Personal Narrative: My Field Placement

For the classroom observation assignment I was able to observe at Stepping Stones Family Childcare and Preschool Program. I conducted observations for five hours each on the dates of September 24th and September 25th of the year 2015. This licensed home-based daycare and preschool program is located in a quiet suburban neighborhood on 4103 Bryant Street, Blasdell, New York. The facility allows for a twelve-child capacity (ages 6 weeks to 12 years with four additional school age) and is owned and founded by Kim Bannister. When I observed, there were two additional staff present. Therefore, there were a total of 3 adults and 12 children at the center when I observed. New York State Senator Marc C. Panepinto was also present on September 25th as he read to the children and toured the home. I chose this specific setting as I personally thought it would be an interesting dynamic to study how a home-based preschool program is run.

Preschool teachers have not been given the credit they deserve, with lots of people over looking their importance. Being a preschool teacher is more than just watching a couple of kids for a couple of hours. This field requires a lot preparation and behind the scene work that put into the job, so it really is not as easy as it may seem. Preschool could possibly shape the rest of their academic lives. At this level of school the children learn their basic building blocks for learning that they will use forever. That leaves parents with big expectations for the teacher. And for the teacher, they will have to set goals, have a plan to reach those goals, and for the most part

While regulation and standard are the keys to the success of a childcare facility, there are factors that I believe are equally important to be successful in an early childcare program. So, I looked for a highly qualified teacher with good communication skills. Saint Mary Academy Inc. displayed these factors upon entry to the facility. I saw degrees of teacher and directors ranging from masters to bachelor degrees specialized for the profession display behind the desk of the director for the day.

I recently left a position at a small Early Childhood Education center in the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The school consisted of children ranging in age of 6 weeks to 6 years. I worked there for eleven years in a variety of age groups. Most of my experience was in Preschool, with children who were three and four years old. The school was located in Point Park University located in the heart of downtown Pittsburgh, in one of the University’s dorm buildings and took up two floors. Each classroom was between three and four dorm rooms combined in size. The rooms were long and narrow with partial walls knocked down and converted into doorways between the rooms. Because of the classrooms

All members of the staff must act as professionals while at work, especially with young children. The administrative and teaching staff must work together to ensure their practices are developmentally appropriate, and share new and/or creative ideas with one another. It is also the responsibility of a teacher to establish an open, trusting relationship with the parents of each children in their care. Thus, parents can freely communicate their thoughts, concerns, and/or suggestions about their child or the program. Parent satisfaction is something that every child care or development center should strive for.

At Children’s Discovery Center the daycare is split into two buildings, one building is for the children in pre-school and the second building is for infants to three year olds getting ready to start pre- school. The classroom I observe is for children 18 months to 28 months. They are about fourteen children in the class with two teachers. The way the class is set up the younger students and their two teachers share one classroom, but the teachers and their toddlers are not in the same room until lunch time and nap time. The classroom has a kitchen, reading area, girls and boys bathroom, activity tables and there is a connecting room for the children to have bible time and free play. The discovery center has three separate playgrounds for the

I agree with this statement for many reasons. If a classical story like Macbeth was changed in any way, the outcome would be totally different. The style it’s written in is very important as well as the format and language. For example if Macbeth was changed in any way or adapted people would interpret the story in a different way. The main reason the story could be damaged is because it’s written in old English, the whole meaning of the story would change if it was adapted to today’s language.

During my observation at the preschool here at Harper, I looked around and realized a lot of similarities and differences it has; compared to other daycare and preschool centers. The age of children in the room I observed was ages 3-5 with one lead teacher, and depending on the ratio of how many kids showed up on that day, about three or four helping teachers. The program was set up to a very open, happy and overwhelming setting. Every furniture and object in the room had a sign saying what it was, and then underneath the typed out word was the children’s way of writing what the object was. For example, a book shelf was in the corner of the room; on the book shelf was the word printed out “Book

Like other day care facilities, The Kids Learning Centre strives to provide the best in child care. As part of their program to

The costs of this expansion will mostly go toward labor, as labor is the single largest component of costs for early infant and toddler care centers (Marshall et al., 2004). For teachers to stay invested in the children they teach and care for, they must be fairly compensated to maintain the high quality of care. According to a study in Massachusetts, 72 percent of typical full-time, full-year center expenditures go toward labor (Marshall, et al., 2004). In dollar amounts, “average expenditures per child care hour were $4.42 for centers serving infants and $4.28 for centers serving toddlers. These correspond to full-time care expenditures of $10,343 and $10,015 for the two groups of centers [infants and toddlers, respectively]”

I have recently read a book called Hotel on the corner of bitter and sweet. I will be telling you what I had liked or disliked about the story and what I thought about the book. This book was written by Jamie Ford who developed the character Henry, who was Chinese American, which went through a time of world war two. Overall I liked the book I found the book to be a really good story which was what I liked about the book.

Working as an after-school childcare supervisor I have encountered a variety of individuals and families with different experiences. One

While there are “people” around the world working in childcare centers that serve as poor role models whom are only there for the paycheck, there are amazing human service workers that serve as teachers that have a significant impact as a role model to provide appropriate skills needed for social and cognitive development to last a lifetime. In an article from the Early Childhood Education Journal (2013) the author states that “Quality teacher-child interactions in early childhood classrooms have repeatedly been paired with positive, emotional, behavioral and cognitive outcomes for children” (Thomason & La Paro, 2013). Indeed, a caregiver whom has a sincere, warm, and understanding heart will be more effective in teaching and will have more of an impact on how and what

It was one of those rare hot summer days back in my home country Germany. My mother and I boarded an overcrowded Lufthansa plane at Frankfurt’s international airport, starting a journey that would have a lasting impact on my life. I was just 5 years old, but the memories seem as vivid today as the actual experiences were back then. It was my first trip to the United States of America. I remember loving everything about it, the people, the food, the smells, the sceneries. It felt like home from the moment I arrived. Today, I believe that this trip sparked a flame inside of me that grew bigger and bigger as I grew older. I became passionate about everything and anything American. It was as simple as watching a cowboy

Conversely, upon doing the volunteer work, I came to find out that the center is not a daycare at all. People confuse it with a daycare because young children stay here while parents and families attend work or school. The center is different from a daycare because there is a curriculum and the staff are teachers. They must obtain a Child Development Credential within one year of hire and must keep up with a personal developmental ladder. The teachers are certified or trained in CPR, first aid, intruders, safety procedures and child abuse and neglect.