Reflection 1

Many experiences in our education shape our lives. Last year, I had one of these experiences. I was doing my service learning for EDEL 100 at the Child Study Center. After being told I would be placed in the infant/toddler lab, and I was worried. I had done a lot of work with school-aged children, but these children would all be three years old and younger. I wasn’t sure what to expect. Would I be able to handle being in a classroom full of energetic toddlers? It was time to find out.

My first day at CSC turned out to be amazing. I absolutely loved the children in the class I was helping with. They were quick to warm up to me, and they were always so excited to see me every time I was there. It was fun to see the transformation in some of the children, from sobbing and clinging on to mom’s leg in the morning to not wanting to leave at the end of the day. I found that my time with the children was my favorite part of the week, and what I looked forward to the most.

            After my doing my service learning here, it completely changed my plans for my future in teaching. I found that I love working with younger children and switched my major to Early Childhood Ed. Since then, I have done a lot of work with preschoolers and toddlers, and I still enjoy every minute of it. I’m glad that I ended up choosing this as my service learning, because without it I may not have realized what I was missing.