Saying Goodbye

I always hate saying goodbye. Even though it was only nine weeks we shared victories and challenges with these kids and I think it's hard not to get attached. It's so fun to watch them discover and learn. I didn't get to know them as well as I might in nine months and I'll be doing the clinic again next semester. Otherwise I think it would be much harder to let them go. There were kids in our group that presented more of a challenge. I thought it was a good learning experience. It made me even more excited to be a teacher. For some reason when your struggling with a student it makes it more satisfying when they improve. I love that feeling. I think it's impossible not to get attached to students you work with so closely. Since I'm going into special education I'll have the same kids for a couple years. I can't imagine how hard it will be to let them go.

Week #9

It really makes me so sad that this was our last week working with the kids. It was one of our funnest times we've had with them though! We attempted to do the rock climbing wall for the first time. K did so great, but was very hesitant at first to get on the wall. Once she got up there and realized how high she had gotten, she was very proud of herself. B ended up not getting on the wall, which surprised me because of how daring he usually is. K was feeling sick and her mom didn't want her in the pool, so we asked B if he wanted to do the pool or play, and he chose to play, so we all went into one of the raquetball courts and had a bunch of activities to do like soccer, scooters, jumpropes and balls. They had so much fun, and it was nice because they could do any activity they'd like at their own pace. It was a fun time!

Week 9 saying goodbye

I have enjoyed the CAPES! experience far more than I had anticipated when we began. I thought that it would be really tough to work with these kids and I doubted my abililty to teach students with disabilities. After 9 weeks, I have learned more about these kids but I also learned more about myself as a teacher. Each week, we made a plan for our kids because we cared about them and wanted them to have fun and learn. I was so thankful that they were excited to be there each week ready to have fun. The fact that they enjoyed the clininc, made me work harder to do a good job. I am going to miss them a lot and I hope to be able to work with them again if they come back next time. I can tell that I would struggle more if I had spent more time with them. In a school setting, you are with your students for 9 months. In that time, you create lasting relationships with the kids and I'm sure it is so difficult to part with them. Even though teaching is a lot of work, it confirmed my decision to become a teacher. I know that I am capable of teaching children that come from all walks of life.

Week #8

I can't even believe CAPES is almost over! I have loved getting to know these kids and getting to see their improvements, so it will be so sad to say goodbye. This week, we did a little warmup on the track. We didn't think they'd be too interested but they both really loved it! We had them both kick or roll a ball around the track and chase after it. B got a little bored with the ball though and just ran for his life! We ended up running around the track a few more times than anticipated, but they seemed to love it. We then played frisbee golf and mini golf, and they loved that as well. Frisbee golf is challenging even for me, but they both did great. K was struggling a little bit, but after a little instruction she got the hang of it a little bit more. B and I attempted to play with a hoolahoop in the pool by having him go over and under it, but he just sort of hung onto it and jumped over it a few times. I thought he would do a little better since he loves going under water, but that's okay! Overall, it was a great week and I saw lots of improvements in both children. Jody

The end is near week 7

After last week it hit me that I am going to miss working with these kiddos. They are learning and growing a lot and I like that I have had part in those improvements. There have been some weeks where we struggle to think of activities that our students will really enjoy. We always try to do something to help them improve a skill as well as something they are interested in. To remain motivated to do a good job with these kids, I try to remember that they might not get opportunities to do fun things like this in school or other places. It has been important for us to use a large variety of activities so that we don't get bored and the kids won't get bored. For the last few weeks of CAPES! I am going to stay enthusiastic and really gain the trust of B and K so that they will go away having really great memories and hopefully consider me a friend.

I have enjoyed this clinic so much! I think it is easy to get complacent and stuck in routines. All of the kids in our group have really high energy levels. It's a lot of fun but it's important for us to have different activities every week. I think something that keeps our group invested is that Ashley is always coming up with new activities. We haven't done the same thing twice yet. Another thing that has been really helpful in our group is that each week has a theme. We'll do fifteen minutes of individual time and then fifteen minutes as a group. It's fun to see the kids interacting with each other. That is something I'd like to see more of and it's helping our group remain motivated. Now that we know the kids our biggest challenge is probably getting them to know us and the other kids in our group. We are constantly trying to think of ways for the kids to bond with one another. I like that we have a routine but that we always do something that is new and exciting for the kids each week. Since the program is only for a couple of weeks I don't think we'll have too much trouble keeping things interesting.

Week #6

Week 6 was pretty crazy. I worked with different students this week and it made me realize how easy our kids are. One of the boys has autism and is nonverbal, and that's who I worked with the whole time. He loved to swim and was very good at it so we swam laps a lot. One of us would be in front of him and one of us was behind him. It was very difficult for me to sort of read how he was feeling. While we were swimming and I was in front of him, he kept grabbing for me. I don't know if that meant he was tired, or that he didn't want to swim anymore, or he wanted to play a game, or anything like that. So that was a little difficult for me, but it was still fun working with them and getting to know a couple of the other kids who participate in CAPES.

Week #6

I feel like we have some of the best behaved kids! B and K are really fun and they listen pretty well for the most part. There have been times when B will try to convince the teacher to do something else other than the activity we have planned. He has tried to pull me across the gym to another group, which is understandable. He is really interested in all kinds of sports and I know if he could stay in the gym and play basketball all night, he would. One behavior that I have noticed from Katie is that she doensn't want to do things she doesn't want to do. For example, when the ball she is playing with roled away she said, "no you do get it!" She does that often. I am not sure where that behavior is stemming but maybe she is just used to having things done for her  instead of being independent. She is perfectly capable of going to get the ball so I have tried to encourage her to get it all on her own. Overall, the behavior of our students is very good and we haven't had any major problems yet.

Capes week #5

I had some trouble posting and the site said I was locked out. It was a while back so I will do my best to remember. So I think that the children in my group were pretty comfortable from the beginning. It took the first and second week to get them into sort of a routine and by week 3 B and K were really interacting with the teachers and each other well. I have noticed that as the weeks have gone by, perhaps they have become a little bit too comfortable and tend to push their limits. For week 5 we play baseball, kickball, and volleyball. B was a little bit hestitant to listen to the rules we had for him and would rather do his own thing. It was important for us to remind him of the rules so that he knew the teacher was in charge. I have been really impressed with the progress of both our students especially in the swimming pool. K is now going under water and trusting the teachers won't let her go. B is very active and began to use a kickboard without assistance. I am excited to see how they continue to get more comfortable, build trust relationships, and improve some important skills.