Category: EPHE 311 (page 1 of 2)

My most recent volunteer experience was the UVic Field Experience that ran for four months. For this experience I was a student teacher in a grade one class where myself and another student in the cohort prepared educational activities, worked with students in groups and individually, supervised recess and aided the teacher with general classroom activities. Through out this recent experience I mainly worked with a student with special needs, and it was absolutely incredible to see the amount of academic progress that the student was able to make. It truly opened my eyes to the importance and impact of teachers who use inclusive education practices.

I was first introduced to working with elementary aged children through the Peer Tutoring program at the high school I attended. In this program grade eleven and twelve students spent an hour and a half every day volunteering in a class that needed additional help, I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to be placed in a nature based kindergarten/grade one split. In the class my duties were to do the prep work for activities, working individually with students, leading group activities, observe PE class,supervising outdoor time, working in an outdoor classroom setting, and assisting the teacher and kids in daily classroom activities. I volunteered in the same classroom for three years, which was amazing as I was able to form connections with the kids and watch them grow into avid learners!

For three years I participated in Pass It On Girls, by SWOVA (Saltspring Women Opposed to Violence & Abuse), which is a program that brings together girls in high school with girls that are in middle school. The older girls then individually mentor one of their younger peers and once a month the whole group meets all together. This program was a great experience as it reminded me of how intense it is to be a pre-teen, while I hope to teach early elementary grades Pass It On allowed me to see how important it is for pre-teens to have positive role models and outlets.

Similar to Pass It On I volunteered with the Big Brother, Big Sister program where I mentored a fifth grade student and provided emotional support, modelling of positive behaviour, and preparing fun/educational activities. The student that I was paired off with was having difficulty in and outside of school, and during our meetings I was able to see the student step outside of the negativity and smile. The experience was incredible and allowed for me to recognize how important it is for children to have free-time and someone they can just chat and build lego with.

Most of my experience in the education/childcare field has been through volunteer work, however I have listed my paid experiences below.

My first paid experience with childcare work was at the local Unitarian Fellowship, where I, often by myself, cared for eight to twelve children with ages ranging from eighteen months to eleven years old, preparing and teaching educational activities. This position was chaotic due to so many children at various ages, and was definitely an introduction to childcare work. Working in this position was a valuable lesson in the importance of organization and activity planning.

I was later contacted by one of the parents of a child I worked with in the Peer Tutoring program and was hired as a nanny for their four and seven year old children. In this position I prepared food, prepared and taught educational activities, and general kid activities for nine hours a day, including evenings and split shifts. While nannying is more of a childcare experience compared to teaching, I believe it was a valuable experience because it taught me a lot about children’s emotions and personal abilities.