Senior Project Reflection Paper

After completing my junior research paper last school year I began thinking about what I would want to focus on for my senior project. I had written my paper on becoming an elementary school teacher, so I knew for my project I wanted to do something that gave me the opportunity to give back to my community. With the desires of some day becoming an elementary teacher, I decided to base my project around early education. After being informed about The Discovery Corner in Phoenix Oregon by my former English teacher, I applied and soon met my mentor Lynn DeHaven. The Discovery Corner is a daycare/ preschool which serves for children starting at 10 months all the way to 6 years old. Lynn has worked with this institution for a few years and serves as an instructor for various age groups. After discussing my interests with my mentor we decided my work there would consist of one on one interactions with the children, and basic instructor training. During my first session at the center, I and Lynn spent our time discussing the program, the services offered for families, and the basic key

At the time last summer I was working two jobs and also balancing my project hours on top of it all, so I had to be up as early as possible to get an hour to two hours of volunteering done then head over to one of my shifts. This was all very exhausting and at times my work schedule didn 't work with the days I was supposed to be at the daycare and so it became me having to miss some days to go work. Contacting Lynn sometimes was a bit difficult because of her busy schedule, so that definitely added to my worry. With time I knew these challenges would lead me to become a more responsible young woman, with the capability of balancing my responsibilities. Eventually, I was able to find a healthy balance between the three as my project