The Early Years I have been taking care of and working with children of all ages for over 16 years. I have served as a baby-sitter and nanny for many different families, starting when I was 11 years old and continuing into present day. I completed my undergrad degree in English, with a minor in Education, at Hobart and William Smith Colleges in 2005. One of the reasons I chose Hobart and William Smith was their highly regarded education program and the ability to still study abroad while taking part in the program. Over my four years as an undergrad, I got to send various amounts of time in a 1st, 2nd, and 5th grade classroom, including a 10 week internship of sorts during my time in New Zealand. During my semester abroad I spent two days a week in the equivalent of a 4th and 5th grade classroom in Auckland, NZ (in New Zealand children enter school on their 5th birthday, so ages can vary greatly for each class year). After spending my last semester as an undergrad completing my student teaching requirement in a 5th grade classroom, I decided I wanted to focus more on the younger age group. I took a job as an Assistant Teacher at Smith College's Center for Early Childhood Education at Fort Hill. I worked with an experienced team of two other lead teachers in a mixed age classroom of 3-5 year olds. Over the course of the year we did units on families, spiders, robots and I created m own reading groups. These groups consisted of 3-6 children and we would leave the classroom to find a quiet space where I would read aloud picture books or Magic Tree House books and children would have discussions and draw pictures about what we had heard. I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Fort Hill but decided I needed a change of location when the school year was over. |
The Last Five Years In 2003 I began working at Brewster Day Camp, a moderately sized day camp in Brewster, Massachusetts. The camp includes programs for children ranging in age from 8 months to 15 years. I spent 7 years working at BDC! I spent my first three years as a counselor for 8 and 9 year old girls. After that I took on the role of Hill Head, or senior staff member, in charge of the 7-9 year old campers. I spent three years in that role, during which time I moved to Boston. In Boston I took a job as an Assistant Teacher at My Gym Children's Fitness Center. After one year of on the job training to become a lead teacher, I was promoted to Assistant Director. After a year, I was promoted again to Co-Director. This role included not only leading birthday parties and beginning gymnastics and movement classes for children ages 3 months to 8 years, but also handling transactions with clients, leading staff meetings and being responsible for the overall state of the business. I worked at My Gym in a full-time capacity until April of 2010 when I got accepted to Lesley University's Early Education Master's Program. I now lead birthday parties at the gym on an as needed basis and I love being able to work with young children in such a fun, active and encouraging environment! I am about half way through my coursework towards my Master's Degree and Massachusetts Certification for Prek-2. My courses have included titles such as Developmental Learning, Young Children with Special Needs and Families, Societies and Schools. |
What I Hope to Do Next Starting this fall I will be a 1:1 aide for a 6 year old girl in a kindergarten classroom. I hope this opportunity will provide me with more experience on how to support a child with special needs in an inclusive classroom environment. It will also give me experience working with 5 and 6 year olds in a kindergarten classroom, a grade I have not had the pleasure of working in yet. Upon completing my degree at Lesley I hope to obtain a teaching job where I am a co-teacher or a lead teacher in a Preschool or PreK classroom. My passion lies with teaching young children the basic skills they need in order to grow as a successful older child and person. Play is an essential element in a young child's life and I hope to incorporate a lot of open-ended and structured play in the classroom I create. I look forward to working with young children for many years to come! |