Youth Work
I have been working with the youth for about six years. When I was in elementary school, I knew I wanted to do something with children in the future.
My youth map:
1. My first job was nannying two little children. One was two and one was four. Before then, I never knew how to change a diaper, I didn't know how to make a bottle, or put in a car seat. I had to take the four year old to preschool everyday and pick him up. In this situation, it was on my own terms. The parents were parents who didn't allow their children to watch TV and wanted them to play. I created lessons with cardboard boxes, blocks, Barbie dolls and made all these toys into different choices for play. I then received two other nanny positions with two different families. Children aging from 4-9. I did the same types of activities with them. We explored play by playing house, restaurant, doctor, Barbie's, etc.
2. My next job was at a Preschool. I have worked with infant-preschool age children. Here, play is more structured. There is a lead teacher, there are rules, and there is a schedule to follow. The preschoolers had different centers where they could play on their own terms. The kitchen center was great because they could role play. They transformed to the mom, dad, grandma, grandfather, a baker, a pizza chef, anything they wanted to be. They used language from the people in their community, from their home, from what they have been taught or listening to. Role play helps them learn about the relationship between context and behavior. Outside play in the play houses and with the cars. Again, they transform into roles and create story lines for play.
3. My current job is working in an elementary school with kindergarten and first graders. Elementary school is very fast paced with little time for play. There are no more centers for play, but centers for math, reading and writing. Play comes alive with classroom helpers. The children who clean the tables, be the messenger, pass out papers, put papers in the mailboxes. This is a form of play because they are given permission to do something and then transforming into the role of how they view that relationship. All about Me bags are perfect to show the class because it helps the children explain why they love that toy, or picture or book. It makes other children wonder how they will talk about their bags. Lessons are fun and engaging with props to get the mind thinking.
My youth map:
1. My first job was nannying two little children. One was two and one was four. Before then, I never knew how to change a diaper, I didn't know how to make a bottle, or put in a car seat. I had to take the four year old to preschool everyday and pick him up. In this situation, it was on my own terms. The parents were parents who didn't allow their children to watch TV and wanted them to play. I created lessons with cardboard boxes, blocks, Barbie dolls and made all these toys into different choices for play. I then received two other nanny positions with two different families. Children aging from 4-9. I did the same types of activities with them. We explored play by playing house, restaurant, doctor, Barbie's, etc.
2. My next job was at a Preschool. I have worked with infant-preschool age children. Here, play is more structured. There is a lead teacher, there are rules, and there is a schedule to follow. The preschoolers had different centers where they could play on their own terms. The kitchen center was great because they could role play. They transformed to the mom, dad, grandma, grandfather, a baker, a pizza chef, anything they wanted to be. They used language from the people in their community, from their home, from what they have been taught or listening to. Role play helps them learn about the relationship between context and behavior. Outside play in the play houses and with the cars. Again, they transform into roles and create story lines for play.
3. My current job is working in an elementary school with kindergarten and first graders. Elementary school is very fast paced with little time for play. There are no more centers for play, but centers for math, reading and writing. Play comes alive with classroom helpers. The children who clean the tables, be the messenger, pass out papers, put papers in the mailboxes. This is a form of play because they are given permission to do something and then transforming into the role of how they view that relationship. All about Me bags are perfect to show the class because it helps the children explain why they love that toy, or picture or book. It makes other children wonder how they will talk about their bags. Lessons are fun and engaging with props to get the mind thinking.
Hi Gianna, I think perhaps you responded to the prompt for next week's readings on play:) No worries, we can switch and you can write something about perceptions of young people next week instead. Reading about your past experiences with young people is fascinating and in the last section you bring up a really interesting point with the classroom helpers. What are the boundaries between work and play for children and adults? Vivian Paley writes that "play is the work of children." What does this quote mean to you? Do you agree? Thanks for your post, Victoria
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