. Fast forward and I feel comfortable to enter the work force and begin an even bigger journey.