Sarah Gillman - Week at a glance

A Week in the Life of an Early Childhood Education undergraduate student.
Hi! My name is Sarah, and I’m a first-year university student studying at Hertfordshire Uni.
I’m studying an undergraduate degree in Early Childhood Education, and I hope to become a nursery teacher in the future!
When I was considering which universities I wanted to apply for, I found it helpful to know how each day would look on the course, partly so I could see how many days I needed to commute as I was looking to stay home while studying. So, I thought it might be helpful to show you what my normal week looks like.
Monday:
After commuting via train to the De Havilland university, I check my online uni schedule to see what lecture room I’m in and make my way there. (students can use the Herts app for directions).
On Mondays I have a 10am start. During these Monday lectures, we have been covering a module which involves creating an activity plan for children aged 0-3 or 3-5. We often have the opportunity to have interactive learning in our lectures to help us with ideas. For example, our class were provided with various outdoor learning equipment to experiment with- it was so much fun!
At around 1pm, my friends and I then have lunch. Sometimes we go to the food court on campus. Each week there are different options available to buy. Some days that may be burgers and fries, other days it could be stir fry or mac and cheese! Herts recognises that we are all broke students, and so their food prices are really cheap- I highly recommend grabbing a bite to eat from there.
After an hour lunch break, I return for a final lecture. This usually involves a ‘seminar’ which is a discussion about what we learnt that day. Sometimes it involves group work to keep us engaged.
Finally, it’s time to go home at 4pm!
Tuesday:
On Tuesdays my lectures also begin at 10am. On this day we cover a separate module all about our identity- both personal and professional. For this assignment, we need to submit a short video, rather than a written essay! I love how the course tries to make each assignment as engaging to complete as possible. (Tip: make lots of notes during lectures, as this can really come in handy when completing your assignments).
After a couple of hours of lectures, I go to the Starbucks on campus as they have really comfortable seating and great music! They serve a range of hot lunch foods like toasties, and also many things that a normal Starbucks wouldn’t have- like a whole pizza for £5! They have lovely hot drinks too if you’re feeling cold or sleep deprived.
Finally, after another lecture from 2-4pm, we go home.
Wednesday:
On Wednesdays, I have a day at home to complete uni work. This sometimes involves completing extra reading that our lecturers have asked us to look at, or writing my assignments.
Thursdays + Fridays:
On these days I work at my local nursery- I have found that working in a childcare setting whilst completing a childcare related degree really helps put things into perspective and supports you to become more experienced.
Because of my experience, I can now use examples from my work in my assignments, and find it easier to understand some aspects of the course.
And that’s a week in my life as a student at Herts university! Thank you very much for reading, and I hope you will consider this university and course, I can’t recommend it enough.
If you have any questions about this course, the university in general or just about being a student at Herts, feel free to drop me a message and I would be more than happy to answer.