Danika Baker

Ferris State Universitys

Learn to Skate Program
January 18th, 2015
Hours 0-5
Journal Entry #1
Going into my first session of Ferris State Universitys Learn to Skate Program, I
was very excited and anxious to volunteer my time to help children on their journey into
learning how to ice skate. Learning a new skill can be a fun and stressful for anyone,
even children.
The program is offered for children of all ages starting as soon as the child is able
to walk and there is no age cap. My responsibilities as a volunteer coach include, but are
not limited to helping the younger children who can not stand of skates alone and helping
to create a fun and exciting atmosphere where children feel safe and willing to learn new
skills. My role at this program is to assist the children as a coach on the ice. Depending
on the need for help on a given day, it could be to give instructions to older kids on games
or drills or to assist the younger kids in staying on their feet and helping teaching them
that it is ok to fall and get back up.
The community and the agency benefited from my services today because they
were short staffed on coaches and having a lower coach to child ratio means more one on
learning time for each child.
Some of the activities that helped me meet my personal goals were applying
games that were appropriate to the different stages of child development for the different
age groups. Through interacting with children on the ice, some of which are scared and
crying, I am able to be a positive influence and show how much fun learning to skate can
be. Some of the younger children benefit from the use of props (toys) on the ice.
Something as simple as a stuffed animal or ball gives the children motivation to
participate in activities that they might not have felt a need to participate in previously. In
comparison, the older kids seemed to benefit off games that were more competitive and
required direction following such as Red Light, Green Light, or Simon Says.
One of the School of Nursing program goals that I was able to meet with this
activity was collaborative leadership. As a coach, it is imperative that they take the lead
and are appropriate and professional when communicating, even to children. By talking
with children in a way that they were able to relate to or get them excited about activities
it made learning to skate a fun experience.

Danika Baker
Ferris State Universitys
Learn to Skate Program
January 25th, 2015
Hours 5-10
Journal Entry #2
During todays Learn to Skate session, one particular child stood out to me. The
child was in the 3-4 year old group and when he started on the ice, he was unable to stand
up on his own with the skates never mind move in them. This child was crying for his
mom and was refusing to participate in the activities. When I went up to the little boy and
introduced myself as coach Danika, I could tell it was going to take a lot more
encouragement and creativity on my part to get this child to come around. I asked if he
liked dinosaurs and if he wanted to go with me to get one at the other end of the rink
where we kept some of the toys. With some apprehension, the little boy agreed to skate
with my help over to the other end of the rink. After that, we were chasing balls on the ice
and even incorporate some of the other children into a game of catch. Taking that terrified
child and turning his learning to skate experience into a positive one was very rewarding.
By having myself as an extra body willing to help out with the kids, this child was
able to have one on one coaching and encouragement. The activity helped me reach my
personal goal of making a difference and encouraging healthy childhood development at
a young age starts with enrolling kids in activities such as the Learn to Skate Program
which promotes physical activity and opportunity for social development at many ages.
By being apart of todays lesson I was able to help one child have a positive experience
and hopefully next week he will remember how much fun he ended up having once he
gave the program a chance.
The Nursing Programs course outcome that I applied this week was Theoretical
Base for Practice. Going back to the child/ coach ratio, it was very apparent that some
children needed more help and one on one attention than others. This ratio has been
proven time and time again in the classroom setting with student teacher ratios and
having a higher success rate the lower the student teacher ratios. By applying this
research I can back my opinion of making a difference even if today it was just with one
child who needed me. By having more coaches on the ice, skaters had the advantage of
more individualized attention for their personal needs.

