Week # 5

I think the biggest difference for me is just being comfortable with the routine. The first few weeks it was hard to know where to jump in. It's also easier knowing the kids. Knowing what works for them and what doesn't. Knowing what they like and don't like. I think our group is getting to know each other better and getting more comfortable every week. We have been working with the kids on interacting with each other more. It's so fun to watch them come out of their shells and learn new things. I also love that we're all getting more comfortable helping each other and suggesting activities. I think at first everyone was kind of hesitant to give their opinion but now we help each other to improve. I think we have a pretty good system going. I am looking forward to learning more from Ashley, who comes up with many of our lesson plans. She has so many good ideas of how to adapt the activities and I am learning a lot from her.

Week #5

Week #5 was a huge success. I think we're definitely accomplishing more and more with these kids and I love seeing them learn and grow. We played a few different games, and they enjoyed them all. We've noticed that B is a little more advanced than K so we've been planning the lessons to make things a little more challenging for B. We played baseball, kickball and volleyball. For baseball and kickball, the child in the outfield would have to run and get the ball and put it in a bucket before the other child gets all around the bases. We did the bases further apart for B, and also put out a few more balls for him to grab when he was in the outfield so K had more time to run around the bases. I think it went really well, and most the time they would finish at the same time, so they felt equal. In the pool, B is getting really good at swimming by himself with a kickboard. Sometimes I think he forgets to kick his legs, but when he's reminded he does really great!

Week #4

Week 4 with a kids was a lot of fun. We did an obstacle course for them and started them at different points so they could go at their own pace. It was a little tricky because they went through it very fast, so we had to repeat it a few times and that caused them to get bored and a little distracted. We had a parachute lying on the ground that we were going to use at the end when both kids could come together and do it, but of course that's what K wanted to do the whole time. They loved finally being able to play with the parachute together. Plus it was so fun to see all of our sweet kids on the news! I loved it.

I was unable to come to CAPES because of my work schedule this week. But I have had some experience with distractions. It can be hard to maintain the attention of so many little minds at once. In the past when I'm teaching a group of children I've found it's helpful to have a signal; a specific noise to recall everyone's attention. I've tried clapping patterns before where I clap a few times and the children follow the pattern and we just keep doing it until everyone is listening. At CAPES it's a little different because it's individual interaction versus a large class. So I've found it helpful to say something like "J touch your nose if your listening". Just little signs to see if he's paying attention.

Week #3

Last week, I give my props to Emma for being so creative with her games. She created a goblin out of paper, boxes, and balloons so the kids could throw something at them to work on their aiming. It was a really fun night. I recognized that the kids were getting more comfortable with us which was good for the most part. With the boy I was working with, he seemed really relaxed, which made him a bit more hesitant to listen to my instuctions. He is better at communicating than before, but I am sure there are better and more efficient ways that I could talk with him to help him understand instructions better. Instead of just using verbal communication, I might model, or point out something and then have him follow. I thought it might be fun to play follow the leader and take turns leading each other so that he knows that he can communicate through actions effectively. The boy I worked with is hesitant to use his words, but he is good at using his eyes and hands to communicate what he wants done. Even though he is good at that, he still has room for improvement and I want to keep working on his verbal and non-verval communication.

I was switched to another group for CAPES. It's very different than my original group. I'm excited because I think it will be a really good learning experience. Our group has four great kids with lots of energy and enthusiasm. I have been working predominately with the same student each week. He is so much fun! He loves to swim but he is willing to do all the activities, although sometimes he struggles with listening to directions. I think the discussion regarding communication is very applicable to him. Dr. Williams recommended that we make sure he is looking at us when directions are being given. Sometimes this presents a challenge but I feel that he is making progress. One thing that is particularly challenging to me is that when he repeats my directions I'm not sure he really understands them. It seems more like he's just mimicking what I said. I might start asking him to show me what he's supposed to do. Our group is also working on encouraging communication between the kids. Most of them only interact with the other participants when they are prompted to. We want to work on things like "high fives" and greetings. I think it would also be helpful to teach them how to respond to one another. Many of us communicate with our facial expressions and body language. This is a difficult skill for these kids to master. So I think pointing out those ques is important.

I was switched to another group for CAPES. It's very different than my original group. I'm excited because I think it will be a really good learning experience. Our group has four great kids with lots of energy and enthusiasm. I have been working predominately with the same student each week. He is so much fun! He loves to swim but he is willing to do all the activities, although sometimes he struggles with listening to directions. I think the discussion regarding communication is very applicable to him. Dr. Williams recommended that we make sure he is looking at us when directions are being given. Sometimes this presents a challenge but I feel that he is making progress. One thing that is particularly challenging to me is that when he repeats my directions I'm not sure he really understands them. It seems more like he's just mimicking what I said. I might start asking him to show me what he's supposed to do. Our group is also working on encouraging communication between the kids. Most of them only interact with the other participants when they are prompted to. We want to work on things like "high fives" and greetings. I think it would also be helpful to teach them how to respond to one another. Many of us communicate with our facial expressions and body language. This is a difficult skill for these kids to master. So I think pointing out those ques is important.

Week #2

Our second week went really well. I thought that the kids were participating like we wanted and that they enjoyed the activities too. Their favorite game of the entire night seemed to be the bean bag toss. We had our kids each stand across from their target and take turns tossings their bean bags. Ben was very good at this skill and could hardly wait to try and try agian. Katie was really enjoying the game too but she needed a little more practice at aiming than Ben did. With some instruction and encouragement she hit the target a few times and I could tell that she was very pround of herself. Ben was also very proud of himself. It is rewarding to see the kids succeed after they have struggled with something.

In the pool, both of our students are getting more comfortable and they are having a good time. Ben was having a blast dropping the rings to the bottom and helping me to go get them. Katie is still hesitant to put her face in the water, but she is improving and she is a lot of fun to work with.

Capes Clinic Week #2

Our second week was a little bit more challenging than the first. It has been really fun getting to know more about the children, and what they struggle with. The challenging thing is learning how to help the children overcome those struggles.

This week I worked mainly with K. One thing I noticed is that she is very observant. If B is doing something, she wants to do it too. If she sees you kneeling, she'll want to get down on her knees as well. It definitely helps to demonstrate things to her, but she forgets pretty quickly. In a case like this, we'll definitely want to just focus on repetition when teaching her new things or new concepts. She was a little more trusting with us this time, but was still hesitant to do some things. We were able to get her on her back and lie down in the pool, but I could tell she was uncomfortable and wanted to get turned around pretty quickly. She knows her letters very well, but at times has a hard time sounding out words and forming sentences.

Overall, I think our children did a fantastic job last night, and it was so fun to get to know them a little bit more. It's fun to see them progress and learn new things.

-Jody