LINK Blog
Final Reflection
Well LINK is done. . . I find it so rewarding, but still surreal. Ive spent my entire time at Animas thinking about LINK, looking forward to it and dreaming, but now I no longer have it in the back of my mind. I'm happy that I've passed this rite of passage as an Animas student, but I am going to really mis those kids. As I walked out of the classroom door, I watched the little hands wave as me, and heard the giggles. I told myself that I love these children. Yes the work was hard, at that age you had to keep your eyes on them at all times, but I have found something that makes me very happy. I miss their cuddles and hugs and especially their individual personalities. For the short three weeks I was there I saw them grow so much. The first day there one of the little baby boys couldn't walk and the day I left he stood up himself and waddled straight to me. I wonder how much they've grown since then. . .
Saturday March 19, 2016
This has been proven as a difficult week for me as I've had to balance some issues in my personal life, along with my professional work. At the beginning of the week, it came to my attention my stepfathers sister, Kelly's health was declining due to complication of leukemia. This came as big shock to us, as she was finally recovering from her battle and gaining her life back. Progressively her health got much worse and on Wednesday they told us she didn't have much more left in her, and by Thursday night, the world lost another amazing soul to cancer. Coming in in the mornings proved to be stressful as I needed to be updated on her condition, but couldn't have my phone on me. My emotions were running high and I once found myself in tears, but I believe the giggles and smiles of the babies helped me get through the beginning stages of grief. I spent this week again with the 10-18 months group. I got more handprint caterpillars done and am forming relationships with both the kids and other adults. The three other women that I am working with in this room are amazing people. They are understanding, kind, powerful and joys to be with. I could not have a better group of people to help me through this journey. They are super encouraging and helpful, which what was I was anxious about in the beginning. Everyone in the entire center is so polite, helpful and treats me like an adult. The entire center is filled with amazing, passionate people who care deeply about these children and their well being. It inspires me to care even more about making the best place for these children. The kids are just getting better and better. They are so much fun to be with. My favorite things to do with them are feeding them (babies eat really cute and funnily) playing and rocking them to sleep. My hands have become incredibly dry from constantly washing both my hands and the kids and have learned some amazing tricks from my coworkers. After I come back after a emergency trip to Texas to pay my respects I am looking forward to spending my days with these little cuddle buddies and make a small impact on them!
Saturday March 12, 2016
It has been a crazy, but rewarding week for me! I toured each class room and found myself the most comfortable with the second youngest and the oldest group of kids. Tasks that I do daily are usually helping serve food, help the youngest wash their hands (a lot), reading out loud and playing with the kids while keeping track of their behavior. These kids are the greatest. They are all generally well behaved, smart, beautiful and hilarious. It has been amazing to see even the youngest shine and show me their personalities whether they are fiery, sweet, powerful or silly. I especially love working with the 10 to 18 months group. Most of them walk, and sort of talk, but they are till learning the ropes of life. They are extremely cuddly and their smiles are so innocent that they melt your heart. I hope I will be able to spend more time with these kiddos, as I can feel myself already attached. For me that hardest part so far, is more involved with keeping my energy levels up throughout the day because I have less time for myself, than what I'm accustomed to. For the first time in my life I am also allowed to leave the building for lunch, and I find myself having to control both my money spending and time usage, but this is a small, but important skill for leading into adulthood. I've made little mistakes lately like forgetting to wash my hands after entering a room, or leaving my shoes on in a no shoes room (protect those tiny hands) but have learned most of these rules now and am trying my hardest to apply myself to all of them.
For my main project idea, I decided to talk to the room teacher/leader and create an art project that coincided with their spring classroom theme. I decided on a handprint caterpillar modeled after Eric Carle's famous The Very Hungry Caterpillar, which is both a favorite of the teacher and the kids. I planned out each material, thinking needed and began to think about different ways I could adapt my ideas to the children needs.
My goal for these next two weeks is to really get to know each kid and their preferences and personalities. I want to be able to care to each kid on my own, knowing what they do or don't like, understand what they need from me and give them someone to play with a learn from. I especially would like to let some of the shyer kids know that I love them, they are safe and they can trust me, and hope but the end they will like me as much as I like them.
