Not sure if I'm ready

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a9898
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Not sure if I'm ready

Post by a9898 » Wed Jun 28, 2017 12:17 pm

Hey,

I been doing casual shifts since late last year after doing Cert III prac at the centre and after doing my second prac for diploma stage 2 I was in talks for more shifts during the holidays which I was then asked about doing part time work. I'm now offered full time position in the babies room as a staff is leaving which I will change from full time to part time study at tafe to finish Diploma stage 3. I'm worried i wont be able to pick up the workload a full time staff does as casuals we don't do alot such as food handling, documentations etc...I'm learning everyday and making mistakes as i'm not a natural with children but love them growing and developing and amazes me what a young child can do / learn that we grown ups overlook... I'm a quiet and shy person and have built a relationship with the children and staff but its a work in progress and still hard for me on being firm, expressing myself with stories/songs, setting up experiences and play environments ,running large group time etc and if i will able to talk to the families too since i cant put words into sentences and tend to stutter. Im excited about the opportunity but I'm not sure if I'm ready :$

Sorry for the ramble.


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Lorina
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Re: Not sure if I'm ready

Post by Lorina » Thu Jun 29, 2017 1:00 pm

I think you should go ahead and do it! The best bit is that you're already familiar with the staff and the children so it does make it easier for you! You will learn as you go and I think this is a great opportunity for you to come out of your shell!!

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Re: Not sure if I'm ready

Post by Lorina » Thu Jun 29, 2017 1:06 pm

It sounds like you're passionate about what your doing so that's the main thing! You will definitely pick things up as you move into full time work and babies keep you so busy that before you know it your day will be done! Just have fun with it, you will enjoy yourself!!

Let me know if you need any help and how it goes on your first day!

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fchaudari76
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Re: Not sure if I'm ready

Post by fchaudari76 » Thu Jun 29, 2017 2:06 pm

The only way to be ready is jump in and do it!
It may take time and you may feel overwhelmed initially but you'll find your feet and soon doing a full work load will become a breeze

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Re: Not sure if I'm ready

Post by a9898 » Fri Jun 30, 2017 6:57 pm

Thanks Lorina and fchaudari76:). guess i should be more excited as I transition into the role...and stop overstressing haha :$

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Re: Not sure if I'm ready

Post by Lorina » Mon Jul 03, 2017 3:06 am

It's Ok we all will feel like that on the first few days and it will take a couple of weeks to settle but once you do you will be wondering what all the stress was about in the first place!

You'll be fine!

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Re: Not sure if I'm ready

Post by a9898 » Thu Jul 13, 2017 9:18 pm

Done 4 days as full time educator... These two weeks are about introducing myself to families and getting to know the children particularly the ones I'm primary carer too...Still over the place but the other staff in room are so great in guiding and telling me things i need to know about the children, routines etc (sometimes they're questions I have in head but forget about it so they beat me to it) :). I found out i need to learn alot about babies ... although its common sense i ask some of the silliest questions just to be sure :$ dont have much experience with babies besides seeing them asleep in prams haha

I find toddlers and preschoolers alot easier although im not natural with all children but its definitely alot easier to get closer with the older ones as they can talk/understand more.. so work in progress with that as well as building attachment (had alot of trouble doing sleep times with some babies but theres progress) and grouping is hard as theyre quick to wander off..fair enough though as I'm not good with it I end up going back and forth bringing them to the mat rather than sing/read but yeah im very monotone and dont know alot of the lyrics so dont sing as much as i should. Staff says they dont care just sing be silly and whatnot but its easier said than done for me :/

Some of the children I have slowly built attachment which is awesome :) Great experience..learning lots, abit clumsy/forgetful but hopefully it will get better from here!

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linsaa fdc
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Re: Not sure if I'm ready

Post by linsaa fdc » Fri Jul 14, 2017 6:13 am

Hi a9898,

It is so nice to hear from a new educator that they are getting support from their workplace. We all have to start from somewhere so give yourself a chance , it sounds like everyone else is so don't be so hard on yourself.......baby steps.
Kids don't really care about the exact lyrics, my husband makes up all kinds of silly words to familiar tunes and the kids like that more than the real version, try to relax and have fun, then they will be drawn to you.
We used to sing the clean up song that goes 'clean up clean up everybody lets clean up' my husband sings 'clean up clean up or papa will smack your butt' they think its hilarious and that's the only song they will sing here for a long time and their parents say they sing it at home when they clean up too and they think it is funny when they here the kids singing as they put their toys away...... its all in fun and of course eveyone knows my husband and knows he would never smack and he is only playing

Linsaa fdc :wave:

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Re: Not sure if I'm ready

Post by a9898 » Fri Jul 14, 2017 6:44 pm

Haha will need to let lose! But even with family and friends singing is not my forte haha :giggle: ...Dont know why but its alot easier for me to sing/read one on one or 2-3 children than a group...but yeah need to start somewhere hopefully I will be confident to do it easily and whenever asap just for myself to come out more haha

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Re: Not sure if I'm ready

Post by Lorina » Sun Jul 16, 2017 7:47 pm

Great to hear your experiences so far!

Don't worry, too much about singing I myself don't have the best voice in the world. However, for the kids, you don't have to! They just love it when you engage with them and sing to them and be silly with them. You can also sing a lot of songs on different topics which helps the children to learn. You could try searching in Youtube for inspiration and do lots of songs with actions.

During story time you can also introduce felt stories and puppets which children love as well!

You gain more confidence as you settle down!

Glad you're enjoying yourself so far!

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Re: Not sure if I'm ready

Post by a9898 » Thu Jul 27, 2017 8:53 pm

3rd week almost done ! Omg where has the time gone?! Tafe just started last night so its gonna get full on from here :O

I'm pretty settled with the routine and most if not all the children have warmed up to me :)hehe
I have been in a 2 week observing period which i think is still happening this week too before i can handle food and do more like paperwork...However, I feel like I wont be able to get to where the other educators are in terms of documentations, planning for indoor and outdoor environments, my setups are so basic and simple...and singing im getting there still cant lead a group time myself, will only join in when someone else starts it:$ (only can do stories- but needs more enthusiasm etc). I'm still getting my head around with primary carer role im good with nappies and bedtime sometimes but everything else i kinda just drop everything and do what other educators ask me to do like take children outside and supervise etc. I have introduced myself to most parents that I've met but beside hi how are you? i cant really add much there was one time i mentioned about child's eating arvo tea sometimes he doesnt but he was older child whos not my group...will this improve? haha I know it takes time but some days are just so hectic I'm forgetting things and feel like I'm at square one.

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Re: Not sure if I'm ready

Post by Lorina » Sat Jul 29, 2017 9:01 pm

Nice to hear your progress so far!

Great to hear that you're building relationships with the children and parents and you've settled into a routine! That's fantastic! Don't worry too much about being up to where the other educators are... you'll get there. You just focus on what you have to do.... With stories try and do some images with them. Plan the stories for the week and then you can plan the materials you use. Just create your own. For e.g. The Very Hungry Caterpillar - you can get foam/felts and cut out the characters of the story etc. Kids love it!

When talking to parents, try and remember what each child has done and you can mention it to the parents. For example - if joe did play dough you could mention it to his parents while they pick him up.

Sounds like you're having a ball!

Thanks for sharing!

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Re: Not sure if I'm ready

Post by linsaa fdc » Mon Jul 31, 2017 6:12 am

Don't be so hard on yourself, we all have a lot to do and it takes all of us a really long time to get everything that we need to do into a routine.

Linsaa fdc :wave:

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