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The main thing that called me to this field was the urge to help provide resources to kids who need them most. From a very young age I was surrounded by this field of work, my grandparents were foster parents and my grandmother was also a member of the children’s aid society, as well one of my parents works in the school system in a contained classroom. From a young age I gained an inside look at this kind of work and continued to love it as I got older and wanted to pursue a career in the field myself. Once in high school I volunteered at my parents work any chance I could get to gain more experience and more knowledge about what goes into the work, as well as taking my co-op at a day program for adults with disabilities. This day program was the final experience that confirmed my career and study choice. Going into the co-op I knew how to work kids but for this co-op I would be working with adults with disabilities which is a whole new experience. It confirmed that I wanted to work with kids knowing that after they age out of the school system at 21 their resources would be minimal. It pushed me to confirm that I wanted to help kids in whatever way possible to allow them to have a better chance surviving in today’s society once they do age out. Overall it was my family life that influenced and pushed me towards pursuing a career and education in Child and Youth Care.

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My biggest challenge as I enter the field 

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My biggest challenge as I enter the field 

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The biggest challenge I see myself facing is being overlooked. By this I mean based off of how quiet I can be in most situations as I am more of an observer before anything, as well as because of how I look; I’m not the toughest or strongest looking person. Mainly I think my quietness could have me be overlooked for positions and during meetings. Potentially during interviews, I could and might be overlooked because I am not as loud as other candidates or present myself with a loud voice as I can be quite soft spoken. My biggest challenge is going to be remembering to talk in a loud clear voice during interviews, meetings, important conversations, and while working with others.  It would be an issue because in this field you can’t be quiet in any sense, you need to be present at every given moment; always physically and mentally present. You need to be able to voice any concerns or ideas that you have especially regarding students and what you may think benefit and what you think is not benefiting them. Communication is key and you need to be able to loudly voice your side, as well take part in meetings and such also requires being able to loudly communicate so you aren’t cut out of conversations and discussions. Overall, I think my quietness will be my biggest challenge going into the field of Child and Youth Care as it could result in being overlooked.

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What I hope to accomplish during my journey into the Child and Youth Care field after I graduate

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What I hope to accomplish during my journey into the Child and Youth Care field after I graduate

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I hope to accomplish a thorough understanding on what it’s like working in a cyc workplace setting. I’d like to become fully comfortable working with kids of all ages and of all different situations. There are many things I would like to accomplish over time but after I graduate I would like to explore the field more in depth and see new parts of the field I haven't been able to yet. I would like to explore the hospital scene as well I want to branch into the juvenile system scene and gain a new understanding of the part cycs play. I would like to be able to problem solve on the spot when faced with difficult situations or situations that erupt randomly on the spot as some children escalate when least expected. I also would like to become a reliable, well oriented, responsible, trusted, knowledgeable cyc practitioner once I graduate. As well a goal is to obtain my masters in social work after obtaining my bachelors in cyc. This is a goal because I believe having more knowledge of a social work background would benefit myself and those I work with. I believe it would help me become a better practitioner and allow for a career that would result in helping kids who need it most. I hope to accomplish these goals and more.

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- Smart Serve
- Honor Roll, Ontario Scholar

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1. Professionalism Goal: This goal was easy but also difficult to achieve. It was quite easy to have open communication with the staff and my supervisor about my comfort levels when it came to what age groups I wanted to work with and which ones I wanted to work with in the future. As well it was easy to communicate openly about what I needed when it came to support but there were a couple times that it became hard. There was a point in the semester that I did not feel like I could openly communicate with my supervisor because of a situation with another staff but once it was dealt with it felt like I could openly communicate with him about anything. I have struggled with having open communication with the male staff as we haven’t different views on society and the ways of life but I have been able to have open communication with the female staff at all times.

2. Cultural and Human Diversity Goal: Planning snacks that are religious and culturally safe and follow the guidelines has been quite difficult. At the beginning it was quite hard as there was no prior structure in place to accommodate or thought to not include pork items in the menu. We had to scrap the menu entirely and start from scratch. Even now at the end of the semester it's hard to continually accommodate and we have to have an alternative snack alternative for those specific students. We did begin to find alternative ways after researching what it was that students couldn’t eat besides pork, we then found out they couldn’t eat gelatinous and started to make sure the products we were using contained none or had very little of it in it. This goal created a challenge but it also created an obstacle to get over and created a new structure for future placement students and staff.

3. Applied Human Development Goal: developing strategies for students to use when they feel overwhelmed or like they needed a couple minutes to themselves was quite difficult. This is solely because I needed to get to know the kids on a good enough basis to be able to come up with ideas or strategies that I thought could work for them.  As well every child is different, what may work for one child might not work for another it’s all about meeting them where they are at. It’s about taking a trauma informed approach and respecting boundaries and comfort levels. For some youth taking a minute to sit outside and take some deep breaths was all they needed. For others they needed one on one support, they needed someone to sit with them and listen to how they were feeling and why they were feeling that way before they were able to calm down and take a minute to regroup. This goal was difficult to fulfill but helped create bonds and relationships with the youth.

4. Relationship and Communication Goal: Creating a safe space for youth was moderately difficult because as I mentioned earlier I needed to allow myself to get to know the youth and allow them to get to know me before installing any ideas or thoughts into play. As well what one student may find to be a safe and comforting space they can go to and talk may not look the same as to another. As well there has to be time and consideration into making sure the environment itself is safe and trauma informed as it is possible to set up a space for youth and result in setting them off even more or potentially bringing up past trauma of the youth. Ultimately this was a tricky goal because I was working with three different age groups who are all experiencing different things and feelings at the same time as one another on different levels. And there is a need to be able to validate everyone’s feelings but ultimately it's an unachievable goal as one issue may be bigger than the other one being presented. I did my best with this goal and created a space to the best of my ability that I feel all youth from every age group was able to use at any moment when they felt it was needed.

5. Developmental Practice Methods Goal: Developing activities was rather simple as I was able to watch how other programs were run and what activities or kind of activities worked best with the age groups of young people. Because I was able to witness what other program planners were doing and the sort of activities they were running, it made it easier for me to plan activities I knew the youth would like, such as a marshmallow tower competition or a variation of musical chairs. Those two specific activities I knew they would all enjoy and allow for inclusivity as it required every person to play staff included and allowed for everyone's creativity to be explored and supported. It also allowed for different age groups to interact with each other and create a new bond between them all. It also allowed the staff to bond with the youth more as everyone participated for a change.  As well because I was able to spend time with the youth before I was tasked with planning activities it allowed me to learn what they liked, what they didn’t like, what they wanted to see more of or try and even what they wanted to see less of or felt was overused. Overall, this experience was easy but difficult at the same time but allowed for lots of growth and change in my comfort levels or zone.

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CYC303 - Therapeutic Activity Planning Sheet Template #1