LINK INternship At HELEN GORDON child developement center
Link
Every year, the Juniors at Animas High School are given the opportunity to do a 3-week internship at any business of their choice, anywhere in the world. This graduation requirement allows students to explore potential careers paths while learning about themselves and their world. For three weeks, classes are canceled for juniors and they are let loose into the world to learn and experience. Students will spend 90 to 120 hours at their internships. For more information visit ahsinternships.weebly.com!
Helen Gordon child developement center
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This child care center is right on Portland State University's campus. It provides quality care for students and staff of the university. The center practices Reggio Emilia education, which comes from Italy. It focuses on the student as the designer model, allowing children to discover their world in their own ways. I chose to intern here because of my deep curiosity about the Reggio program and its usefulness in early childhood. For more click the button below!
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Anticipation: April 29th 2018
I have been thinking about this internship since 8th grade when I watched my brother go to Portland to work with an architect firm for his LINK internship three years ago. For years I’ve thought about where I’ll go, who I’ll meet, where I’ll work. It always seemed so far off in the future. Something that would happen eventually but not soon. Turns out time moves fast and tomorrow I start at the Helen Gordon Child Development Center in Portland city and will be working with preschoolers for the next three weeks of my life. I am more excited and nervous than I can even explain.
It has not been an easy road getting here. I emailed 20 preschools and kindergartens in the Portland city area before finally hearing a yes from Helen Gordon. Every school either said no, didn’t respond, or said maybe which turned into a no. It was hard to hear so many people say no. I felt that I may not get an internship. I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to go to Portland for my internship. It was a very stressful time. Then one wonderful day, I got the most amazing email. Ellie, the head of school at Helen Gordon, said yes! I was so excited I screamed. After that, I had many conversations with the school, I bought my ticket to Portland, and I got ready to leave. Time has flown and now I’m in my Aunt's house, writing this, and thinking all about the next three weeks of my life.
I chose to work with early childhood education because I think I want to be a teacher when I grow up. I want to see what the day to day of a preschool teachers life looks like and see if it is something that I want to do for the rest of my life. I am deeply excited to learn from all the teachers I will be working with. The school I will be at practices Reggio Emilia teaching. This is a type of early childhood education used in Italy. It is fascinating to me and I am excited to learn how this education process is used in day to day life. I am looking forward to learning about how to work with children, how to make connections with them and how to use Reggio Emilia. I hope I will learn all these things by the end of my internship.
I already have worked with children a lot in past jobs so I hope to bring the skills I have learned from those experience to my experience at Helen Gordon. I have always loved kids and they seem to like me. I hope to create special connects with them and teach them what I know. My goal is to be a little of a bother to my mentors as possible and help to take cares of the kids. I want to be remembered as the awesome girl from colorado who came and helped out for three weeks.
I am nervous about my internship. I will not lie to you I have thought of just about every bad situation that could happen. I could get stuck in traffic and be late. I could have the wrong building. They could be playing a prank on me and actually have no intention of letting me work with them. That last one’s crazy but it has crossed my mind. Whenever I start to feel nervous or scared, I think of the kids I’ll be working with and that calms me down. The thing I love about kids is they don’t care when you mess up. As long as you play with them, they are happy. I know that as long as there are kids, I will be okay. Here’s to the next three weeks!
It has not been an easy road getting here. I emailed 20 preschools and kindergartens in the Portland city area before finally hearing a yes from Helen Gordon. Every school either said no, didn’t respond, or said maybe which turned into a no. It was hard to hear so many people say no. I felt that I may not get an internship. I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to go to Portland for my internship. It was a very stressful time. Then one wonderful day, I got the most amazing email. Ellie, the head of school at Helen Gordon, said yes! I was so excited I screamed. After that, I had many conversations with the school, I bought my ticket to Portland, and I got ready to leave. Time has flown and now I’m in my Aunt's house, writing this, and thinking all about the next three weeks of my life.
I chose to work with early childhood education because I think I want to be a teacher when I grow up. I want to see what the day to day of a preschool teachers life looks like and see if it is something that I want to do for the rest of my life. I am deeply excited to learn from all the teachers I will be working with. The school I will be at practices Reggio Emilia teaching. This is a type of early childhood education used in Italy. It is fascinating to me and I am excited to learn how this education process is used in day to day life. I am looking forward to learning about how to work with children, how to make connections with them and how to use Reggio Emilia. I hope I will learn all these things by the end of my internship.
I already have worked with children a lot in past jobs so I hope to bring the skills I have learned from those experience to my experience at Helen Gordon. I have always loved kids and they seem to like me. I hope to create special connects with them and teach them what I know. My goal is to be a little of a bother to my mentors as possible and help to take cares of the kids. I want to be remembered as the awesome girl from colorado who came and helped out for three weeks.
