Monday, March 31, 2014

Last Day at OLM

My last day at Olm was a pretty exciting day just the fact of knowing that i will be done with my hours. it was a pleasure having Mrs. VeraCruz as my mentor. I have known her for couple of years and since i was a kid she was always trying to help others and make clubhouse a better place. I will miss clubhouse but i will for sure comeback. Today was pretty light there was no homework but I helped Mrs. Morata by preparing some delicious snacks. Today we baked bagels with butter along with milk. Mrs Morata would bake the bagels in the oven and I would bring them out to the table and set it up along with pouring milk. We called in each grade starting from second grade to come in for snacks. Mrs. VeraCruz had me supervise the snacks to make sure everything is going accordingly. After serving snacks, I was assigned to spray and wipe the tables down. After I stacked chairs then went outside. I was playing catch with a tennis ball with some second graders. they wanted me to throw it higher and higher. It came to a point where i felt like i was going to throw my arm off. When that happened I decided to play basketball with the same kids. We had a full on game, everyone vs me because they say its unfair and I'm too tall. i then stayed until kids got picked up and my time was up to finally be dismissed. It was pretty sad but i was also glad at the same time that i have fulfilled my requirements.

4 Hours

Friday, March 14, 2014

Getting comfortable and having the kids gain trust in me is such a great feeling. I no longer have to start with the kids being shy with me or feeling uncomfortable in asking me for help or wanting to play games indoors or outdoors. When I arrive I get greeted by the children of the clubhouse and some kids run up to me and hug me, it really is a great feeling. Now that the kids look at me as someone to look up to and some one to feel comfortable with after homework is over we go outside and get a little more competitive with one another with any games such as basketball, soccer, or dodge ball. Them getting adjusted to me provides a sense that the kids allow themselves to open up to other people after they've gained trust. Physical activity gets put to a higher level and they feel more engaged. With me exercising  is a big deal, it gets your blood flowing and helps yo stay in fit.

3 Hours

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

now that I'm getting used to and adjusted to being with kids, i have a set and constant routine the kids go by. once i arrive i help any kids who're still doing homework, after all of them are finished they pack up all their supplies and we all get ready to go outdoors or set up games indoors depending on the weather. outdoor activities consist of playing kickball, relays, or just on the playground. These physical activities provide the kids an area where they're supervised and get to interact with other friends and classmates. On days when the weather isn't the best, we set board games up, or use the cafeteria to organize indoor sports or mavis days. some games we do indoors is freeze tag, dodgeball, and frisbee. after they get time to play the staff has the kids lined up for snack time which usually is a juice box and a fruit with crackers. on fridays we cook snacks like fries, make their own salad or pasta.
3 Hours

Thursday, March 6, 2014

Day 4

Today at Olm, i was assigned to help students finish homework and help whatever students need help with their homework. its very time consuming and you have to have patience with these students because they are just kids and they won't get the answer right the first time. you have to have patience and write out examples to make the students understand the question. one of the many things you can't do is give the students the answers or else they will never learn.

3 Hours

Monday, March 3, 2014

Today at Olm I checked in with my mentor Mrs. VeraCruz. She had assigned me to work with 3rd graders and to help them with any questions they have along with their homework. A lot of the kids today finished pretty fast. A very few of the students had the same problem on answering one of the questions on their math homework. I noticed a lot of the students have problems with solving the words problems. I'm not going to lie but I had trouble also but i didn't ask my mentor. I just figured it out and read it out a couple times until I finally got it. After students were finished with their homework, they would come up to me for me to check their homework and see if it's correct. When I would finish working with the students, Mrs. VeraCruz would have me set up snacks. Today we had Goldfish and water. Mrs. Marada who also helps set up the snacks had me pour water into the cups. As we did that, Mrs. VeraCruz would call in all the grades through a walkie talkie. I have to stay inside and make sure everything is going as planned. If students want more water, they are more than welcome to have some more. After all students have finished with snacks, i would spray down all the tables with spray and wipe them down and stack chairs. If I see mess on the floor, I would sweep it up. After cleaning, I'm able to go outside and play with the students. Today we played flag football. I was Quarterback for both teams and other kids would be calling for the ball. I can't throw the ball too hard because they're still little kids. We played flag football till about 5:30 then we would go in until their parents would come pick them up.

3 Hours