Danika Baker
Ferris State Universitys
Learn to Skate Program
February 1st, 2015
Hours 10-15
Journal Entry #3
Today at Ferris State Universitys Learn to Skate program, I was able to run drills
for the 5-6 year old group. These students for the most part, were more stable on their feet
and required a little less one on one help staying up on their skates. Most of the children
could get around fairly well on their own and only needed guidance with drills and
activities to help advance their skills. If these kids fell on the ice they could easily get
back on their feet and continue the exercises that we had set up for them. We were able to
do more drills focusing on finding their edges on the skate blades and even did some
skating exercises laying the groundwork for skating backwards. I had some kids that felt
uncomfortable being away from their parents on the ice. I had to come up with some
creative ways to reassure the kids that they were safe and in good hands and to distract
them from missing their mom and dad. Some of the ways I deterred their attention was to
turn their parents being in the stands into a positive thing. I changed some of the drills to
incorporate their parents. I used some lines such as, your mom and dad are watching
you, lets show them how you can skate backwards. Some kids preformed better when
they received a positive reward such as a sticker when they accomplished on of their
goals or finished an activity. The coaches all have a big book of stickers for the skaters in
order to keep the kids happy and willing to try new things.
The community benefited from my volunteer work today by having positive and
encouraging reinforcement for healthy family perceptions. Some children get separation
anxiety on the ice from their parents and that has a negative impact on their performance.
As a coach, it is our job to create a fun and safe environment and to make these children
feel comfortable to learn new skills. I was trying to include the parents for the children
who were a little less likely or willing to participate in the activities. By including them
into our lesson the children were more excited to preform the tasks in order to show off
for their parents.
The nursing program course outcome that I applied this week was Collaborative
Leadership. I tried to use appropriate, professional communication and collaborated with
my situation to increase the care of the children for maximum effectiveness. By
communicating with the children and incorporating their parents in activities the children
got more out of their lesson for the day. Some of the drills I would even have the kids
skate toward where their parents were sitting in the stands so that they could be closer to
their parents and feel safe.

Danika Baker
Ferris State Universitys
Learn to Skate Program
February 22nd, 2015
Hours 15-20
Journal Entry #4
Today during Ferris State Universitys Learn to Skate Program, I thought a lot
about how much of a positive impact that this program has on the childrens lives and
with their development as young people. Keeping children active and involved in sports
helps with epidemics such as childhood obesity. In our world today, technology has taken
over and kids stay inside more often than playing outside. Their diets often consist of fast
food and meals of convenience rather than a meal of nutrients. It is crucial for parents to
get their kids involved in active sports or anything with physical activity such as Ferris
State Universitys Learn to Skate Program. Prevention is the best way to approach the
issue of childhood obesity. Incorporating a healthy lifestyle early on in a childs life will
prevent many complications and risk for health issues later in life for that child. By
making exercise fun, they will be more likely to continue making choices to exercise
because they want to not because they have to. Socially, kids get to meet new friends and
develop a greater sense of confidence. Encouraging and praising positive behaviors in
children will make them want to continue in activities. These positive reinforcements
encourage kids to want to try new things and stick with things to get better. When they
finally accomplish a new skill such as skating backwards or standing up on skates
without having someone or something to hold on to, the kids learn the rewarding feeling
and sense of accomplishment for their feats.
The community benefited from my involvement in todays lesson by creating a
fun and safe learning environment. Playing games with the kids and making them want to
be there and want to participate in physical activity and not making it a chore will
encourage the kids to involve themselves in healthy lifestyles later on in life. One of the
games that that the kids loved that I directed today was, Red Light, Green Light. Being
able to make physical activity a fun time and not make it forced upon children will have a
longer lasting impact on their lives.
Today the Nursing Program course outcome that I incorporated was the Generalist
Nursing Practice. Concepts of health promotion and lifespan considerations have a great
deal to do with children involved in activities to help them life healthy lifestyles at a
young age. The Learn to Skate Program helps lay a foundation for making being healthy
a fun and effortless priority. It is a nurses main role to encourage health promotion and
preventative measures in order to maximize health for everyone. Children learn early in
their lives what they like and dont like and by making exercise and being active fun and
cool is an excellent way to start health promotion in children.

