Going into the second semester, Early Childhood Education students started to shift their gears. During first semester, the students learned four different developmental domains about children of all ages. This semester, they will be applying the knowledge they have learned through real-life experiences.

  A site placement is a class or care setting where E.C.E. students will be reporting to for their first hour. Students choose what age they want to work with according to their interest. 

  Starting Jan. 17, E.C.E. students started site placements where they will be at Mon. – Thurs. The site placement experience is a culmination of the first semester learning experience. Where the students are able to apply the learning to real-life situations in classrooms and daycare centers.

  The week prior the class reviewed what the expectations are for when they go to their placements. They did this by emailing their site placements and simply introducing themselves. 

  E.C.E. student Kaidence Stroup says, “I am going to a first grade classroom at Jefferson to work with Mrs. Kested. I am excited to be able to get some first hand experience working with the children in this setting. I am nervous however, over the fact that I hope my relationship with the kids and the teacher are able to grow over the time I will be in the classroom.”

  This opportunity will be exciting for E.C.E. students because they will get a better understanding of child development and their unique learning and social/emotional needs.   

  E.C.E. teacher Heather Johnson says, “This experience is always sad for me, as it means I no longer get to teach daily; however, the time my students spend at their site placement is much more meaningful for them.” 

  E.C.E. students were equally excited for their site placements. 

Junior Maliya Reyes shared, “Before going into my site placement, I was a little nervous. Reason being is because I didn’t really know what to expect, and I didn’t know what the students or teacher would think of me. When I got in there everything went great. They were the sweetest people I’ve ever met. Now, I feel very happy and comfortable with my students. I am looking forward to the rest of this semester.”

  Every Friday, it will always be exciting when the class gets to reconvene to hear about the connections everyone is making with their site placement supervisor and the children they are working with. Fortunately for the E.C.E. students, when the class convenes on Friday, they will continue with team building activities. 

  In the end, this interactive experience gives E.C.E. an opportunity to gain more knowledge and make memories. These experiences will help them to go on and pursue a career involving children, now that they have the knowledge and experience.