Well, it has definitely been an interesting couple of weeks. I meant to write sooner, but something unexpected happened. After only 3 days of working with the children at school, I started to feel sick. Sore throat, stuffy nose, etc. I bet I got it from the preschooler I played with during after school care that first week. It ended up getting the better of me that weekend and I missed 3 days during my second week. Luckily, some friends helped me find an Urgent Care to see a doctor and get an antibiotic.
I'm now feeling much better and I was able to complete my first whole week at the school. Here's what my schedule looks like, at least until October, when Big Sisters begins and I'll have to stay late on Tuesdays as well:
Monday: 7:00am-5:30pm (10.5 hours)
Tuesday: 7:00am-3:00pm (8 hours)
Wednesday: 7:00am-12:45pm (5.75 hours) + 1:00pm-4:00pm at the AmeriCorps In-Service Meeting (3 hours)
Thursday: 7:00am-3:00pm (8 hours)
Friday: 7:00am-5:30pm (10.5 hours)
That's about 44 hours per week, then there will be more starting in October. We don't get paid overtime, but we get the same paycheck every 2 weeks with the requirement of serving the whole 1700 hours by the end of our 11 months.
I missed a lot of hours during that second week, but I can make them up by volunteering at other events in the city or by staying late on a Thursday.
Since I work in a school, I have to take into account that school ends in spring, plus the teacher conference days and holidays and breaks. That is why I have to ensure that I put in as many hours as I can in the beginning so I'm not scrambling to make them up at the end of the school year.
As far as my relationship with the students goes, I can tell that I'm still establishing myself. Many of them do not listen to me when I am trying to settle them down or create order in the classroom. Apparently I don't sound mean enough like the cafeteria lady or the after school care lady.
I find myself wanting to be their friend and help them to succeed. I feel I do much better when I work one-on-one with them, especially one in particular.
There is one kindergartener that has never been to school before and doesn't do so well with following directions all the time. He is also a little mean to the other students, threatening to beat them, etc. even if they are bigger than him.
When he got his worksheets, he would grab some crayons and scribble all over them and not even try to follow the teacher's instructions.
Shortly after I started, the teacher and I added a new part of a routine to their day. We split them into 3 groups. One would work with the teacher on letters and worksheets, one would come to my table and we'd work on a handwriting worksheet, and the other would play in Centers (different stations around the room). Of course, the student I'm talking about would only push his paper away saying he didn't want to do it and that he wanted to go home. He might also just scribble on it and that would be it.
I am happy and proud to say that I have seen great improvement in this child. One day last week (when I was still pretty sick), I somehow got him to write the letters on the worksheet and he finished it all. I kept encouraging him and telling how great he was doing and he gave me the best smiles I have ever seen. We shared the news with his teacher and she allowed him to pick from the candy jar before lunch time.
This week, there were 3 days where he did a great job on my worksheets... Not without a fight though. One of the days this week, he refused to do it while he was sitting at the table with his group, so I took him out into the cafeteria and sat him down in the "bad" chair. I kneeled next to him and had a talk with him. He said he wanted to go home. I told him he was my friend and that I would miss him too much if he went home. I reminded him of his good work the week before and how he got rewarded. I told him I wanted to see his beautiful letters again and that he had a choice. He could either sit out in the cafeteria then and do the worksheet during recess or he could do it now with me and show me his beautiful letters. He chose to do the worksheet with me. I said thank you, showing him how happy I was that he made that choice, and gave him a hug. He did a great job on his worksheet and he was allowed to play at recess time. At the end of the day, I gave him another hug and reminded him of how good his day was. I really try to emphasize the positive with this one, he tends to get mostly negative attention all day from not following directions, and Lord knows what he gets at home.
I can't wait to see how his year goes.
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