Blog #3

I have been involved in various forms of youth work in my lifetime. At a young age I began babysitting for neighborhood children, and then moved on to watching groups of children at a time. When I moved to LA my freshman year of college, I decided I wanted to work in my aunt's daycare at her gym and help out there. It was a great feeling to be working with multiple children at a time. Children that I would see on an almost daily basis and form relationships with them and their families. I even babysat for some of the children from the daycare.

Today however, I just started my internship at the YMCA in Middletown, RI, for their after school program. I am excited to learn more about helping youth in a non-profit setting and seeing what goes on in programs such as this one. Although I am new to the team, I already am excited to begin this new chapter of my youth work.

In the article by Jenkins, it talks about how "we can rehearse and acquire core skills and knowledge through play because play lowers the stakes of failure." These are supposed to help youth work better in the real world. Working with children of all different age groups, especially at the YMCA, I want to make sure that children see more of their youth than just being in school. Which is why I feel that after school programs are so important.