Weekly reflection #1
During my first week in practicum, I felt a little bit nervous and wasn’t sure what my role was in this space of how to make myself helpful, especially on the first day. Because of this, I spent much of my time stepping back and observing. I found this to be very beneficial to my learning as I was able to watch how the educators interacted with the children, dealt with conflicts, and completed the tasks they had to complete. Through this, I learned the routine of how they did transitions from inside to outside, set up for lunch and snack times, and set up materials for the children. During this week, I also introduced myself to the children and started making connections with them so that they could feel comfortable with me being in their space. I made sure to take the time to engage with each child and explain to them who i am and why i was there.
Weekly reflection #2
During my second week in practicum, I focused on practicing what I had observed the educators doing in the previous week when working with the children. I practiced communicating with the children in ways similar to how the educators did and following the routines of the 3-5 room. During this week, I noticed children beginning to feel more comfortable with me as they asked me more questions, asked me to do activities with them, hold their hands, and even rub their backs at nap time. This felt rewarding as one of my main goals is to make all children feel safe and welcome when I am around, and not be intimidated by me. Since I had the chance to observe the educators’ daily routines in the room for a few days, I began helping out with these routines where I saw fit, such as setting up chairs for snack and lunch or sweeping and cleaning tables after lunchtime. During this week, our center was put into a complete lockdown, which was a very unexpected and scary experience. We had to move quickly to move the children, some of whom were still napping, into their safe spot and keep 19 children quiet for about 15 minutes until we were told it was safe to leave. Although this experience was unexpected and scary, I am grateful for it now, as it was a real-life scenario that I got to learn from.
Weekly reflection #3
My third week of practicum was when I really began to feel comfortable in my role as a practicum student, and when I was most helpful to the educators and children. This week, I noticed that some of the children had begun to take a real liking to me, and some were even excited to see me. Some children even made me things such as bead necklaces or drawings. This week, I also started having more meaningful conversations with other educators and got to know them a little better, which deepened my sense of belonging when I came into their center. During this week, I noticed myself constantly engaging with the children through hands-on play and really stepping out of the observational role. This was when I really began to see my future as an educator, as I started taking on some of the roles educators have and could envision myself doing this job once I am finished with this program. During this week, the second-year practicum student Ray started her practicum. It was really nice to have another practicum student in the 3-5 room with me, and meeting her and talking about our practicum experiences was constructive, as she was able to give me advice and encouragement.