What is your biggest weakness?

I know that my weakness is English because English is not my main language. But when I came here I immediately enrolled in English classes. I also use the internet to learn and practise more about grammar. In these ways I have improved my English and I feel I'm getting better now. I'll keep learning to make it perfect.
Dian

My biggest weakness is that I am a little shy and a nervous person. But once people get to know me, soon they find me a warm and friendly person.
Amy

My biggest weakness is in always being critical of myself and I think I can panic sometimes. But now I'm learning to reflect and do more planning so that I don't panic but learn from each situation.
Masuma

I think that my biggest weakness is when I want to say no, it's difficult to say no. So most of the time I just say OK or yes instead of no. But I understand now that I have to change this negative point and become a more assertive person.

Atena

Reflections on ABC article

I think everyone should follow this example of the four ladies in

Mums making a big difference

I decided that I will donate some of my baby's clothes that no longer fit her.

Tosrifa

I would like to join the community as a volunteer. Working for babies is a good way to contribute yourself.

Masuma

Reflections on cover letters session

My cover letter wasn't very good because when I wrote my cover letter I was in a hurry. Next time I would take more time to think about what I'm going to write and get more information on the subject that I'm writing about.
Nhung

I read the cover letter document and prepared my cover letter at home. When you are prepared for the lesson, it's easy to follow through all the presentation.
Mercy

Why did you choose this career path?

I chose this career path because I consider myself to have so much patience for children. I like to play and assist them in learning. Also I like to see how they grow and develop and I like to supervise them and help them to achieve each development stage. In addition, I have good energy levels to work with children. Also I have more than 5 years experience in working with children.

Amy

Children are the most important part of every society. I chose this course and career path because I am passionate about children and I enjoy interacting with them. I would like to know about their world and to talk with them in their language. I love to feel with them and help them to meet their needs (health, nutrition, safety) and I love to give them quality care.

Atena.

I chose this career path because I consider myself a very enthusiastic, patient and responsible person who also likes teaching and working with children. I decided to work with children because they have a lot of potential and I can guide their learning while they are playing. This requires a lot of planning, especially in activities but I am willing to do it. And also one of my goals is to make children understand basic science concepts.

Mercy

Are we ready for our interviews?

Looking after babies

I understand that babies discover the world by the sense of taste and it is very easy for them to swallow small objects that can cause choking. In my last job I always removed and put away all the small toys or objects that may choke a small child.

OH&S and toys

I know small toys may be swallowed by young children. These toys are potential choking hazards. So in my last job I labelled all the toys for the appropriate age groups and kept the small toys out of reach of 0-2 children.

OH&S and babies

In my last job, I cleaned the toys everyday. I also removed all the small toys and items away from the baby area as I know toys should be cleaned because of the possible transfer of germs/disease. Also small toys and items are dangerous for baby because babies could accidentally swallow or choke.

Looking after the safety of children

In my last job I always made sure the children washed their hands before and after eating their food. I always supervised them closely, so when something spilled I would notice it and clean it up directly. Because I understand how dangerous the situation is as a child may fall and we want to make sure that children are always safe.

OH&S with older children

In my last job, I gave the children (ages 7 - 10) all the safety rules on handling some simple substances such as vinegar, petrol etc. They used these when we did some practical classes. It helped to prevent accidents in the classroom.

OH&S and childcare

In my last job, I cleaned toys regularly with anti-bacterial cleaners because I know it is important to keep cleaning them for hygiene and the well being of children.

Reflection

I really enjoyed playing with Aileen. I want to have more time to get to know the other children as well as Aileen. I also need to learn to speak slowly to children because sometimes I talk a bit fast when I get excited.

What happened?

I went to the childcare centre. Jin is in charge of the centre. First I went to the 2 to 5 years old room and Jin explained to me what they do with the children during the day. Then I went to the infants' room. There were 3 carers feeding the babies.

What did you do?

I spoke softly to the baby, sat and made eye contact with all the babies and also gave them praise.

What happened in the childcare centre?

I got down to the child's level and was interacting with the toddlers. I was helping them to make a puzzle. Also I was playing with a baby. Her name was Alisha. She was a cute baby. She liked my hat and she was playing with it. I really enjoyed it.

Observation in Childcare Centre

I listened carefully and tried to interact with the children in the infants' room. We walked around all the centre and observed and realised how they apply things that we learn in the class.

Reflection on Childcare visit

We went to the KU childcare centre to see what is really happening in childcare. The Coordinator showed us around the centre and explained the centre routine, the play area, the nappy changing area and all the rooms in the centre.

I listened to her carefully, observed what the children were doing, took some photos of the centre environment. I also tried to interact with one of the infants.

The centre was good and the Coordinator was very open minded. If I have more time in that centre, I would like to interact more with the children.