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.