This job seems like it would be very hard for such an anxious person like myself, due to the noise levels, and many different things going on, but I honestly have seen my anxiety crop up very rarely. I've been also keeping in contact with some of my peers in town and have heard their experiences while also talking to my best friends over phone, and allowing myself to still have fun, despite the fact I am so busy.
Monday March 7, 2016
I don't think I've been this tired in a while. My day started with playing with the youngest infants and learned how they act. I helped rock a baby boy to sleep. It was amazing to see his eyes close and know he trusted me. After all the babes were asleep I was introduced to the second youngest group. This group were 10 months to 18 months. Some of them were walking, and sort of talking. They were the most adorable kids. Two little girls took a special liking to me, and I enjoyed helping out with feeding, diaper changing and playing. I had a really nice day, but I'm also super tired. At the age I worked with, they need constant attention and watching, which made me super tired by the end of the day.
Saturday February 20, 2016
T-Minus 15 days 11 hours and 43 minutes until my first day interning at Riverhouse Children's Center for the LINK program. It's been difficult for me to secure this internship. Obstacles keep coming at me at 100 mph. Along with my shyness and difficulty talking adults, I've been ridiculously busy with schoolwork and currently in the middle of the worst cold of my life. The hardest thing for me in this process, has been the difficulty asking adults for support and help. I tend to be shy around adults and don't really like asking for help, but I've had to get over this and find myself being okay to ask for help. I've mostly handled this difficulty by reassuring myself that most people are willing to help, and that sometimes help can get you farther than you expected.
At this point, I am really nervous about my internship. It has dawned on me that for those three weeks, I will not be surrounded by my closest friends and that I will not have a structure school schedule everyday. It's a big change for me, and I am not one to be accustomed to change easily. I'm not sure what to fully expect at this point, but trying to see the bright side of the experience. Not only will it look impressive on a resume to have a three week internship, but it will also provide an invaluable learning experience that can no be replicated in a classroom. I mostly imagine that the three weeks will feel very different than what I'm used to, but will be exciting as I meet new people and learn.
Well LINK is done. . . I find it so rewarding, but still surreal. Ive spent my entire time at Animas thinking about LINK, looking forward to it and dreaming, but now I no longer have it in the back of my mind. I'm happy that I've passed this rite of passage as an Animas student, but I am going to really mis those kids. As I walked out of the classroom door, I watched the little hands wave as me, and heard the giggles. I told myself that I love these children. Yes the work was hard, at that age you had to keep your eyes on them at all times, but I have found something that makes me very happy. I miss their cuddles and hugs and especially their individual personalities. For the short three weeks I was there I saw them grow so much. The first day there one of the little baby boys couldn't walk and the day I left he stood up himself and waddled straight to me. I wonder how much they've grown since then. . .
Saturday March 19, 2016
This has been proven as a difficult week for me as I've had to balance some issues in my personal life, along with my professional work. At the beginning of the week, it came to my attention my stepfathers sister, Kelly's health was declining due to complication of leukemia. This came as big shock to us, as she was finally recovering from her battle and gaining her life back. Progressively her health got much worse and on Wednesday they told us she didn't have much more left in her, and by Thursday night, the world lost another amazing soul to cancer. Coming in in the mornings proved to be stressful as I needed to be updated on her condition, but couldn't have my phone on me. My emotions were running high and I once found myself in tears, but I believe the giggles and smiles of the babies helped me get through the beginning stages of grief. I spent this week again with the 10-18 months group. I got more handprint caterpillars done and am forming relationships with both the kids and other adults. The three other women that I am working with in this room are amazing people. They are understanding, kind, powerful and joys to be with. I could not have a better group of people to help me through this journey. They are super encouraging and helpful, which what was I was anxious about in the beginning. Everyone in the entire center is so polite, helpful and treats me like an adult. The entire center is filled with amazing, passionate people who care deeply about these children and their well being. It inspires me to care even more about making the best place for these children. The kids are just getting better and better. They are so much fun to be with. My favorite things to do with them are feeding them (babies eat really cute and funnily) playing and rocking them to sleep. My hands have become incredibly dry from constantly washing both my hands and the kids and have learned some amazing tricks from my coworkers. After I come back after a emergency trip to Texas to pay my respects I am looking forward to spending my days with these little cuddle buddies and make a small impact on them!
