This past summer I had the opportunity to work at a summer camp program at a local daycare. Being Miss Jessica for the first time was very exciting. I really enjoyed spending time with my campers and leading them through activities. At first, I was just supposed to cover other counselors shifts when they were not available and help with field trips, however because of unexpected circumstances I found myself working around 35 hours a week. At first, this was really daunting. This was my first job and I had so many more hours than I originally expected. Even though I felt overwhelmed, I rose to the challenge and worked hard to make sure that my campers had a great summer.

This job was a great learning experience for me. I especially learned a lot about classroom management. I experienced many failures in management and discipline of my campers, but throughout the summer I learned better ways to address behavior issues with my campers. I also gained experience communicating with parents. Throughout the summer I had to communicate with parents over many matters such as their child’s behavior, injuries, and field trips. I think this was very helpful because communication with parents is a key part of being a teacher. Going on the fieldtrips was also a valuable experience. This was my first time being on the other side of a field trip and it was definitely more stressful experience. I learned how strategic making fieldtrip groups is in order to ensure that the campers in each group all get along well. Being the leader of a fieldtrip group taught me a lot of responsibility. For instance, during our field trip to the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, I had to guide my group around the zoo and keep a careful eye on each of my campers to make sure that none of them got lost.

Overall, this job confirmed for me that I want to become a teacher. Even if I did not like my job every day, I still loved it. I built so many meaningful relationships with my campers that I will keep with me. A moment I will always remember was when I came back after being out for two days because of my wisdom teeth removal. As soon as I walked into the room, so many of my campers ran up to me and hugged me because they were so excited that I was back.