Service-Learning Proposal
Community Partner
The contact information for my project is as follows:
Stephanie Sharp
Volunteer Coordinator
Therapeutic Preschool
The Children’s Center, 350 S 400 E
Salt Lake City, UT 84111-2905
Phone: (801) 578-2349
Email: [email protected]
Project Plan
For my service-learning project, I will be helping in a Therapeutic Preschool Classroom. I am currently helping Debbie and Melody, the two teach in Team 4. I work on Monday and Tuesday from 12:00-3:00 pm every week until May 4th, 2020. I started working on February 4th and have completed 9 hours so far.
Civic Engagement
Civic engagement means being actively involved within your community, whether it be local or statewide.
Personal Culture
I’m an eighteen, almost nineteen-year-old girl who is a college student at Salt Lake Community College. I’ve grown up in the Utah valley and was raised in the LDS church. I don’t really identify with any political party and don’t have any real interest in politics for that matter, though I have been told my views are more libertarian/democratic.
Culture Groups
I’ve ended up working with a group of about ten children, each ranging from four to five years of age. I’m used to working with small children, seeing as my niece and nephew are both three years old. Some children are on the autism spectrum while others seem to suffer from behavioral issues. I’m not allowed to go too in depth on their information for safety reasons.
Challenges
The biggest challenge that I anticipate is finding a way to get the kids to understand right from wrong. The children are being sent to the Children’s Center because they cannot be in a regular classroom, so all I have to do is figure out a way to make learning easier for them. I’m a little apprehensive with working with children who might not communicate in a way that I’m used to.
Benefits
I’ve enjoyed talking and playing with the kids so far. It’s been fun to play with trucks or dolls and go along with them. From what I’ve seen, the kids are so open to accepting new people. The first day I was there, two of the children were asking me to solve puzzles with them and play outside on the playground during recess time.
The contact information for my project is as follows:
Stephanie Sharp
Volunteer Coordinator
Therapeutic Preschool
The Children’s Center, 350 S 400 E
Salt Lake City, UT 84111-2905
Phone: (801) 578-2349
Email: [email protected]
Project Plan
For my service-learning project, I will be helping in a Therapeutic Preschool Classroom. I am currently helping Debbie and Melody, the two teach in Team 4. I work on Monday and Tuesday from 12:00-3:00 pm every week until May 4th, 2020. I started working on February 4th and have completed 9 hours so far.
Civic Engagement
Civic engagement means being actively involved within your community, whether it be local or statewide.
Personal Culture
I’m an eighteen, almost nineteen-year-old girl who is a college student at Salt Lake Community College. I’ve grown up in the Utah valley and was raised in the LDS church. I don’t really identify with any political party and don’t have any real interest in politics for that matter, though I have been told my views are more libertarian/democratic.
Culture Groups
I’ve ended up working with a group of about ten children, each ranging from four to five years of age. I’m used to working with small children, seeing as my niece and nephew are both three years old. Some children are on the autism spectrum while others seem to suffer from behavioral issues. I’m not allowed to go too in depth on their information for safety reasons.
Challenges
The biggest challenge that I anticipate is finding a way to get the kids to understand right from wrong. The children are being sent to the Children’s Center because they cannot be in a regular classroom, so all I have to do is figure out a way to make learning easier for them. I’m a little apprehensive with working with children who might not communicate in a way that I’m used to.
Benefits
I’ve enjoyed talking and playing with the kids so far. It’s been fun to play with trucks or dolls and go along with them. From what I’ve seen, the kids are so open to accepting new people. The first day I was there, two of the children were asking me to solve puzzles with them and play outside on the playground during recess time.
***All photos used were with permission from The Children's Center***
Through this service learning project, I've learned how valuable it is to aid nonprofit organizations. Because they rely solely on volunteers and donations, they won't have the newest or best resources available to them. Being an extra set of hands to help out teachers really put things into perspective. Not everyone is able to afford expensive mainstream services, so nonprofit's are widely important for our communities.
The preschool culture is so different than the culture I live in day to day. It's been a long time since someone in my family was that age, so it really took me back to when I was younger. Applying the knowledge I have now as well as the theories we learned in class helped me to better understand what the preschoolers may be feeling. This has helped me with my job to be better at customer service and more accommodating to those who may need some extra help. In relation to my other courses, I would say this goes hand in hand with my ENGL 2010 final project. Both dealt with an issue pertaining to service and how if affects others, so I was able to relate my findings in both courses to each other as the semester went on. |