Story and photos by Madeline Suffian ’28
The new Winter Term was exciting and fun for the middle school students. The first two weeks back from winter break were a time for students to connect with classmates and explore new activities. There were many classes that they were able to choose from. Each class contained entertaining projects and games which helped emphasize the main goal of the class. A popular choice for many seventh and eighth graders was the babysitting course.
Over the past two weeks, the participants moved from learning how to take care of infants to eventually learning how to care for elementary kids. Olivia Halverson, Seventh Grade English Teacher, said, “I would describe this class as educational, a way to stretch your limits, and extremely fun.” Each day the class had different lessons and activities that taught the kids how to properly care for a child. Activities consisted of working with plastic baby dolls to learn how to pick up, swaddle, and change diapers. The kids even got down on their hands and knees to be able to see at the children’s eye level. They then flagged possible violations that they saw that could be around a home. Kennan Miller ’28 stated, “The most important thing I have learned in this class is getting CPR and Heimlich certified for an adult, kid, and baby.” As well as becoming CPR certified, the students taste-tested baby food. They also learned different songs to sing and games to play with the children when they are babysitting. Not only did they learn how to take care of the kids, but they also learned how to manage the money they would earn babysitting. The end goal of this class was for the students to create a marketing tool for themselves.
Babysitting is a skill that middle schoolers will eventually use for most of their teen years. It is a great way for them to make money and learn skills they will need in the future. These students continued to practice the lessons they learned in this class until the end of Winter Term. The seventh and eighth graders are now ready to travel on to their babysitting careers.
