After such a wonderful collection of visits, I anticipated my last visit to BJM to be a lot like my previous ones. However, to my surprise, this last time was very different…and very important.

I walked in a little late, due to transportation troubles, and found myself being greeted, not by the Director as usual, but by a crying little girl who I had met the previous week. I quickly made my way over to the corner she had sat in, sitting close enough to show concern, but far enough to give her space. I had only met her once and had never dealt with her in this type of situation, so it was important that I kept my distance and was cautious in my approach as not to frighten or exasperate her more. She was sobbing uncontrollably, clutching her Harry Potter book tightly to her chest, her small hands shaking slightly, and her cheeks bright red. I softly asked her what was wrong and seemingly at ease with my presence, she turned her face to look at me and through heavy breaths and some blubbering, she recounted her misfortune with only a few tumble of words. It seems that she had found herself cornered in a gym game and had gotten out, something that she had thought was unfair because of a miscommunication of rules. However, it seemed that most of her frustration lied in the fact that she had felt ignored when she had tried explaining herself to the other kids and to the adults.

I realized then that what would comfort her most was that someone would simply listen to her and let her express herself. All I did was listen to her, telling her to steady her breaths and that she would be alright. Since I didn’t actually know what had happened, I couldn’t tell her that she was in the right or explain that she might be in the wrong, so I resorted to telling her that I was truly sorry that she had felt picked on and ignored, encouraging her to speak with the teachers and the other kids when she had calmed down. This seem to partially do the trick. So I tried to distract her just a bit, asking her to tell me a bit about the current Harry Potter book and chapter she was on (we had bonded over the series the week before). That certainly did the trick as she forgot all about her troubles, her tears quickly drying on her cheeks and a smile returning to her sweet face. Much more comfortable with me, she scooted closer and told me all about her favorite characters and scenes, soon asking me to read a chapter with her. We happily read together, imitating voices and laughing at certain moments, all the way up until the moment her mom arrived and took her home.

Ms. Stacy later approached me after to ask about the situation as she had walked by and saw the little girl crying, but had apparently decided to not get involved, even when one of the teachers came up to make sure she was okay, because she had thought that I had the situation quite under control. I was extremely flattered by this…it means a lot when someone who works with children so much thinks that you’re handling a difficult situation well enough to not intervene. I told her what had happened and why I comforted her the way I did, expressing that I had dealt with similar situations before and knew that this was often the only thing that worked. She gave me the biggest smile and assured me that I had done an excellent job and that she was very grateful for my help. Once again, BJM showed me how much I love working with kids and just how important it is to listen to them and share interest in their likes and hobbies.

Candy Land was a game I wouldn’t have particularly wanted to play, but that’s what the girls wanted! Three little girls and I sat around a table, playing the game. One thing I learned was that I seemed to have very poor luck, moving one or two color spaces at a time. Another thing I learned was that young innocent children can be really good cheaters at board games. To my surprise, two of the three girls cheated consistently during the game! When I would teasingly call them out on their cheating, they could giggle in a mischievous little laugh. To say the least, I lost miserably without cheating. The winner though, to show good karma is a true thing, was the youngest girl named Paloma, maybe 5 years old. It seemed to be a symbolic message from the universe saying that slow and steady does win the race.

This was my fifth session,

But I wasn’t sure if I’d seen any progression.

Not sure I was supposed to be super nice,

Or just there to supervise.

 

I listened quietly without expression

As one kid belabored his Minecraft session.

It took my all to make sure he didn’t recognize

The oppressive boredom in my eyes.

 

This time I was brought nearly to depression,

Trying to contain all their indiscretion.

Two kids wanted to make a bomb out of battery supplies,

And I knew it wouldn’t catalyze,

But then one kid started displaying aggression,

And they started fighting for possession

of their electrical enterprise.

 

I devoted a few hours after that for decompression.

Hartek, the Bard

Today was a Wednesday and I noticed a lot more students doing their homework in the library. Upon talking with some of the students while completing their homework, it turns out that every Wednesday has a craft that has to be completed according to the directions. This was a very unpopular option for the day’s activities. Clearly, these students like to have the option of creativity and to personalize their ideas.
What I take away from this is that their ideas cannot be contained. It is quite clear that they only like to create things from their own minds without being instructed on how to complete a certain craft. I think this can be applied everywhere, as some of the best inventions and creations known to man have been because of experimentation. While the program itself is wonderful, I think the option of experimentation should be allowed throughout the week in combination with a structured project. Then, this would allow for an expansion of the concept and creativity at the same time.

One of the best parts of volunteering is getting to know the teachers. When I first started volunteering I thought that the funnest part would probably be spending time with the kids, which don’t get me wrong is very fun and rewarding, but getting to know the wonderful teachers who have centered their lives around helping children develop and grow is really incredible. I think probably the most wonderful trait about the two teacher who I volunteer for is their ability to express praise. They both radiate positivity and I think improves the lives of everyone around them, not just children.

Today in the Maker’s Place there was a lot going on. Today the project that the kids were working on were blocks of wood that they were able to paint and they were also given wooden figures which they also painted and were later going to glue on. When I walked in Mr.V told me to see what two of the boys at the other table were up to because it seemed like they were being somewhat disorderly. When approaching the boys it seemed like they weren’t following the instructions like everyone else. Instead of painting the block they were using the water and plastic pipettes and drawing in the paint water and pouring the water on their blocks. Usually when I notice that a child isn’t doing what they’re suppose to I try to redirect them to the task at hand. This situation was a little different because I’m just a volunteer so the kids do think of me as an adult figure and they usually do listen, but other times they listen but then go back to what they were doing in the first place. These boys didn’t follow my redirection so instead of seeing what they were doing as wrong I tried to look at it in a different light. I saw what they were doing as their way of expressing their creativity. Instead of painting the blocks the boys found it more entertaining to mix paint colors and “create new colors.” When I pointed out what they were doing they got excited and began to try to mix more colors to see what other new colors they could make, after all it is the Makers Place. Today I learned that sometimes kids don’t follow the instruction at hand because they feel that it doesn’t fit their form of creativity, and they rather do the task differently to better represent themselves.