Mackenzie Junto – Early Childhood Education Internship

Hello, my name is Mackenzie Junto and I am a senior at Garden Spot High School. This year I have been interning in a kindergarten classroom at Blue Ball Elementary School.  I hope to study early childhood education at Millersville University. My mentor for my internship is Christina Esh and she has been very inspiring so far this year. She has been teaching for many years and does an incredible job at it. I love coming in every day just to talk to her and to the kids about what we are doing for the day.

In the classroom, a lot of my tasks have to deal with helping Christina. A lot of the time I cut lamination for her and prepare activities as well. Sometimes she lets me be independent and lead the kindergarteners at the teacher’s table as they practice their letters. It gives me so much experience and makes me comfortable with being independent with the kids. I also love getting to interact with the kids and make connections with them.

My daily routines consist of getting to the classroom and sitting with the kids and doing their morning greeting. I also go around and make sure to say hi to the kids for encouragement. Then I sit and observe Mrs. Esh as she goes over the letter of the day. I sometimes go around and redirect the kids if they are doing something they aren’t supposed to. Then we go into doing our stations. I help the kids with knowing where they are going. Sometimes I work at the teacher’s table and help the kids with their work. Other times I walk around the room and look at what stations the kids were assigned to. I also help with journal time and assisting them with writing.

I am learning so much from this internship. It made me realize that this career is definitely something I want to pursue in the future. I definitely want to be an early childhood teacher. I love being with the kids and watching them grow in their learning. I also have been told that I am a natural-born educator, which encourages me. I love working with my mentor Mrs. Esh and observing how she teaches and how she has the patience to teach. I can’t wait to pursue this career in college!