A New Job Sorta.....

A new chapter in the life of work....

You wouldn't have to know me for long to know that I've always worked with people...A helper of sorts.

In My teens to mid to late 20s When I was younger younger, I worked doing Sunday School Superintendent work, Sunday School Teacher work, Youth Group Leader/Pastor...and then like.

I added to that in my 20s doing Home Support work providing personal care for clients with a wide variety of disabilities. Also during that time sitting with elderly people who were hospitalized.

I also started doing some Human Service Counselor work in my 20s worked in Private Special Care Home home for awhile.

In my 30s I moved on to working as a Pastor for awhile. Running church programming  preaching, teaching and visiting...performing baptisms, funerals and weddings. As well as doing workshops at youth conventions and doing woman’s retreats.

Since in my 40s I've mostly done Human Service Counselling

for 2 Group Homes (one organization) and another Youth Care Organization. (Still work with the A&D Quality Youth Care on a casual bases)

My most recent job for the last 21/2 years is a Family Educator/Early Interventionist. I offer weekly, bi-weekly or monthly visits to various families, doing a developmental assessment every six months. As well as proving age appropriate stimuli and activities designed to enhance development and help with school readiness. Also providing families with information and resources regarding healthy growth and development. Assisting with parenting information, information on community events and other pertinent information as needed.

Now while I haven't actually left this job the job itself changed. The Government has changed us from Social Development to Education. With that our agency has amalgamated with to other agencies in our district forming a new program.

This week was my first week of Family and Child Education (FACE) Anglophone South. The job still has some of the same bones we will still be doing in home visits and regular assessments. That said there is a lot NEW! In Home Visits, Developmental Child Care Services (Daycare), Kindergarten Transition, Attachment and Creative Outreach.

So we basically left one job on Easter Weekend and returned to the same building (for now) and the same faces but a new job and new responsibilities.

It's definitely going to be a learning process...lots of change. I'm still doing in home visits but will be sharing The Kindergarten Transition Piece with my co-worker Trina. What I like best about that is Trina and I appear to be in sync...we were working on some ideas before we left for the day today and we were finishing each others sentences and thoughts. It reminded me of when I first came to work and was shadowing some home visits. We would go to interact with the children we were visiting and we would say the exact same thing.... it must be that one of us is a Newfoundlander the other a Cape Bretoner. One of us must of got lost on the way home as the joke goes who got lost depends on who tells it.

Our crew from Sussex (Thursday before Easter)

Trina and I at a group Christmas gathering

All in all we have great director, supervisors, and a great group of co-workers to work with. I am thankful for the girls I work with!!!! Our board, director and supervisors worked relentlessly for months to make this transition go smoothly. I can't even begin to express how thankful I am that we had and have the leaders we do. Other programs in the province have not been so fortune! So while there is a lot of change and a lot to learn and iron out I'm thankful! I'm still getting to help families and I'm excited to do and learn new things!