Saturday March 12, 2016
It has been a crazy, but rewarding week for me! I toured each class room and found myself the most comfortable with the second youngest and the oldest group of kids. Tasks that I do daily are usually helping serve food, help the youngest wash their hands (a lot), reading out loud and playing with the kids while keeping track of their behavior. These kids are the greatest. They are all generally well behaved, smart, beautiful and hilarious. It has been amazing to see even the youngest shine and show me their personalities whether they are fiery, sweet, powerful or silly. I especially love working with the 10 to 18 months group. Most of them walk, and sort of talk, but they are till learning the ropes of life. They are extremely cuddly and their smiles are so innocent that they melt your heart. I hope I will be able to spend more time with these kiddos, as I can feel myself already attached. For me that hardest part so far, is more involved with keeping my energy levels up throughout the day because I have less time for myself, than what I'm accustomed to. For the first time in my life I am also allowed to leave the building for lunch, and I find myself having to control both my money spending and time usage, but this is a small, but important skill for leading into adulthood. I've made little mistakes lately like forgetting to wash my hands after entering a room, or leaving my shoes on in a no shoes room (protect those tiny hands) but have learned most of these rules now and am trying my hardest to apply myself to all of them.
For my main project idea, I decided to talk to the room teacher/leader and create an art project that coincided with their spring classroom theme. I decided on a handprint caterpillar modeled after Eric Carle's famous The Very Hungry Caterpillar, which is both a favorite of the teacher and the kids. I planned out each material, thinking needed and began to think about different ways I could adapt my ideas to the children needs.
My goal for these next two weeks is to really get to know each kid and their preferences and personalities. I want to be able to care to each kid on my own, knowing what they do or don't like, understand what they need from me and give them someone to play with a learn from. I especially would like to let some of the shyer kids know that I love them, they are safe and they can trust me, and hope but the end they will like me as much as I like them.
This job seems like it would be very hard for such an anxious person like myself, due to the noise levels, and many different things going on, but I honestly have seen my anxiety crop up very rarely. I've been also keeping in contact with some of my peers in town and have heard their experiences while also talking to my best friends over phone, and allowing myself to still have fun, despite the fact I am so busy.
Monday March 7, 2016
I don't think I've been this tired in a while. My day started with playing with the youngest infants and learned how they act. I helped rock a baby boy to sleep. It was amazing to see his eyes close and know he trusted me. After all the babes were asleep I was introduced to the second youngest group. This group were 10 months to 18 months. Some of them were walking, and sort of talking. They were the most adorable kids. Two little girls took a special liking to me, and I enjoyed helping out with feeding, diaper changing and playing. I had a really nice day, but I'm also super tired. At the age I worked with, they need constant attention and watching, which made me super tired by the end of the day.
Saturday February 20, 2016
T-Minus 15 days 11 hours and 43 minutes until my first day interning at Riverhouse Children's Center for the LINK program. It's been difficult for me to secure this internship. Obstacles keep coming at me at 100 mph. Along with my shyness and difficulty talking adults, I've been ridiculously busy with schoolwork and currently in the middle of the worst cold of my life. The hardest thing for me in this process, has been the difficulty asking adults for support and help. I tend to be shy around adults and don't really like asking for help, but I've had to get over this and find myself being okay to ask for help. I've mostly handled this difficulty by reassuring myself that most people are willing to help, and that sometimes help can get you farther than you expected.
At this point, I am really nervous about my internship. It has dawned on me that for those three weeks, I will not be surrounded by my closest friends and that I will not have a structure school schedule everyday. It's a big change for me, and I am not one to be accustomed to change easily. I'm not sure what to fully expect at this point, but trying to see the bright side of the experience. Not only will it look impressive on a resume to have a three week internship, but it will also provide an invaluable learning experience that can no be replicated in a classroom. I mostly imagine that the three weeks will feel very different than what I'm used to, but will be exciting as I meet new people and learn.