The students of Careers in Child Development enjoyed walking to Valley View and reading to the young ones.
Photo by Autumn Hughes
This year, the Careers in Child Development class got the chance to visit the York Jewish Community Center and Valley View to visit the little ones at daycare. Since they had first period, they left the school at 8:05 a.m. and came back at 8:40.
The students had a schedule made by FACS teacher Joan Hammond that showed them where they were going on what days. For example, Jenna Hufnagle, a sophomore, went to the JCC Oct. 14 and 28 and Nov. 11. She also went to Valley View on Nov. 4.
If it wasn’t the students turn to read at Valley View or play with the toddlers at the JCC, they stayed at school with science teacher Leslie Gentzyel or went to room 129 to observe the special needs students.
Hufnagel said she enjoyed going to Valley View because it was beneficial and a lot of fun. For her, it was a warm, opening, and friendly environment that set a good foundation for the rest of her day. Hufnagle also enjoyed being around the younger children because they were respectful and attentive to her reading.
Garrett Clark, a senior, and the only male in the class, enjoyed reading to the children at Valley View and said, “it was like a visit from the past being able to be a kid again.” For him, it was everything that he was expecting.
Both Hufnagle and Clark enjoyed going to the JCC. They chose the room full of four and five year olds. Clark played outside with the young ones and enjoyed their imaginations. He said, “the innocence evoked the inner child in me!”
Hufnagle enjoyed working on small activities , like coloring, with the toddlers. When she and the children went outside, she would participate in different games and watch the children interact with each other.
Some of the positives of going to JCC for the students were introducing them to a new field of careers that they might not have known existed, and the staff was very welcoming. The only cons that was presented was the limited amount of time to interact with the children.
The students of the class enjoyed the experience of leaving school to either read to the little ones at Valley View or hang out with the toddlers in daycare at the JCC.