Childcare at Brunswick YMCA
Authors: Lorie Coley, Laurie Jones, and Kaleigh Pfaff
Faculty Supervisor: Dr. Carla Bluhm
Abstract:
Through the collaboration of the College of Coastal Georgia and community partnership, CCGA strives to bridge the gap between academic knowledge and community experience through the service learning program. Through this program, students from Dr. Carla Bluhm’s Infant and Child Development class worked with the YMCA of Brunswick to aid in various infant and child watch programs. This opportunity allowed students to apply classroom knowledge to an applied setting while fostering multicultural awareness. In this collaborative effort of service learning, the nursery staff at the YMCA were assisted with taking care of the children between the ages of 1-10 years old. By assisting the staff, students were able to gain knowledge with a variety of ages while engaging the children with creative activities and conversing with them. Several aspects of Service learning were accomplished. Some of these were: A broader multi-cultural perspective; Developmental theory observations; Collaboration, bonding and connectivity with children and staff and gained experience of what the day-care work entails.
