It's been a while since Project DIRECT was able to send students to Pre-K classrooms, and I feel so honored and excited to be a part of the team especially now that we are back in schools! I have been working in a Pre-K classroom for the last four months, and it has quickly become my favorite part of every week. It's been a long time since I've worked with children this young, so the learning curves I experienced during the first few visits were all over the place. I had to acclimate to the classroom environment and figure out how to speak to, hang out with, and set boundaries with four year olds. It was really strange!
One of the challenges I faced immediately was trying to toe the line between helping the teachers and hanging out with the students. The women who work in the classroom are incredible, they've created a great learning environment and the students clearly love and respect them so much. I want to help them as much as possible when I'm there, as my work in the lab has taught me the importance of supporting the educators who are absolutely instrumental to child development in schools. However, sometimes these kids just want to hang out! Being four is really hard, and when learning their colors, shapes, and letters gets too overwhelming, they often look to me. I'm an adult in the classroom so I have some say in what they can and can't do, but I have no true authority and I don't like to cut them slack when its time to learn. It disrupts the lesson that the teachers worked hard to put together and makes it more difficult for other students to pay attention.
Fortunately for me, I have a great support system in the lab and in the classroom, and with time I've gotten much better at understanding my role, which helps students understand why I'm there as well. I do lots of fun things with them, and one of my favorite ways of helping out is teaching the students how we recognize our feelings and calm down safely when we get upset. Spending time with them and learning about how children develop emotionally and cognitively has been so interesting, and I feel so privileged to be able to learn first-hand with students and educators I care about. These kids are so cute and intelligent, and watching them grow has been so rewarding. I am so grateful to the teachers who let me come hang out with them every week and the students who always make me feel like a celebrity when I walk through the door.
One of the challenges I faced immediately was trying to toe the line between helping the teachers and hanging out with the students. The women who work in the classroom are incredible, they've created a great learning environment and the students clearly love and respect them so much. I want to help them as much as possible when I'm there, as my work in the lab has taught me the importance of supporting the educators who are absolutely instrumental to child development in schools. However, sometimes these kids just want to hang out! Being four is really hard, and when learning their colors, shapes, and letters gets too overwhelming, they often look to me. I'm an adult in the classroom so I have some say in what they can and can't do, but I have no true authority and I don't like to cut them slack when its time to learn. It disrupts the lesson that the teachers worked hard to put together and makes it more difficult for other students to pay attention.
Fortunately for me, I have a great support system in the lab and in the classroom, and with time I've gotten much better at understanding my role, which helps students understand why I'm there as well. I do lots of fun things with them, and one of my favorite ways of helping out is teaching the students how we recognize our feelings and calm down safely when we get upset. Spending time with them and learning about how children develop emotionally and cognitively has been so interesting, and I feel so privileged to be able to learn first-hand with students and educators I care about. These kids are so cute and intelligent, and watching them grow has been so rewarding. I am so grateful to the teachers who let me come hang out with them every week and the students who always make me feel like a celebrity when I walk through the door.
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