Senior Project Blog #10

Date of Service:  May 10, 2011    Time Spent: 3 hours  Total Time: 30 hours

Action: Distribute snacks, watch over children as they play, try to talk to every child and let them know that I was finished with my hours, take pictures of the children.

Next action (what & when): I plan to someday volunteer again for the children.

How am I doing? Since today was my last day, I tried to make all the children happy. I asked my friend to drive me to Serramonte in order to buy Bella a spam musubi, and he reluctantly did. So, I brought Bella the spam musubi like I promised, and she was extremely happy. Surprisingly, she ate it rather quick. She gave me a great, big hug after she ate it.

     I engaged in one more conversation about this video game Kyle likes so much. He was asking me how to defeat the last boss of the game, but unfortunately, I could not remember. I took a picture with him although he was very concerned about how he looked. I also took pictures with the other children, or of things I thought to be memorable. 

     Ollie was sitting down on the floor. I approached him and tried to play with him once more. We played basketball, and I found that doing almost everything he asks for ensures him to play calmly, and nicely. It was nice to enjoy playing with him.

     It was really sad to say bye to these children, but I have a feeling I will continue to help out.

Senior Project Blog #9

Date of Service:  May 9, 2011  Time Spent: 3 hours  Total Time: 27 hours

Action: Distribute snacks, watch over children as they play.

Next action (what & when): I plan to make my last day worthwhile.

How am I doing? As I was handing out the granola bars, Bella asked me if I liked this dish called Spam Musubi, which is essentially spam, wrapped in rice, and then wrapped once more in seaweed. I told her that I did like spam musubi. She said she does too, and she asked me I would be able to get her one for tomorrow. I was trying to think about how because the nearest restaurant that sells it is not so near, but alas, I promised her I would. She seemed so happy.

        I tried playing with Ollie today. He hit me a lot of times. I kept telling him to stop hitting me but he would not listen. I wasn't sure what to do with the boy. I kept playing with him though, even if his form of playing was different than all the other kids'.

Senior Project Blog #8

Date of Service: May 6, 2011     Time Spent: 3 hours  Total Time: 24 hours

Action: Hand out snacks, watch over children as they play, stay a few extra minutes afterward for the children who weren't able to be picked up on time.

Next action (what & when): I plan to spend more time trying to meet the children I haven't exactly gotten to know.

How am I doing? Today felt like a normal day. Kyle, this third grader, got into trouble because he said the "f-word". To my surprise, it's not the first time I've heard these children cuss. It surprises me how often they do it, and how many words they are aware of. I don't think I was aware of these words when I was around their age. Regardless, it was still a fun day.

    This very tiny girl, by the name of Rosaline, as well as Kyle, were not able to be picked up on the time they needed to be. So another volunteer and I waited for their parents as they came. Rosaline grew bored, so she stood on my feet. I then began walking with her on my feet, it was really amusing. Kyle and I then engaged in a conversation about video games. I think he's fun.

Senior Project Blog #7

Date of Service:  May 5, 2011    Time Spent: 3 hours  Total Time: 21 hours

Action: Help children with homework, pass out snacks, clean up after eating, watch children on the blacktop as they play.

Next action (what & when): I plan to play with the children inside because it may rain.

How am I doing? It seems Chris has much more authoritative control over the children than I do. During snack time, one child purpose spilled his juice, and Chris punished him. I felt bad because I felt that I probably would not have the will to punish a child. It makes me wonder about how I will be when I have kids, although this thought is too premature for me to be thinking about it. Regardless, the day went well. The children did not play too roughly, and once again, none of them required help on their homework.

   I met this third grader named Ollie. He is very difficult to handle. Ollie screams and throws tantrums every other minute it seems like. The other children do not really like him, so I naturally feel bad for him. He seems like a handful, but he is still a child, so I understand that his erratic behavior may mean nothing.

Senior Project Blog #6

Date of Service: May 4, 2011  Time Spent: 3 hours  Total Time: 18 hours

Action: Help the children on their homework, while a screen projector/hot dog buffet is set up for them.

Next action (what & when): I plan to discuss with Chris the next major event the kids should do

How am I doing? The children, once again, did not require any assistance with their homework. As they were doing it, however, Chris and 2 other volunteers were setting up a movie screen and projector to play a movie with the kids. The movie of choice was Yogi The Bear, and the food of choice were hot dogs. It was incredibly messy, but the children seemed to enjoy the event altogether. For the majority of the moment, all they were doing was watching the movie. It was quite funny because as the credits began to roll, the children jumped up and began cheering with joy.

Senior Project Blog #5

Date of Service: May 3, 2011    Time Spent: 3 hours  Total Time: 15 hours

Action: Help distribute snacks, clean up afterward, watch after children as they play on the blacktop.

Next action (what & when): I plan to repeat this process.

How am I doing? I have not seen these children in a while because of Spring Break. I was surprised to find out that they still remember me. A small girl by the name of Jenna is becoming one of my favorites. Today, I played kickball with some of the younger boys because they asked me to. Even though I was on a team, I felt that I was mostly a referee because the children often disputed certain points of the game. As the children were called to return to the auditorium, I collected the balls that were scattered across the blacktop.