LOVED MY LAST DAY OF SOAR FOR THE SEMESTER! It was too cold to go outside so we had free time inside and everyone was just in a great mood and so happy for my last time! Had super sweet talks with Alec and Jasmine. Loved it and can't wait to come back next semster!
Today was my last day with SOAR at Parson Hills this semester. Today, everyone stayed inside during recess so group 5 stayed in their usual classroom. They played indoor games such as legos, card games, matching games, and more. Then, they switched over to their learning portion and played a math game. During the game, they were split into three different teams and given a math equation. Then, they wrote their answer down using shaving cream on a plate. After, they went to dinner and afternoon show. During afternoon show, they had another student from another group helping with announcements and speaking. This reflected a great example for the higher grades (3,4,5) who are getting ready for amazing shake and aim to gain those public speaking skills. After, everyone split into their groups for flex. Group 5 continued reading their book "Holes" as a class. After, everyone was dismissed.
This SOAR visit was actually quite a surprise to me, as they were having their fall party, which included the students' families. At the beginning of the visit, we spent time in the gym playing a game of dodgeball. This day I spent with the third graders, some third-grade girls, and I spent our time in the gym playing a few of our own games until it was time for the fall party. First, we spent some time in the classroom picking out songs and setting up for the party, and it was so cute to see how the students were excited for their parents to come. Slowly, the parents started making their way, and the students did not fail to introduce them to everyone, which was nice because it also allowed me to make small talk with the students' parents. While some students were with their parents, I spent the rest of the visit with the students whose parents were not able to make it.
Today was super sweet! The kids know me when I'm there at this point, and we have little bits with each other, which has been fun. I also feel like they're beginning to respect me as a volunteer now when I ask them to do something. I got to have good intentional time with a little girl yesterday. She didn't want to play, but I convinced her to do the swings and say hi to the girl next to her, then they became friends and started playing together, which was super rewarding. Good day!
Today with SOAR at Parson Hills, the students stayed inside during their daily scheduled recess/free play time due to the cold weather. Group 5 and 6 went to the gym and played dodge ball within that time and went against each other. After, group 5 went to their assigned room where they completed a team exercise. They collaborated and worked as a group to build a certain object given to them such as a spaceship and a car. After each group built theirs, the three groups went one-by-one and presented their object to the class. They explained their structure and how they made it. This activity was a good way of helping them with the Amazing Shake event they having upcoming by helping them develop those skills of elaborating and further explaining something they did. After, they went to dinner, had afternoon show, and then went back into groups for FLEX (reading) time where they continued reading their book "Holes" in groups. After, they were dismissed to go home.
This SOAR visit was much shorter than my others, due to the fact that it was early release day; therefore, the rest of the day was spent outside. I was actually able to meet some new students that day and got to know them personally and learn about their SOAR experiences. The students were also able to teach me a ball game that they play with each other, and it was actually really fun having them teach me because, honestly, I did not understand the rules of the game at first, which they also found funny. During release time, I spent my time with some of the second-grade girls, and we played our favorite game of smoothie making.
Today, I got to spend time with a student I have already connected with before, Emilliano, and he introduced me to his friend on the playground. They were using sticks to carve a river out. They wanted to get their water bottles and fill the deep crack they were making in the dirt with water to make a real river. So of course, I grabbed a stick and helped them dig. We had some good conversations about Halloween and the traditions that each student has back home. One of them isn't allowed to trick-or-treat, and I was impressed with the other child's response: he said, "That's okay, my cousins can't trick-or-treat but they still have a lot of fun. "The student agreed, and they carried on. I was anticipating maybe some questions or confusion from the student who is allowed to trick or treat but instead it was a respectful and calm conversation.
At SOAR today, I got to talk with another volunteer who is heading on the same career path I am so we got to talk a lot about internships and share connections. SOAR has been great for connecting me with students my age and who have the same passions I do. After talking with her for a while I pushed some friends on the swings and got to talk to them more about their days. One student had made a paper airplane and thought it was a lot of fun to throw it from the highest point he could while swinging. We then, went on a walk to try to find cool bugs and talked about each bug we saw!
Today at SOAR, the students followed the same daily routine they have every Monday. They started by playing outside and I along with Group Four's Leader Jaden went to a specific zone on the playground to monitor the students. After, group 4 went into the library classroom where they conducted a science experiment referencing the idea of how we get rain. Each group had a cup full of water, poured shaving cream on top of the water, and put drops of food coloring on top of the shaving cream in order for there to be "rain drops". The students then reflected back on the experiment and explained in their own terms what the experiment represented. Then, the group went to dinner and FLEX time where they read the book "Holes" as a whole class. In the middle of FLEX, all of soar had a fire drill to complete. Group 4 did a good job of staying quiet and following directions given. Afterwards, we went back and ready the book together for a little while and then it was dismissal time and I was able to walk the class down to the cafeteria for dismissal.
