Lauren Haller – Internship

For the past approximately 7 weeks, I have been interning at New Holland Early Learning Center, located at New Holland Mennonite Church. NHELC strives to help children grow in self-control, social, and personal skills. My job duties and daily routines often consist of the same or similar things day by day. When I arrive at the Early Learning Center around 7:40 AM, I punch in, just like the employees and parents do. Next, I go to a large room, where two classes are combined for a time in the morning. During the approximately 30 minutes that I am in this room, I read a lot of books to some of the kids, while the others are eating breakfast. Sometimes, if we have been reading for a while, I will encourage the kids to play with the toys so that they don’t get too tired too soon before it’s time for a nap. I also assist some of the older kids in using the bathroom and washing their hands. After this, Ms. Liliana, one of the teachers, and I round up the younger kids and head over to their room. I get out toys for the seven one-year-olds and two-year-olds to play with. Following this, we turn on some music and sing and dance with the kids, which they love. During the next 50 minutes, my job duties consist of mostly crowd control, wiping noses, and preparing the kids to go outside.

Next, working with children brings many challenges, but it also brings successes. One challenge is that the oldest child in our room can be difficult to deal with. It seems like he is used to getting his way all the time and he thinks he can do whatever he wants to do. This is difficult because when we tell him to stop misbehaving, he just smiles and continues doing it. Sometimes, however, he’ll stop, but just go lay on the floor and pout. He is a very sweet kid, but he can be a challenge. Another challenge is that when children see others do something, they repeat it. For example, there is a table in the room that is used for eating and crafts. The kids know they aren’t allowed to climb on it, but when the older boy starts climbing, everyone else follows. One more challenge I face daily is when we are combined with the older toddlers. There is a girl who is attached to me. She likes to sit on my lap when I read to the kids, but she doesn’t let anyone else on me. She is also very stubborn. Sometimes, she will be sitting on my lap, but I need to get up to settle a dispute between other kids. She gets grumpy and refuses to move. When I move her off, she whines and acts like she is much younger than she is.

The successes of this position have been rewarding, even though the challenges have been frustrating. For example, the children seem to be very happy when I arrive. The one girl who is sometimes a challenge says, “You’re back!” when I arrive most days. Another success is that I could quiet a screaming boy who found leaving his family very difficult. It felt good to be able to comfort him when nothing seemed to be working. The biggest success of all, though, is that I enjoy being around these kids and the employees. It is a loving and welcoming atmosphere and I’m so glad I decided to do my internship at this location.

This experience has helped me grow and realize that I would love to work here at some point after I graduate. At first, I stood and watched, and didn’t know what exactly to do or how to interact with the kids. Now, I know what to do and how to interact. I didn’t originally know the rules or how discipline is handled, but now I do. This experience has been crazy at times, but it is so rewarding. I look forward to pursuing my dreams of working with children in the future and hope to someday be employed at NHELC, or something similar.