Personal Narrative: My Field Experience In Early Childhood Education
Introduction
Eileen Kennedy-Moore once wrote, “The path of development is a journey of discovery that is clear only in retrospect, and it’s rarely a straight line.” Although the development to which she is reffering may not be specific, the complexity and sometimes unpredicable nature of children may definitely be summarized by this short quote. As humans, we begin as tiny beings with barely any ability, but, as we grow, we develop into creatures of play and imagination, of right and wrong decisions, and of motivation for the tasks we face in our day-to-day lives. As an Early Childhood Education student, I often have the opportunity to volunteer and to observe a variety of organzations, classrooms, and programs. For this particular class, I was able to analyze a classroom-like environment at the YMCA for children of all ages, and I compared these observations with the appropraite topics of this course.
Field Experience Site
The Athens YMCA is centrally located in the heart of Athens, Georgia, and its main purpose is to serve the local community. It reaches a wide range of diverse people with varying socioeconomic backgrounds, and it offers programs for people of all ages and interests. For my field experience, I worked in the …show more content…
I blended easily with the other employees because most of them were college students as well. When I arrived at 8:00 a.m., the center only served a few children at a time; however, by 10:00 a.m. the room was filled every day to the max capacity (30 students). As a volunteer, I moreso played with the children, kept them on track for any activities that may have occurred, and even read them a story for storytime. Although I was not able to play a huge role amongst the students, I observed a variety of behaviors of both the students and their leaders that easily connected with the topics of this
Eileen Kennedy-Moore once wrote, “The path of development is a journey of discovery that is clear only in retrospect, and it’s rarely a straight line.” Although the development to which she is reffering may not be specific, the complexity and sometimes unpredicable nature of children may definitely be summarized by this short quote. As humans, we begin as tiny beings with barely any ability, but, as we grow, we develop into creatures of play and imagination, of right and wrong decisions, and of motivation for the tasks we face in our day-to-day lives. As an Early Childhood Education student, I often have the opportunity to volunteer and to observe a variety of organzations, classrooms, and programs. For this particular class, I was able to analyze a classroom-like environment at the YMCA for children of all ages, and I compared these observations with the appropraite topics of this course.
Field Experience Site
The Athens YMCA is centrally located in the heart of Athens, Georgia, and its main purpose is to serve the local community. It reaches a wide range of diverse people with varying socioeconomic backgrounds, and it offers programs for people of all ages and interests. For my field experience, I worked in the …show more content…
I blended easily with the other employees because most of them were college students as well. When I arrived at 8:00 a.m., the center only served a few children at a time; however, by 10:00 a.m. the room was filled every day to the max capacity (30 students). As a volunteer, I moreso played with the children, kept them on track for any activities that may have occurred, and even read them a story for storytime. Although I was not able to play a huge role amongst the students, I observed a variety of behaviors of both the students and their leaders that easily connected with the topics of this