I was offered the opportunity to do my co-operative experience in the Spring/Summer cycle of the year 2016. I am the first student to begin this program at the School of Education and have received funding from donors that are working with the school. The reason that this co-op is so unusual is because I am combining my pre-student teaching along with it. That means that instead of just completing twelve weeks for pre-student teaching, I work full time for twenty weeks.

This experience has taught me more than just what I learn in class

The school where I work is called the Parent Infant Center. It is a pre-school for students ranging from infant to five years old. I essentially work as a full-time teacher and take on most of the responsibilities as the lead teacher. I have gone to parent—teacher conferences, as well as teacher meetings and lesson plan meetings. We all give ideas on different activities for the students, aimed at all of the core subjects. Since I was also completing my pre-student teaching, I wrote my own lesson plans and used them for class instruction. Working forty hours a week has given me a lot of time to observe different practices for teaching young children. This experience has taught me more than just what I learn in class. I have seen and performed the practices that are the foundation of early childhood education.