Timber Creek’s Early Childhood Program
By Bella Carampatan
Here at Timber Creek, there are a lot of electives you can choose from. One of the many electives you can choose from is Early Childhood Education. This program is a class where you get certified to work with children and learn how to teach children. Once you get certified, the students participate in this program are able to start working and/or volunteering at daycares. Including the one at our school.
The daycare is located at the ECE classroom where students volunteer either in the morning, during lunch, or after school. The daycare runs from 7:20 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The children who attend are teachers’ kids. Some of them teach here or at the elementary school. In the daycare, there are 23 kids enrolled. The director of the daycare is Mrs. Houston, who also teaches ECE 2 and up. The daycare has a staff of six as of now. The daycare and Early childhood program has been running since 2010. The program has the reputation of being the model ECE program in the county.
The students who volunteer at the daycare usually go after school. While they work, they get hours to put towards another certification which looks good for colleges. One of the requirements for this certification is 480 hours working with kids. In order to obtain these hours, students must volunteer before class, during lunch, during their class period, or after school. Not only does this program’s certifications look good for colleges, but they also give benefits. Gianna Capra, a sophomore in ECE 2 said, “You get to learn how to interact with kids and how to make the most of their learning experience.” Not only that, but you become a part of a tight knit community. You become closer to your peers and to the kids. This makes volunteering incredibly enjoyable when you can connect with other people. If you plan on working with kids, the daycare gives you so many opportunities to learn hands on. However, volunteering at the daycare is not just playing with kids. The students work on lesson plans for the kids, help prepare their lunch and snacks. The students help clean up after the kids and the further the students progress through the class, the more involved they become in the daycare.
Jennifer Houston, a teacher for ECE, stated, “Students in the program plan lessons using different learning domains and implement those lessons in the preschool with the children.”
Although this program is time consuming, it is a very enjoyable experience. It allows for benefits for both students and teachers. For students it gives them experience and for teachers, a convenient daycare.
