Remodel Please!

I believe that this service learning location is to small for the amount of children they have attending here. There are about three other groups of kids that come to different rooms besides ours and the whole place that we work with seems like the size of a gym. So that gym, which I’m referring to, has to be split into four rooms to fit about 15-20 kids a day. Head Start is connected to the Boys & Girls Club and they let us use their gym but that’s it. This small teaching place causes the kids to learn in a small area that also constricts what furniture and how many things they have to learn and grow with. In the end, this causes the kids to learn less and when they actually go into the years of schooling they might be behind because they haven’t been introduced to that many things. We have about 15 students who come in the morning and the same for the afternoon. Each week when I go back there’s nothing new for them to do and I can tell that they’re bored. Head Start can hardly get any new things because where would they put it? Our room is split off into many different sections as possible with different area’s of play and an area for them to sit and listen to the adults. This is not enough because there are only about five different stations that means there’s three kids at each and it gets crowded, let me tell ya. So, if the place could be remodeled or somehow added on more space to work with I think the children would come out of the experience with more knowledge because hopefully there would be more things to learn about every week or even every day.
Word Count: 302

Excitement every day!

Since my last blog, I’ve gone to volunteer at Head Start three more times. And every time that I’ve gone I’ve enjoyed it very much. I’ve learned a lot about each individual and how they like to learn and play. Along with that, I’ve learned a lot more about the other volunteers and what goes on besides just helping out with the kids. The thing I find most appealing about my location is the student to teacher/faculty ratio and the time I get to spend with each of the children in the short amount of time that I’m there. There are about 15 students in the Head Start program in the morning that I have gotten to know but there are also four, and sometimes five, faculty who help out. I think that it is very important in each child’s growth because there is always someone there to help them or to ask questions. Another thing that I find appealing when I volunteer is that the teachers hardly ever tell the kids what to do or how to do it but they just show them the better way to do it. I believe this helps in growth of imagination and also makes the children learn on their own. I really like to see the kids when they figure out something by themselves even if it’s as simple as a puzzle. When it’s time to go and play in the gym for a while it’s my favorite part because it’s when I get a lot of interaction with most of the children. Simply throwing the ball back and forth gives them so much entertainment and we always have so much fun. I always get excited to just hang out with the kids and listen to all the stories that they have to tell. I don’t have to many fears or anxieties and if I had to pick some concerns it would just to get some feed back on how I’m doing personally. I’m not always sure if I’m doing or saying the right thing with the children but going by my instincts I would have to assume I’m doing okay. I am very happy with my experience so far and am eager to see what it has to offer.
Word Count: 378

First Impressions Can Tell A Lot!

When beginning the service-learning experience, I didn’t know what to expect. I knew that I wanted to find my own service-learning location and I also wanted to work with younger children because I am going into the Elementary Education major. So I started off by looking into places on the Internet that met the criteria but I was having trouble finding a location that matched. I wanted to volunteer with kids from the range of preschool to fourth grade by tutoring, helping with imagination, and challenging kids of different ranges and ability of learning. I finally decided to ask my professor of any places that fit the description and she gave me feedback with about 5 different places of volunteer. I went from being over-whelmed of nowhere to work, to over-whelm with to many places to work. Once I called around, I reached Allison at Head Start and we talked over the phone for a while about what occurs at Head Start and what she expected of me as a volunteer. It was exactly what I was looking for. At our meeting together, Allison showed me around the location, told me different things about the kids themselves, and also showed me the daily schedule. I left that day with a huge smile on my face and an exciting feeling inside. I literally called my Mom to tell her my good news and she was just as thrilled as I was! After that, my day went extremely well which proved to me that this was what I wanted to do when I grow up and that’s something that a lot of people don’t experience on a day-to-day basis. On my first day of volunteer, I couldn’t wait to go and I actually arrived 15 minutes early. Allison had some car trouble that morning but the other volunteers were very nice in showing me what to do. I got to help the kids learn the calendar, experience how to eat properly at a dinner table, and expand their imaginations during open play. Once my time was up, the children’s faces made it very hard to leave and I am very excited about the next time I get to volunteer.

Word Count: 367