Jadyn Young - EarlyON Pickering

What was your initial reaction to working with children in this placement?

As a future professional who will work alongside children, I have learned many notable things about myself through placement. Firstly, I have learned which strengths I hold as a student educator and what I need to work on to be successful in this field of work. From this past placement, I have learned that I strive in a fast paced busy environment and that I am able to make quick decisions in the moment. This is very important especially while on the floor in such a fast paced environment so I am glad that my placement experience has given me the chance to practice this skill. Lastly, from my placement experience, I have begun to develop the patience, confidence and adaptability skills which are essential when working with  children. 

How did you overcome these hurdles — and what did you learn about yourself and your practice?

At the beginning of my placement, I felt as if I was the odd person out and did not have a sense of belonging as I was not familiar with anything at the placement site. I was also very overwhelmed by all of the expectations and roles my field educator designated to me just on my first day. As someone who has just walked into a busy space for the first time, I felt as if I was going to be unsuccessful because of my confidence levels in this setting. I also felt as if it was hard to create any professional relationship with my FE because of how busy they were.

When I was facing difficulty in my placement, I referred to my Field Advisor.  My FA was very supportive with any questions and challenges that arose during my placement. She was very proactive in planning content to discuss with us students which led to my success in my placement. The biweekly classes have helped build my confidence where I found most of my challenging experiences to stem from. With this professional relationship I built with my FA in my placement, I feel as if it has set me up for success in my upper year placements as she took the time to help me through any challenges that I had during field.

How did this field experience influence your plans for working in the early childhood sector?

In this placement I was able to develop a better understanding for why play based learning is so important in the early years. From the eleven weeks I attended my placement, there were a handful of families who attended the drop in programs on a regular basis. I was able to make connections from course content to practice which allowed me to understand and develop stronger relationships with the children and their families. Another crucial piece that I learned in the result of my placement experience was how beneficial relationships with children and their families really are. This allowed for the child to participate in a supportive learning environment as both the educators and caregivers were on the same page which lead to a better overall experience for the child. Lastly, I learned how important the collaboration with colleagues in this field of work really is. There were many times where activities, events and the program itself was enhanced when all educators (including myself) contributed ideas. Many times, I would have an idea for my learning plans and either my FE or other educators would suggest ideas which allowed for my implementation to become more meaningful and inline with the centre's goals.