For my Child Development class, I had to observe for 8 hours at the Schoenbaum Family Center. The facility has an observation deck where you can observe either toddlers or preschoolers. I had to make five observations each hour and then relate them to what I learned in class about how children develop and the different milestones they reach. This was one of my favorite projects of the year because I liked seeing how children act at different ages and how they interact with each other.
Although this project was meant for learning about the different stages of development, I also learned how to manage my time. I learned that in order to create thorough and accurate work, I had to set goals and manage my time more than I was used to doing in the past. I had to plan out when I had time throughout my school day to go the center and how soon I wanted to complete the project before the deadline. Setting goals for myself was one thing but it was another thing to actually follow through. I learned that I am most successful when I set goals and follow through.
This project made me more excited to work with kids. It was interesting to be able to watch the children but the whole time I was there I wanted to be in the classroom interacting with them.