Working in the Early Childcare field is not always the easiest, and the rewards are not covered in gold and turned into a statue that you can put on your book shelf. The rewards are the excitement that you see on your students face when the light bulb has just clicked on.
This is my light bulb story. Two years ago I never thought that I would be working in a small room at a local daycare. The bonus of working in this room, was that there were only 5 students in there. I was able to give all my kids a lot of attention, and that was something that one little girl was not given in her previous room. The new girl who was joining my room was blind. Inside I freaked out! I've worked with special needs children, but this one was a first for me. In talking with the parents and using her IFSP as a guideline of what needed to be worked on, I got to work.
Now when this little girl started in my room she didn't stand, walk, talk or eat normal foods, this was a challenge. So day by day we took baby steps to introduce new activities to her, to get her interested in what was going on around her. She made amazing progress, and in a little under a year of being stuck in a small room with me, she had a light bulb moment. I walked into my room, and my friend walked over to me hugged my leg and said "Hi".
All my previous thoughts of not being able to make a difference was shattered. A three year old convinced me, that I am a good teacher and I can make a difference.
Your comment about the child's picture being a window in their lives is very true. As a center director I have often used this technique to help children talk to me when something is bothering them and they cannot express themselves. Their drawing, the colors they use the explanation they give are all starting points of conversation that help.
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