“I’m late! ” I shouted angrily as I arrived in the parking lot of the Early Child Development Center, I was supposed to sign in by 8. a. m. I got out of the car and rushed over to the green and beige building. As soon as I opened the door of the facility, the smell of syrup and waffles filled the air; it was breakfast time for the children. I waited in the front office, which had an adventurous theme to it. The decor of the room reminded me of when I was young and enrolled in a center similar to this one. The walls had trees, boats and the ocean painted on them.
There were bins of toys against each wall waiting to greet each child as they walked in. Birdcages hung from the ceiling, which contained bright yellow and green birds. I sat next to the table that had stacks of Legos on them and waited to be helped. I said to myself “Wow, this place is a child’s heaven. ” I looked to the right and saw a dark blue wooden playhouse filled with plastic fruits, fake dishes, and stuffed animals. There were drawings from children who “graduated” to kindergarten posted on the walls. The drawings presented the fact that the children could spell their names out.
Finally, Mrs. Judy came out to the front office and greeted me. “Sorry for having you wait out here for so long’” Mrs. Judy said, “we had to feed the children their breakfast. ” “Its okay, I understand,” I said smiling, “I’m sorry for being so late. ” “That’s okay sweetheart,” she smiled, “now lets get you set up in a classroom. ” She lead me to the bear room, which was the room for the four and five year olds. The room was uniquely decorated as a forest. To the right of the room were the children’s cubby’s; each cubby had a sticker with each child’s name printed on them.
Lunch boxes and sweaters hung out of each of the children’s cubbies. Just above the cubbies was a chart with every child’s name on it. To the left of the room there were shelves that had colorful wooden blocks, wooden puzzles, boxes of crayons, different kinds of wooden toys, paint, and yellow plastic trains. Straight ahead was the kitchen area full of tables and chairs. Where the children had breakfast, lunch, and did activities. In the right corner of the room was a little playhouse set. I was amazed with all the bright colors in the room and how much fun all the children were having. This is my favorite room” Mrs. Judy said with a big smile.
“Everything looks so fun and bright,” I said smiling. “Hi, I’m Mrs. Ericka! ” a woman said from behind me, “are you the one observing my classroom today? ” “Yes I am,” I answered, “I’m Cynthia. ” “Okay Ms. Cynthia it is! ” Mrs. Ericka shouted with excitement. “Okay I’ll leave you guys to it then,” Mrs. Judy said while leaving. “Ms. Cynthia pleasure to have you here,” Mrs. Ericka said, “Do you mind if we have the interview while the children are at play time? ” “Yeah no problem,” I said smiling. I watched Mrs.
Ericka as she cleaned up the mess the children left after their breakfast was over. Mrs. Ericka refused to tell me her age but I can tell that she is extremely young. She dressed a little weird but I knew she dressed to look fun to the children. She had on a purple long sleeve shirt that had light blue stripes, bright red high top converse and big curly hair. She had a green apron on that had paint and glittery glue stains. Every time a student raised their hand she always greeted them with a smile and helped them. She seemed extremely happy and content with her job. “Its circle time! Mrs. Ericka shouted. The children begun putting away the toys they had been playing with and sat at the edges of the circle carpet. As she went through the days of the week with the children she started singing and dancing. I watched as all the children but one clapped and sang along.
A young boy named Patrick stared at the other children with the meanest look. He kept interrupting Mrs. Ericka with rude comments and unusual noises. “I’m Angry! ” Patrick yelled. “Would you like to go have a moment to yourself in the corner? ” Mrs. Ericka replied. “I feel like hitting! ” Patrick yelled. Okay my friends I need everyone to choose an activity station and work on them until I come back. ” Mrs. Ericka announced to the class. “Will you make sure everyone is on task while I talk to Patrick outside for a minute? ” Mrs. Ericka asked me. “Yeah no problem,” I said. I observed as Mrs. Ericka sat Patrick down outside on the blue bench, hugged him, and calmly talked to him. I saw as Patrick let Mrs. Ericka know what was bugging him and she gave him her full attention. The sound of loud children’s laughter filled my ears, so I turned around and saw that orange paint had been spilled on the floor.
I quickly went to get paper towels and cleaned it up. I then heard Mrs. Ericka say, “Oh no my friends its loud in here! ” The room went quiet and the children went back to work she thanked me for watching the kids. Then told me that Patrick was a few days new to the class and had come from a troubled home. She tried as hard as possible to make him feel comfortable in class and talk to him when he had any problems. A few minutes later Mrs. Ericka shouted “Time to clean up! ” I was amazed in how fast the children put away all of the activities, they wiped down the tables and put every single thing where it belonged. Okay it’s time to go outside” Mrs. Ericka shouted with excitement. All the children cheered and lined up one by one by the door that had the ABC’s on it. Mrs. Ericka opened the door and counted the children as then left to play outside. “Okay Ms. Cynthia ask your questions,” she said smiling.
I sat down at the tables as Mrs. Ericka started laying out the children’s lunch boxes. I quickly pulled out my Brown little journal that I had written questions in and a blue pen. “How long have you been working here? ” Mrs. Ericka answered with,” I have volunteered here for a year but I have been an actual teacher for two and a half years. I was amazed that she had started off a volunteer. Next question I asked was, “what made you want to become a teacher? ” Mrs. Ericka responded, “I have always admired my school teachers since I was in grade school and I have always loved being around children. ” I explained that when I was younger I would always say I wanted to be a teacher when I grew up. Next I asked, “What is your favorite part of the day? ” Mrs. Ericka responded with,” I have to say when the children do their activities is probably my most favorite part of the day. ”
I asked the next question “who is your favorite student? Mrs. Ericka laughed and said, “ I’m not supposed to pick a favorite! ” I assured her I wouldn’t tell anyone. “If I had to choose a favorite I would say Patrick because he’s a good boy just needs a little more attention. ” I asked the next question, “How do you feel about your job? ” Mrs. Ericka who was now smiling big answered, “I absolutely love my job I cant imagine doing anything else. ” I could really tell that Mrs. Ericka loved her job. After I was done asking Mrs. Ericka my questions I decided it was time to go and let her get prepared for the children to come back inside.
Thank you for this wonderful experience and for letting me question you,” I said as I packed my stuff up. “No problem it was a pleasure to be observed and questioned,” Mrs. Ericka said smiling, “I hope you drop by sometime to see us again! ” “I sure will,” I said, “do you mind if I go say good bye to everyone? ” “Not at all,” She said while warming up lunches. I said my goodbyes and left the center. From visiting this Early Childhood Development Center I can say the teacher has changed my opinion of what I thought about the Center.
Mrs. Ericka helped me realize that I also want to be a teacher. I would like to teach younger kids like she does or even maybe at elementary schools. She helped me realize that not all teachers are mean and strict but that they can also be fun and entertaining. Mrs. Ericka tries different ways to get children involved in learning and I admired the extra mile she went to make kids enjoy the activities. I really enjoyed spending the whole day with Mrs. Ericka’s class today; in fact I offered to volunteering every Friday mornings.
