what it's like working at a daycare

As many of you know, I found a job over the summer working at a daycare. Of course, I had a connection to it through my older cousins and a few church friends who had worked there before me. Having some people who had worked there before helped me be able to 1) know what to expect and 2) be prepared for some of the challenges that come with working at a daycare.

So I really haven't gone super in depth about what working and having a job has been like for me. and today, I wanted to write and reflect about the past six months and my work with children. 

It has grown me as a person. 

I have had to learn how to deal with stressful situations, children who don't listen and poopy explosions. I've also had to learn how to communicate with children in a healthy way and also with their parents. It has caused me to become more comfortable around people that I've never met before and this job experience will be awesome to put on a resume someday. I've also had to learn how to deal with coworkers who don't do their job and also to communicate with my boss about contacting me and availability.  There's a lot of areas that I can still continue to improve and grow in, but I can already see where I have learned so much.

I've learned to love the joys of working with children.

Yes, there are so many moments that occurred at the daycare that I will always treasure. I'm not sure that a fast food job or a job in a retail store would give me the precious memories as I have gained from working with kids. There is a little boy who is so adorable and has captured my heart and every time he sees me, he gives me a huge hug and there is always a kid who cracks me up, as he always compares me to my cousin Ben, who used to work there. The kids are truly blessings to work with, most of the time. When all of the kids in your room decide to run out of the gym during free time, turn the lights off and start screaming all while someone's mom is in the room; I become stressed out because it can cause me to look like I can't control them. A blowout from a toddler can be a disgusting experience to deal with. Having half the kids in your class starting getting upset because they aren't "it" in a game can be difficult to work through. But all of these things are nothing in comparison to the little moments of joy that I have with them. 

I've learned why I need to continue to pursue my college education 

If anything, working at a daycare has made me realize why working with kids is not what I want to do with the rest of my life. I think of this job as a momentary job experience that I have for a year or so in order to get experience and also to get money for college. I definitely do not see working at a daycare something I want to continue for the rest of my life, and so continuing to get closer to figuring out what I want to do in college and working hard in high school is a step closer to not working at a daycare anymore. It's a motivation to be diligent in everything I do. 

What kind of job do you have/do you wish to have? What have you learned from it?