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I think it's about time for another blog. I have been working and doing so much this last month, so the blog has been a bit under prioritized.
This time the blog is about Sister Annes Daycare Center where I am doing my practice placement for half a year.
There are 4 different projects going on at the moment; childminding, daycare, feeding and rehab, but we have decided not to do the rehab project, as it is not a part of our education or profession! We are 6 students from 3 different parts of Denmark (Hjørring, Odense and Copenhagen), so we pair up; 3 in childminding and 3 in the daycare/feeding. We then rotate after a month. It is a very catholic institution, as are the projects as well, so they pray every morning (in the childminding) and bless their food at lunch when they eat (all 3 places)
Here's a little about each project:
Childminding: This project is like a Danish vuggestue/børnehave, and it is all about taking care of the children; feeding them, giving them a bath, sleeping and playing. It is also about activating and developing the children's skills which is my job as a student. I have to create an activity every day for an hour that example enhances their motor skills.
The daycare center: This center is for the 3-4 year old where some of them go to school during the day (those who have enough money), and the others play in the daycare center. There are also out-of-school children, 3-16 Years old, which can't afford to go to school. My job will be taking care of the children, playing and taking care of their needs. We also assist the teachers in helping the small children with ex. writing. The children that go to school have their own lunch box with them, while the children in the daycare eat the food that feeding group brings out to them.
Feeding: Depending on which day it is, we go out to 2-3 different locations every day with food for the needing families in the area. Frank, one of the employees in Sister Anne daycare center, prepares all the food early in the morning. My job is to do some activities and help with the serving to all the children and their parents at the specific place. I get to do some activities with the children before they get served and create a secure environment for them.
Rehab: Our job would be helping the physiotherapist with his patients. Some have problem with their knees, arms, back, etc. We also would learn or have actually learned to take another person's blood pressure.
At the moment Pernille, Jeppe and I are in the childminding. There are about 20 registrated children, the maximum is 35, but they come and go as they want to!! Each day the parents give a little donation, if they can afford it.
As it is both infants and young children in the center, we play with them differently. We have mostly made activities, like races, dancing, making clay, painting, running, making an obstacle course etc., for the older children because they need the stimulation more than the younger ones. So far it has been a challenge to keep the children's concentration for more than 10 minutes, but we are really fast thinkers, so ideas pop into our heads and new activities are made. Many of the children are motorical challenged. They can't catch a ball, jump on one leg or have the imagination to paint on a blank piece of paper. We want to do activities over and over again to see if and how they develop J
Some of the older children are already getting very comfortable with us white people, and come to us with their problems or just speak to us like we understand them - and OF COURSE WE DO J haha. It can be quite difficult to know what they are jabbering about, when we don't speak and understand Cebuano!!
We (Pernille, Jeppe and I) have so many ideas for activities, and we really want to get around as many different areas as possible. We want to stimulate as many creative, motorical and challenging parts of their minds, so they feel like they have learnt something while we are here. And we also feel we have done a difference in their lives, or at least these 6 months. We aim to see development and interest in the things we do, so when a child comes and ask for a particular activity, we know we have done a difference.
These next 3 months (April, May and June) we are all 6 going to be in the childminding, because the students in the daycare center are "graduating" and having their summer holiday. So we have made YET AN OTHER SCHEDULE (I have only made 3-4 so far) for the upcoming months, where 3 are going to be there in the morning, 8-12.30, and the other 3 in the afternoon, 12-16.30. We rotate every week so we don't get tired of working either morning or afternoon J The morning people are still going to help with feeding, and on Fridays we all 3 go!
There are so many other things to write about, but this is all for know!!
- comments
Pernille Well written sweety and yes I really hope we can influence the children and that they can use the things we teach them later in their lifes and that we leave our foot prints in the institution so they can remember us and our awesome ideas :-)