It wasn't always fun and games at Norland, we also had to sit down
and have lectures like any other college course. These were to include
health where we covered all the sickness' children are prone
to, the various stages from conception to birth, and practical first
aid. Lectures in education taught us how children can learn through so
many different channels from dress up play to everyday excursions such
as a trip to the supermarket.
I'll never forget sitting
in a health lecture when there was a knock on the door and the first male
that had applied to Norland was coming in to look around. I think he
was a little taken aback because he whispered to his guide "It's
all girls" and then we never saw him again. However in 1999 the first
male nanny was accepted into the college (but I'm guessing it wasn't
'our' guy).
We had lectures in food
hygiene and nutrition. In Home
Economics we experienced practical assignments in the kitchen, planning,
cooking and pricing out a balanced meal for a child or family. (How
much is an ounce of flour these days?)
We also had to
plan a fake children's birthday party where we chose a theme, the
games we would play, the food, recipes and how much it would cost, the
grand finale was to make the birthday cake and ice it. I chose Teenage
Mutant Ninja Turtles, perhaps not the calmest subject at the time (and
it definitely stood out amongst all the pony and nursery rhyme cakes)
but
terribly popular with the young boys of the early 90's. I was so very
proud of my Rafael Turtle head cake complete with red bandanna in
fondant
icing. I wish I had a picture to included here but alas all my college
books are still in England......I plan on retrieving these items later
on in the year and hopefully will be able to post photo's shortly after.
There was no end of practical training for Norlanders. We would work in the nursery schools
within the college and the day care centres for babies and toddlers.
This practical experience for me felt very realistic.When I was assigned
to the Nursery Schools it totally felt like I was actually working in a
Nursery School.....not part of the training. It was a great
experience. We had teachers who ran the schools and several nurses were
there to assist the children with educational and creative play,
supervising outdoor play, keeping them safe and stimulating their day.
It was a great taste of what was to come if you chose that route for a
future career.
Working in the baby units we learned how
to care for babies from 6 weeks old to I believe 12 months. We were
taught how to make bottles and introduce food, how to play with a baby,
how to clean them properly, make cots, sluice diapers (delightful), the
safest way (at the time) to put them to sleep, how to harness them in
the Silver Cross Prams etc etc etc
For the toddler day
care rooms we were educated in tantrums, imaginative play, sharing, nursery rhymes and other fun songs, how to make clean up fun, musical instruments and
all the other great things that children need to learn.
In
our second year at college as well as balancing studies and sewing we
had various placements outside of the college. The longest placement
was to spend 6 weeks living in nurses quarters in a hospital and work in
either the maternity or pediatric ward. My position was in Cardiff,
Wales and being that I wasn't really good with blood and the fact that I couldn't even
bring myself to watch a birth on T.V. I chose the pediatric ward. It
was an interesting 6 weeks, our responsibilities were mainly to play
with the children and make sure they were happy and entertained, we read
a lot of books and played a lot of games and kept the play area clean,
tidy and organized. It was a great experience but at the end of 6 weeks
I was more than happy to leave and confirmed the fact that working in a
hospital was just not for me.
Another placement was in
a primary school for a week. I loved this one. Before deciding to
become a nanny I was going to train to be a primary school
teacher.....so this was right up my alley. I have no regrets about not
going into teaching.....nannying was the right path for me.
We
also had plenty of experience working in the Children's Hotel which was
located in a wing of Denford Park. This was a place where parents
could leave children overnight and each child was assigned a nurse for
the length of their stay. It was our responsibility to plan their days
and care for them while they were there. This gave us great one on one
experience and a chance to form a bond of our own with an individual
child.
The last placement was to work a week in a
primary school in their special needs classroom. This was such a
memorable week. A chance to really give yourself to those who greatly
needed attention.
Over the years we also had
opportunities to work in a creche usually at the various horse shows
that were held not too far from our college. Norland would set up a
tent where anyone attending the show could drop off their children for
an hour or so and we nurses would keep them entertained with the various
amount of toys that we brought along. I worked a couple of these to
gain experience.
Sorry there are no photo's to include here, I know it would have made the heavy reading a little more entertaining. So to make up for it I will include photo's in Part 4 and Part 5....stay tuned.
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