A requirement for a scholarship I was awarded this past school year required that I work on campus, and the job I picked was a teacher's assistant at the Child's Study Center or CSC for short. I wasn't going into this job completely unaware on how to act around tiny humans, but I also didn't know what to expect. Previously I had worked with 3-year-olds, and only dealt with five or six at the most. The job I signed up for required me to help in a classroom of around 10 2-year-olds, and if you know anything about toddlers, being 2 is a completely different ball park than being 3. To my great surprise, I not only liked working with the children, but I absolutely loved it!
I found that working in the classroom at the CSC was very rewarding, and I learned just as much as the children were learning themselves. The job was intimidating at first. I was a stranger, and the kids were very put off by the new person in their set schedule for the day, but as soon as they warmed up to me,and I to them, it was like everything just clicked. One of the things I learned from being a teacher's assistant, mostly from the kids, is that I should enjoy the little things. The children have such an imagination that they can take a simple pebble or piece of mulch from the playground and in their eyes it is something magical.
Another thing I learned is that being a toddler is a wonderful time to watch. I cannot tell you how many times I come home and brag about the class I work with to my friends and family. The children are such a delight to work with, and being able to watch them grow and learn is something in itself. Many of the children in the class have gone from not really wishing to speak, or just using physical gestures to convey what they want to using full sentences, and to be able to witness such an achievement is humbling to say the least.
While I have learned many other things from working with toddlers, I think the most important lesson of all that I learned is that nap time is always needed, no matter how old you are. I believe that everyone should take naps, because they are wonderful, and always needed, especially in a college student's life.
I hope that I am able to implement everything I learned from working with toddlers in my life, whether that is immediately or down the road, I don't know, but every lesson I learned from them is valuable in their on way. I find being with these children extremely rewarding, and I look forward to see what is in store the next time I enter the classroom again. I am glad I can say that I unexpectedly fell in love with my job.
