As an undergraduate student, this experience was an adventure to remember. If you’re going to do this program, be prepared to work all day long. Although it’s a lot of work, the experience gained is worth it. Also, be ready to be flexible, especially when working with the children. Despite how prepared you are before Tyke’s Camp, situations will come up that you are unable to prepare beforehand. For example, the day before camp, my group was scheduled to receive five children. At 7 pm that evening, the number went up to seven and the day of camp, five kiddos showed up. The second day of camp, seven children walked through the door, and we had to create more supplies for those children. Other challenges you cannot prepare for are the different types of expressive and receptive language disorders you will encounter in the various children.
Throughout the whole program, you have to be able to work on your feet and be ready for anything. I’m so glad I did this program though. I was able to observe assessments, treatments and even participate when testing a child as an undergraduate student. I would definitely come back and do this again if I could.