A Reflection on Service Learning: Working at Easter Seals Child Care

Throughout this experience i learned more about myself than i thought possible. But during the volunteer hours that i performed, i completely broke out of my quiet shell. When i started my journey off at a children's sports and adventure camp, it helped me to become a leader, as well as a facilitator. I had to organize, and instruct activities daily. This helped me to become a problem solver as well as a communicator beause of the fact that in dealing with children, youll always run into some delema that youll have to deal with.

However, the ladies that I worked alongside helped ease me into comfort, as well as having some adorable children under my care. And while it was something completely new to me, I enjoyed adjusting to the new situation and loved every minute of it. I played with this one little girl named Abbie that would run up the stairs and back down it repetitively and none of the other volunteers were willing to keep up with her. The excitement radiated from her face when she saw that I was willing to run/jog alongside her. It was definitely a great

As I prepare to serve at kids connection I have a few set goals for myself to get the best out of the experience. I plan to fully commit and not just go there because I have to. I want to interact and build relationships with the children. I hope to find the children's interests out, so I can participate and do activities with them. By doing this I hope to learn about them and start building a trusting relationship with them. This is my plan as I am going in, but I know when dealing with children nothing goes as planned. I am going to be ready to adjust to whatever happens, but I am excited to help out with the children. All in all I believe this is a good opportunity to interact with children and learn how each individual is unique in their own way.

I have always loved working with children. My first job was at Ellison Youth Inc. summer camp and I was a counselor. I interacted with campers between the ages of six through ten. Based on the managers observed she offered me a position during the school year with the after school program. Any environment I’m in I always seem to gravitate towards children and this is when I learned that working with children was my passion. Prior to this time I had no idea this was my passion I knew I just knew I enjoyed working with kids. There was always a sense of self-gratification. So when I found out I was pregnant I was in for a treat.

I have to admit I was a little nervous before I went volunteer at New Hope Tulsa. When I was nineteen I spent the summer working as a school age child care worker, in a neighborhood where many of the children were at-risk youth. I remember crying every night before bed because I did not want to go to work the next day. They treated me so badly and did not listen at all. It was very stressful to me and I did not know how to handle it. As apprehensive as I was to start volunteering, I was also excited. Yes, in the past I had a hard time, but I’ve also grown and learned so much since then. It was also helpfully that New Hope provided such an extensive orientation and trained on many aspects, including effective discipline. So, by the time I spent

There have been two major opportunities that have shaped and impacted me: serving with Calvary Kids Care and watching a girl’s cabin on Thursday nights at Camp Brookwoods and Deer Run. I started volunteering with Calvary Kids Care my freshman year in high school. The first time that I ever held a baby, I was terrified. I had no idea if I was holding her correctly, or if I looked as uncomfortable on the outside as I felt on the inside. The little ball of life that I held in my hands kept trying to snuggle closer, but I held the baby away from me, afraid that I would crush it if I let it get too close. This first experience led to many, and thus my partnership with Calvary Kids Care was formed. I started to work with the kids, mainly newborns

Walking nervously into my first day of working at Westfield Child Center was a defining moment that ultimately impacted my life in a way in which it would never go back to the way it once was. I can clearly remember it was a place filled with children’s excitement and staff who seemed to be a part of their own family. Everyone was extremely friendly and greeted me with open arms, however, it still did not diminish my feeling of ostracism. Whenever anyone enters a new setting, it is normal to feel excluded immediately. These feelings are natural and expected due to the lack of knowledge we have on the people in general, how the facility itself is run, and learning our place to fit into their little community. As time progressed, I found this place to be very

When I first starting working with underprivileged kids my first instinct was not the best. I thought the kids would be rude and they all smelt bad which made me not want to be around them. I remember my first time at the camp and I wasted the majority of my time being too scared of the kids or even

Due to a lack of orientation to volunteers about specific safety procedures to take with children, I had one of the scariest moments of my life. On that day, I encountered a new mother, which I will call Stella. She had two kids: a one and a half year old toddler and a five-month-old boy. The baby, ‘Miley’, was so loveable and instantly cherished by the volunteers. Another volunteer and I asked Stella if we could take her outside to play with the other children. She said okay, went to get her shoes, and put them on her. It was two volunteers and four kids (from five – ten) outside

Throughout the years I feel that I’ve had a number of valuable experiences, my most significant experience is my volunteering experience at Children’s Hospital Colorado. I still remember feeling utterly terrified on my first day volunteering, pondering all the possible ways things could go wrong. I suddenly felt as though I have never experienced this before. I was on my own, responsible for myself and all of my actions.

When I was in this program, I found that working with these young children was very rewarding. It was rewarding to me because I felt like I had a positive influence on them and their education. It made me happy to know that I was going to leave a mark on them and potentially help them flourish into a wonderful, well-rounded adult. Some of the challenges that I faced when working with these young children was communicating with them and their parents. Sometimes, the parents would get upset and wonder why we are

They could not pronounce my name let alone grasp who I was and become comfortable with me. Even so, as time passed and I developed my relationships with then, the kids began to share more than just their issues with the work. They shared their whole weeks with me. This comfortability played a role in my experience of ministry of presence with Daisy and another girl

First of all, I am thanking you for considering me to be apart of your childcare team. I have a wonderful and charming personality and energy for children. And most importantly, every child that I have personally been with no matter how sweet and naughty they are I can get them to be the best child. In the summer of my sophomore year I have already personally worked at a childcare as a teenage volunteer four to five days a week and I have always gotten great feedbacks from parents. I have also interned at an elementary school for two weeks as a teacher’s assistant for a first grade class after those two weeks I would still visit the children’s sometimes and all of them they loved. And for the last five years I have been apart of my church’s

Baby-sitting is the experience that a lot of here have in common. A lot of the times, we don’t realize how much of an impact baby-sitting can have on our outlook on life. As a young girl, I always knew that I wanted to work with children. As I grew older and progressed more in my career working with adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, I realized that it was it was time to make that flip and work with children with intellectual and developmental disabilities. My cousin is in the process of opening a shelter for battered children, and once I obtain my degree, I plan to go work for her. Dealing with children can sometimes be overwhelming, but I feel that with everything we’re going to learn in this class, we’ll do just fine

I grew up loving children of all ages and wanting to be a caregiver. I was the baby sitter and nanny to the neighborhood and my church ward. When I was in High School’s it was no surprise to anyone that I chose to work in the school’s child care center. I continued working with children at several child care centers until I went to school.