I am nervous about my internship. I will not lie to you I have thought of just about every bad situation that could happen. I could get stuck in traffic and be late. I could have the wrong building. They could be playing a prank on me and actually have no intention of letting me work with them. That last one’s crazy but it has crossed my mind. Whenever I start to feel nervous or scared, I think of the kids I’ll be working with and that calms me down. The thing I love about kids is they don’t care when you mess up. As long as you play with them, they are happy. I know that as long as there are kids, I will be okay. Here’s to the next three weeks!
Reflection: MAY 19 2018
I just finished my three-week internship at Helen Gordon Child Development Center and I honestly cannot believe it. Have three weeks really gone by? Where did time go? All I know is that it was a wonderful experience that I just went through. There was good and bad and a lot of learning. I’ve read more stories and consoled more crying children in the past three weeks than ever in my life, but I wouldn’t change it. It was everything I needed it to be.
My first week at Helen Gordon was a little rough. I didn’t know a lot of the rules and regulations that have to happen in a preschool. It took a little getting used to. My second day of the internship was the worst. I was unaware that I was unable to be alone with a child so when I child asked me to take her to the potty, I said yes. Then I got yelled at. I thought I was gonna die. I thought they were going to throw me out of the school and make me go home. They didn’t though and it turned out to be fine. I learned from that experience that sometimes you make mistakes. The important thing is to learn from it and moved forward.
The most important skill that I used in this internship was my ability to adapt to change. There were so many times that I just had to roll with the punches and deal with what life gave me. During my internship there were many times that I didn't know what to do with myself and had to figure out what needed to be done. I'd have to help with random tasks. The experience as a whole of living in a city and going to work presented its own host of challenges. I had to learn to trust myself and adapt to my situation which thankfully I was good at before leaving. This skill was key to success at my internship.
I would say the most difficult thing about my internship was feeling useless. Sometimes throughout the internship, I felt that I really wasn’t needed. I know that I actually wasn’t needed but sometimes that was really clear. It was hard to cope with that feeling of being useless. I would stand at the edge of the class while all the other teachers had their own jobs and task at hand. I would feel as though I could disappear and they wouldn’t miss me. What really changed that feeling for me were the children. They made me feel useful. They always asked for my help. They wanted me to read them stories or play with them. I think that as an intern this feeling can be common. You don’t know that much and therefore can’t do much. What I realized is it’s okay to feel useless because sometimes you are. Find something that you can do and do that really well and all will be fine.
This experience has made me realize a few key things about myself. First, I am really excited about a future working with children. I wasn’t 100% sure I would like teaching but I love it. I love it so much. I think the key turning point for me on my internship was one of my last days. While I was getting ready to leave for the day, the kids who hadn’t been picked up were playing in the loft in the room. I waved to them and said, “Bye guys. See you tomorrow!” They all ran looked up and said, “We don’t want you to leave!” Then they came and gave me hugs. I realized at that moment that all I want is to spend time with kids and teach them. I want to be a teacher.
The second thing I realized about myself, is that I don’t want to teach in a big school in a big city. The school I was at had 170 preschoolers! While I loved my kiddos, I want to teach somewhere smaller. Cities have never been my favorite place but this internship made me realize, I want to live in a town like Durango. I want to teach at a smaller school with smaller class sizes. I want to be able to create more personal relationships with my students and in smaller schools, that is easier. I always thought I was meant for the big city but it turns out, I’m a small town girl.
I think that having an extra person in a preschool classroom is helpful, no matter how old they are. As a high schooler, I don't have a degree in education. I am not certified by the state. I haven't taken the courses I need to be alone with a child. I do have a love for children, a kind heart, and a want to better the lives of children. These are the actual important things when it comes to working with children. Kids don't care how certified you are or how much you know. They only care if you want to play with them. If high schoolers want to help in a preschool classroom, I see no reason to not let them.
From this experience, I know that I want to go to college and get my degree in early childhood education. I am thinking about going to university in either Washington or Montana, I want to teach in a smaller school and I hope to teach kindergarten or 1st grade. For my senior year, I want to work with kids more. I am hoping to do another internship with kids and learn as much as I possibly can. The future is open and that’s what I’m most excited about. There is so much I can do. All I know is I hope that future has me teaching kiddos.
My first week at Helen Gordon was a little rough. I didn’t know a lot of the rules and regulations that have to happen in a preschool. It took a little getting used to. My second day of the internship was the worst. I was unaware that I was unable to be alone with a child so when I child asked me to take her to the potty, I said yes. Then I got yelled at. I thought I was gonna die. I thought they were going to throw me out of the school and make me go home. They didn’t though and it turned out to be fine. I learned from that experience that sometimes you make mistakes. The important thing is to learn from it and moved forward.