Danika Baker
Ferris State Universitys
Learn to Skate Program
September 13th, 2015
Hours 20-25
Journal Entry #5
Today at Ferris States Learn to skate program I was able to encourage children to
have a positive sense of self and enable a ground work for a healthy self of steam later in
life. One way to build self-esteem is to set standards of expectations for the childs
behavior and in return model these expectations with my own example. Not to say if a
child fails at an activity that he was punished or reprimanded, but instead encouraged to
try again with myself and the other skaters and coaches on the ice as a support system.
Encouraging and reinforcing the positive actions along with suggestions for activities that
the child did not excel at is a good balance for the child to want to succeed at everything
they set out to do.
The community benefited from my involvement in todays lesson because I was
able to impact children and help lay a ground work for their future involvement in school
and in other aspects of their lives. By giving the kids a positive self image and self worth,
they are more likely to participate in other activities and putting themselves out there
even though they might not be the best or know that they might fail. Besides learning
how to skate, the kids learn that its ok to fall down and not everything happens on the
first try. Practice teaches kids patients and the more practice they put in, the more
rewarding experience they feel when they accomplish something that they have worked
hard to achieve.
The Ferris State University Nursing Program course outcome that I contributed
this week was Theoretical Base for practice. There is extensive evidence on childhood
development and positive effects of having children involved in sports and extracurricular
activities. Educating parents on these effects for long run childhood development
encourages health promotion and uses scholarly research to provide reasoning of the
importance of getting children involved in activities. There is psych/ social evidence that
correlates children getting involved in sports an these extracurricular activities even if its
chess club or a book club, that they feel a greater sense of acceptance and self worth
compared to kids who are not involved in activities. There are studies showing that when
kids are involved in extra curricular activities, they are less likely to get into trouble with
drugs or alcohol. This could have a correlation with having a greater sense of self worth
and confidence and they dont have that need to fit in when pressured by other kids to do
something that they know is wrong. Kids involved sports have the groundwork for right
and wrong and discipline. They have a strong base of positive role models in their lives as
well as their parents. They have coaches and families of teammates that care about them
and are available to talk to.

Danika Baker
Ferris State Universitys
Learn to Skate Program
September 20th, 2015
Hours 25-30
Journal Entry #6
My last session of Ferris State Universitys Learn to Skate program was bitter
sweet. We set up the final days activities to be filled with interactive games that we
havent played before and new obstacles for the children to test their skills that they have
developed over the season in a fun and challenging way. The kids were exciting to
participate in the activities and it was fun to see how they grew over these past few
weeks. Many of the kids started off the sessions very timid and unwilling to participate in
activities. During the first couple sessions some of the kids were apprehensive about
leaving their parents. As the sessions progressed, it was warming to see these kids not
only excited to go out and skate, but to take that initiative in participation of activities and
to preform them well. The same kids that were teary eyed on day one were first in line to
participate on this last day. As a coach that was a very rewarding thing to see knowing
that I was able to make that childs of experience learning to skate a positive one.
The community benefited from my volunteer work overall with my involvement
with Ferris State Universitys Learn to Skate Program because I helped to make a
difference in the lives of children. It might not have been in a huge way, but again, laying
that ground work to help set up positive experiences will help these young humans to
grow up to well rounded individuals willing to try new things and experiences. By having
an extra coach on the ice the children were able to have a smaller coach to skater ratio.
This allowed more one on one time for the skaters who need more assistance.
Even though I wasnt in a hospital setting I was still able to incorporate a
Scholarship for Practice. Every week I used clinical reasoning framework in order to
delivery of activities and actions that would fit situations. I adapted my ability to form a
nursing diagnosis outside of the clinical setting and use it in a way to impact situations at
the Learn to Skate lessons. For example I used an exaggerated diagnosis of young skater
with a failure to thrive during lessons related to anxiety of separation from parents.
From there I was able to critically think and devise methods to help this child over come
their fears and create a safe environment to learn. Being able to use critical thinking
inside and outside of the clinical setting is a valuable tool for success in everything nurses
do to make a difference for people and in encouraging health promotion.