I had met this sweet boy Ari a couple times during my visits to BJM in the fall. He seemed quiet, reserved and shy. However, his sister is one of the most outgoing 6 year olds I have ever met. I know its pretty common for one sibling to be substantially more shy than the other if the other is loud and outspoken. Ms.Sarah and Ms.Patel expressed concern about his shyness and that they hoped that they would see him blossom and come out of his shell. They stated that they had seen it before when he truly felt comfortable and at home.

That week in the art room we were making collages from pictures of nature in magazines. I remembered that Ari loved when I sat with him the week I did the snowflake project and helped him. So, I invited him to come sit down with me and to help me make my collage or if he wanted to, to make his own. He slowly made his way over to the seat next to me; I set him up with his supplies and calmly explained the instructions. He started to work on his project by himself. One of the other children thought it would be funny to try and stick a picture to my forehead with glue. When I turned to Ari to get him in on the joke he cracked the biggest smile. When it fell off, I asked him to help me put it back on, he thought this game was the funniest thing. His sister later came over to participate in a conversation between Ms. Sarah, Ms.Patel, Ari and myself about the food that Ari’s mom makes at home, which is some of the same food from the country Ms. Sarah immigrated from. We turned the conversation into a joke asking Ari if I could come over to his house for dinner later. His immediate response was no, but as I showed him kindness and made him feel more comfortable we all saw him start to come out of his shell. He spoke louder, and spoke to me without needing to be prompted, he asked me to help him make a crown out of construction paper, and when it was time to go he asked for a hug. As we were walking up to the library for dismissal he grabbed my hand. He got upset when I explained that I couldn’t actually come over and that I needed to make my way home to have my own dinner, but I reassured him that I would be back to hang out with him. That seemed to calm him down. Ms. Stacy and Ms. Sarah both saw the connection I had build with Ari and were shocked they both just said what ever you are doing keep doing it and teach us how. It made it so real and clear that I had an actual impact on Ari’s life and his social development.

On one of my visits to BJM this past fall, Ms. Sarah informed me that her colleague Ms.Patel would be out for a period of time as she was to have surgery. I didn’t know Ms. Patel, and I don’t think that many of the children had as strong of a bond with her as they did with Ms. Sarah. But nonetheless the A+ community came together to make a giant card for Ms.Patel, children drew pictures and hearts and signed their names. I could see how much it meant to Ms. Sarah that her friend would receive the card. On my return to BJM this week I was greeted by Ms. Sarah and none other than Ms. Patel. I was so happy she was not only doing well post surgery but also that she felt well enough to come back to A+ to continue to do what she loves. I learned that Ms.Patel actually has a son who works as Cornell. We got along every well from the second I met her. Welcome back Ms.Patel!!

I returned to BJM elementary after having been on winter break. While I expected the kids to not immediately recognize me, I was not expecting them to completely forget who I am. Ms. Sarah and Ms. Stacy were delighted to see me and smiled and said hello. But when I turned to some of the kids they looked terrified that I knew their name. I understand that it has been a long time, and I hope to rebuild the relationship that I had with them.

Additionally, I didn’t realize how calming and soothing it is to be back at BJM. It reaffirmed for me that this place, and going there every week makes me a better person. Purely seeing the children makes me feel a million times better during a stressful time in my life.

I want to plan another project for the kids with Ms. Sarah. The snowflake project was one of the most special moments I have spent at BJM and I hope to rebuild that for the children, but also for myself.