Personal Narrative: Early Childhood Children

My whole life I felt love, but never like the love I experienced three years when I walked in the Lawrence County Developmental Center. The LCDC is the special needs program for the student of East Lawrence and I was chosen to be an aide my sophomore year. Most of the kids could not speak, if they could speak they still had problems communicating. I felt like I had walked into a totally different world, and that made me want to spend every free moment in the LCDC. My three years with those kids taught me the most incredible lesson: your life is what you make it.

Little by little, children finish their meals and get ready for naptime. The children dump the remainder of their milk in the same sink where they wash their hands. Slowly children go lie down on their own. One of the TSS’s turns off the lights on that side of the room. Kayla puts on a rest time cd and goes to start cleaning up the kitchen. I ask what kind of music is playing but Kayla is not sure. Alyssa gets blankets for any children who need them. Kayla tells her the children only get their blanket if they are settled down. Seeing the children start to fall asleep I get ready to leave. Saying goodbye to Kayla and Alyssa, thanking them for their time.

In August of 2008, I went to Eureka Community Nursery School. The very first day of school for me, now it would be as easy as counting to three.

My experiences working with children officially began in 2012 when I started working for One of A Kind Progressive Early Education. I worked with children of all ages, primarily toddlers and preschoolers. While working at One of A Kind, I assisted the lead teachers as much as possible. I helped develop daily routines of activities, lesson plans, nap, and toilet-training times that seemed most effective for the students. I worked with parents during pick up and drop off times to make sure they were happy with the schedule and care their child was receiving. I was in charge of maintaining a safe environment for the students at One of A Kind.

Maybe I was too little, or maybe I was too short, but either way I did not make the jump. In the second grade I was your average eight year old, who always wore her hair in ponytails, and enjoyed playing tag at recess. One day I saw the fifth

INFANCY: Birth to 18 months During the second trimester is when my mother Donna, found out that she was pregnant with me. One morning she got out of the bed doing her normal routine and went to use the restroom where she then passed out on the bathroom floor. My father Patrick, rushed her to Florida memorial hospital in Miami dade county. She said that she woke up and Dr. Joeseph walked into the room, and told her that she was dehydrated and not getting taking in enough iron. Dr. Joseph then proceeded to include, as he handed her an ultra sound picture that she was thirteen weeks pregnant with me. She was in shock, because she said that she always knew when she was pregnant from having two pregancies prior to me there was always a sign but this time it wasn't because she was still having a menstral cycle.

When I was just 4 years old I went to Funtastik Preschool and Daycare. I went there for an entire year. It was a very fun school. Usually in the mornings I would get dropped off with all the other kids and all the kids would get to play inside with toys. Then we would have breakfast. After breakfast we went outside and played on the playground. After the playground we went inside to have a nap. Most of the time after a nap we would go and watch a movie on the carpet. Then we would go outside once again. At the end of the day we would go back on the carpet and watch another movie and wait for our parents to arrive to pick us up.

I remember that day as if it were yesterday, the day I had to testify against my real father. There I was, so young and scared, all eyes were on me making me even more nervous than I already was. I just wanted to back down and run away, but I knew that was not the right thing to do. I had to be strong and face my fears because that is the only way things will get better. I made sure to keep in the back of my mind that this would be the biggest thing I would ever have to do. If I did, everything else would be like a little bump in the road, nothing I can't handle. This event was one that started my transition from childhood to adulthood.

Every day at school working with kindergarten children filled with lesson’s around the student’s interest, passions, and abilities. We as educators recognize when our student is falling behind in learning, so with taking advantage of every teachable moment imagine how far the student could go in this world. In my eleven years working with kindergarten children, I have had experience working children with ADHD. They run around or climb, have trouble paying attention to a task for more than a few minutes, not seem to listen when spoken to, and easily distracted, and don’t follow instructions no matter how clearly you present them.

Different people have different opinions on working with children. I have had generally decent experiences with children. Although, some other people may have had one or two bad experiences small kids. I have hopeful expectations going into the service-learning project. I hope to connect with the children I will be working with and teach them about the bones and how imaging equipment works. But, small kids have a tendency to want their way with many situations, and it could be hard to deal with sometimes. I hope to have a pleasant experience with the children and have everything go well with no issues.

Like many people everyone wants to find their calling and figure out where they belong. My parents moved to the United States risking their lives on a boat from Haiti but soon separated while in america . My mom did a great job raising four kids on her own and I being the second child took part in raising my two younger siblings. In elementary school I struggled in many subjects but excelled in art, when I finally learned to read and went to middle school my grades were high enough to have honors reading and social study classes and even apa classes in highschool. I continued to excel in a lot of my classes, turns out I was smarter than I thought and all I need to do was learn to read and have people who took the time to teach me.

When decorating my friend's nursery, I would want to focus on nurturing the growing senses of the newborn. Although a newborn’s vision is not at full capacity, their visual acuity starts improving soon after. By 2-3 months, infants are able to recognize patterns and faces; and are able to discriminate colors by around 4 months. This would inspire me to paint an accent wall with a pattern of the mother's preference, in bold colors that shade to a lighter color. I would add faces of animals and add pictures of the parents, possibly other siblings as accents in picture frames. A mobile is a must, as infants enjoy watching movement.

During my initial meet with the 3-year-olds, I felt like a celebrity as the children swarmed in to catch ahold of my attention. I was bombarded with many hugs of sorts and lingering eyes filled with a sense of curiosity. There was one child, in particular, that caught my immediate attention. Her name is J, a 3-year-old child that was filled with energy and radiance. Though, many of her peers exhibited those traits as well. However, J was seemingly more complex to analyze in accordance to the developmental standards of her age group, in which triggered my peculiar interest. J was often quick, persistent, and took initiative when answering questions that I presented to the crowd to resolve. These questions pertained to Disney characters that

This semester, I was honored to be placed in Mrs. Dellinger’s kindergarten classroom at Amboy Elementary, in North Little Rock. I explained to Mrs. Dellinger my modification assignment. She immediately suggested I work with a student named Julian. Julian is a young boy that is an English language learner, Spanish being his first. Julian came into kindergarten not knowing any letter names, letter sounds, or sight words. Julian is in one of the lowest reading groups in class. While observing Julian in class, I noticed that he writes his entire first name backwards, starting from right to left. Julian rarely participates in classroom discussions, carpet time, or sing-a-longs. For the most part, Julian sits quietly throughout the day. Julian can speak some English; however, he struggles communicating with others. Unfortunately, for Julian, he is technically behind on the very first day of kindergarten, which is actually very sad for him, since it is only the beginning of his academic career.

I've only recently begun to think about just how fortunate I am to have grown up in Dalton, Massachusetts. My spacious, comfortable home is in the middle of the Berkshire Hills. I am accustomed to a world of stunning beauty, economic prosperity, and friendly neighbors. Children learn and play in safety and security. Doors are rarely locked. Streets, schools, and playgrounds are well maintained. I never think twice about taking a walk through the neighborhood, even at night. Strangers greet me with a smile and a friendly “hello.” These are things I've always taken for granted, and a week long trip changed all that.