The most important skill that I used in this internship was my ability to adapt to change. There were so many times that I just had to roll with the punches and deal with what life gave me. During my internship there were many times that I didn't know what to do with myself and had to figure out what needed to be done. I'd have to help with random tasks. The experience as a whole of living in a city and going to work presented its own host of challenges. I had to learn to trust myself and adapt to my situation which thankfully I was good at before leaving. This skill was key to success at my internship.
I would say the most difficult thing about my internship was feeling useless. Sometimes throughout the internship, I felt that I really wasn’t needed. I know that I actually wasn’t needed but sometimes that was really clear. It was hard to cope with that feeling of being useless. I would stand at the edge of the class while all the other teachers had their own jobs and task at hand. I would feel as though I could disappear and they wouldn’t miss me. What really changed that feeling for me were the children. They made me feel useful. They always asked for my help. They wanted me to read them stories or play with them. I think that as an intern this feeling can be common. You don’t know that much and therefore can’t do much. What I realized is it’s okay to feel useless because sometimes you are. Find something that you can do and do that really well and all will be fine.
This experience has made me realize a few key things about myself. First, I am really excited about a future working with children. I wasn’t 100% sure I would like teaching but I love it. I love it so much. I think the key turning point for me on my internship was one of my last days. While I was getting ready to leave for the day, the kids who hadn’t been picked up were playing in the loft in the room. I waved to them and said, “Bye guys. See you tomorrow!” They all ran looked up and said, “We don’t want you to leave!” Then they came and gave me hugs. I realized at that moment that all I want is to spend time with kids and teach them. I want to be a teacher.
The second thing I realized about myself, is that I don’t want to teach in a big school in a big city. The school I was at had 170 preschoolers! While I loved my kiddos, I want to teach somewhere smaller. Cities have never been my favorite place but this internship made me realize, I want to live in a town like Durango. I want to teach at a smaller school with smaller class sizes. I want to be able to create more personal relationships with my students and in smaller schools, that is easier. I always thought I was meant for the big city but it turns out, I’m a small town girl.
I think that having an extra person in a preschool classroom is helpful, no matter how old they are. As a high schooler, I don't have a degree in education. I am not certified by the state. I haven't taken the courses I need to be alone with a child. I do have a love for children, a kind heart, and a want to better the lives of children. These are the actual important things when it comes to working with children. Kids don't care how certified you are or how much you know. They only care if you want to play with them. If high schoolers want to help in a preschool classroom, I see no reason to not let them.
From this experience, I know that I want to go to college and get my degree in early childhood education. I am thinking about going to university in either Washington or Montana, I want to teach in a smaller school and I hope to teach kindergarten or 1st grade. For my senior year, I want to work with kids more. I am hoping to do another internship with kids and learn as much as I possibly can. The future is open and that’s what I’m most excited about. There is so much I can do. All I know is I hope that future has me teaching kiddos.
My Project
One of the important things about Reggio Emilia is to allow children to choose what they are interested in and then give them the tools they need to explore it. When I arrived, the students had started to show interest in trees. They had been learning about nature and this was the new part they wanted to look into.
My project was to help them explore this fascinating topic. The first thing we did was another teacher and I took a group of children on the bus to the local library. There we picked out books all about trees. Then we came back to school and read all of them together.
Next, we took the students on a nature walk to look at trees. We picked ten different trees, letting the children choose which one interested them. They were able to take pictures, collect samples of the trees, and tell us what they thought of the trees.
After that, I set up a table for them to explore the materials we found outside. The children could draw pictures of the trees or look at them with magnifying glasses. This helped the students to look closer at the trees and what makes them up.
The next day, we created a web with our ideas around trees. We talked about what a tree is made of, who lives in trees, and what you can do with a tree. The kids led the discussion.
The last thing that I did while I was there, was taking children out on an art walk. We found trees and drew them. The kids found trees they liked and created pictures of them.
A project like this will last for months on end or as long as the children are interested. I only got to see the beginning but I was interested to see how these children look at the world. This project helped me to understand the Reggio method better and see how it is used.
My project was to help them explore this fascinating topic. The first thing we did was another teacher and I took a group of children on the bus to the local library. There we picked out books all about trees. Then we came back to school and read all of them together.
Next, we took the students on a nature walk to look at trees. We picked ten different trees, letting the children choose which one interested them. They were able to take pictures, collect samples of the trees, and tell us what they thought of the trees.
After that, I set up a table for them to explore the materials we found outside. The children could draw pictures of the trees or look at them with magnifying glasses. This helped the students to look closer at the trees and what makes them up.
The next day, we created a web with our ideas around trees. We talked about what a tree is made of, who lives in trees, and what you can do with a tree. The kids led the discussion.
The last thing that I did while I was there, was taking children out on an art walk. We found trees and drew them. The kids found trees they liked and created pictures of them.
A project like this will last for months on end or as long as the children are interested. I only got to see the beginning but I was interested to see how these children look at the world. This project helped me to understand the Reggio method better and see how it is used.
