Day 6

Upon entering the daycare, I realized the infant side did not need my help because there were about four volunteers already over there. I proceeded to walk over to the toddler side. Most of the kids were either napping or quietly listening to a book being read to them. The little cots in which they take their naps were randomly placed throughout the room. I started out by reading to the ones who were awake. They jumped onto my lap almost automatically and even though they were not always paying attention to the story, they were definitely enjoying having someone pay attention to them. I felt that maybe it was the physical contact that was the important part of listening to an instructor or volunteer read to them. Whether they are sitting on your lap and looking on with you or they put their hand on your leg or arm during the story, I think they are trying to let us know that they are there. One by one the kids were slowly waking up. They would venture over and listen to the stories or they would start bringing out their toys. One of the little girls woke up from her nap and started crying. She looked up at me and reached out her hands. I picked her up and held her as she cried into my shoulder. It was so very sweet and all you can do is just hope that she feels better and can stop crying.
Sometimes while volunteering, I take a moment and look around at all of the babies and toddlers with whom I am working. I look at their adorable and chubby-cheeked faces, their tiny hands, and take note of their waddle when they try to walk. These babies are just like any other babies in the world. They are learning to talk, walk, read, play, share and even just be a little person in society. However, they were born into a different life-style than most other children. These kids are born into this world with hardly anything going for them. The positive thing they have going on in their lives are great caretakers, whether it be parents or their daycare instructors, and a roof over their head as long as they are here at PSP. On the other hand, these kids are born into a challenging lifestyle. They may not get the best education or have nice things growing up. They may also never get the same opportunities  other kids their age are going to get later on in life. It is so heartbreaking, but all I can do is be there for them. They need that emotional and physical connection with their daycare instructors or they could be the ones who slip through the cracks when they get older. 
Having a background in education is really helping me get through the mental barriers and challenges I have when watching these kids. An understanding of how education works gives me the knowledge and preparedness of how to handle communication with the children or doing activities. I have learned that hands-on experiences are the ones they are really going to learn from the most. Stimulating questions that really get their minds going (if they can talk or are learning how to speak). Even teaching them how to play fair and respect their friends is good background knowledge to have when working with them. 
My absolute favorite part of the day was when one of the instructors took down a bucket with a bunch of costumes in it. The kids were grabbing out their favorite animals and asking us to help them put it on. The toddler side turned into a zoo! The kids were running around in lion, giraffe, and dinosaur costumes. This aspect of using their imagination and being something else other than themselves for a little bit was very fun to watch. 
The final thought from this past Monday's experience was bringing back a question I had asked in one of my recent blog postings. It was on Day 4 near the end of the post. I had asked the question: "One point I feel that needs to be brought up from this past Monday after watching the babies, toddlers, and instructors interact is about comfort levels and boundaries. What is the comfort level that we can have with these kids?"
I asked for the opinions of a few different people who were also education majors and I got a varied amount of responses. Some said that if that was their kid, they wouldn't want their baby's daycare provider acting basically like the mom. For example, giving kisses, lots of hugs, or saying "I love you". Others said that maybe the reason that would be okay is because since this is a homeless shelter, (and the family situations may be a little less than ideal) these kids might not get a whole lot of love and attention when back with their families due to a number of possible circumstances. I just found these thoughts interesting and helpful.

Day 5

When I first started here at PSP, I had to do an orientation as you can see when/if you read Day 1. While they were training us on the Early Childhood Development portion, the SBS and SIDS training video did not work. So this past Monday I finally got to watch those informational videos. The training for these situations took a while, but I found it worth the interruption in my time hanging with the babies. If you are a parent or caretaker of an infant, you have to be so careful about shaking them. SBS, or Shaken Baby Syndrome, occurs when a baby is violently shaken back and forth. I know what you are thinking: "I would never 'violently shake' a baby." Unfortunately, it happens more than you think. If you are a parent, you may understand where I am coming from when I say this, but babies can sometimes cry a lot. Sometimes you have tried everything, but nothing seems to comfort the poor child. The video then talked about how some caretakers or parents will become so aggravated that they will shake the baby back and forth to try and silence them. It sounds horrible, but it is reality. The damage done to the neck and brain is usually irreparable. However, the video was helpful because it told us ways to prevent these things from happening. If the crying is too much, make sure the child's basic needs are met and place them in a safe place (like a crib) and feel free to walk away for a little while. The lady in the video said, "It's okay for the child to cry."
Another common fatality among infants is SIDS, or Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. This happens usually when the child is sleeping and the doctors do not really know the cause of it. It's more common among babies that are under 2 years of age. The challenge for this is because it is unpredictable and unpreventable. Learning about these two common situations that happen with infants I found to be very helpful. Not only as a volunteer, but as a future parent. 
While I was doing my usual routine and working with the babies, I noticed that there were two new kids in the group. I don't think we've had the same group of kids twice yet. The littlest one is always there, and one of the little boys keeps coming back, but there are always new kids coming and going. What made me most sad was when I learned the little twin boys were not at the shelter anymore. Families coming and going primarily happens due to the fact that the families that stay at PSP are moving on to something else. Maybe they could not get their application renewed with the county or maybe they are moving on to bigger and better things because they finally got their feet on the ground again. I asked one of the instructors if she also finds it sad when one of the babies leaves the shelter, and instead of hearing a more hopeful statement, she says, "Well not really, because through my experiences here, I have noticed that they usually come back anyways." As a volunteer, I do not get the pleasure of knowing the families more, but I noticed that the full-time instructors really know what's going on around this place. I found what she said fascinating and at the same time heartbreaking. It's too bad that these families get stuck in the same cycle over and over again.