Our last visit to the boys and girls club was very different from our previous three. First of all, we started the program 30 minutes later than our normal time because the club had an activity already scheduled for 5:15, when we typically ran our program. This change meant that a lot of the kids had already been picked up by their parents, so the group we were working with was much smaller. Another difference was that it was very rainy and cold. This was a problem because we had always run our program outside before. Fortunately, there was a conference room available in the housing authority building big enough for us to use. However we did have to make a few alterations to our plans because we were working on a hard tile floor rather than the soft grass. We ended up only working with a about five or eight kids this last day. It was a little sad not to be able to have one last session with some of the kids we had seen a lot of before, but it was also nice to be able to focus some special attention on the kids that were there. The kids also got to have a bit more influence in what activities we did that day because there were so few participants and they seemed to really enjoy that.
This blog assignment has made me think about the differences between my first and last sessions at the boys and girls club, especially in terms of what I learned and what I found helpful and beneficial in working with the kids. I wanted to make note of those things for members of other groups if they happen to read my blog, but also for myself, so I will be able to look back at it and remember the lessons I learned in the future.
One of the most helpful things we decided on when we first started out was that all of the Paideia scholars would participate with all of the kids from the boys and girls club in each activity we did. This demonstrated that our activities were fun, exciting, and something everyone might want to do. It was also helpful in managing and directing the kids.
We also never tried to get everyone’s attention. Some kids will always be distracted or talking to each other, instead we tried to get the attention of the majority of the group and explained the task at that point. Eventually the kids who were previously distracted would either listen up and catch on if they were really interested or wander off to do something else if they were not really interested.
I also learned not to stress out or worry too much when some of the kids decided they did not like the activities and walked away to find something else to do. This is really important because if the kids are forced to participate in an activity they don’t want to do it is not beneficial for anyone involved.
Probably the most important thing I learned about interacting with the kids had to do with how many of them crave attention and how to give them attention in a constructive way. To do this I would try to focus most of my attention on the kids who were listening well and participating in the activity (much like in the behavior shaping articles we read for class). This drew more children in, as they were provided with reinforcement when they listened to the instructors and followed directions.
Overall, I found the experience of teaching gymnastics, yoga, and tai chi at the boys and girls club a very interesting one. I learned from the experience and I would definitely do some things differently if I were to do this project again. However, I like to think that the kids benefit from the program as well and it was certainly fun and exciting to see their skills grow from week to week.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Monday, March 23, 2009
Week One at Boys and Girls Club
For our civic engagement project I worked with a group of students in our cohort to teach kids at the boys and girls club gymnastics yoga and tai chi. I was specifically in charge of the yoga curriculum. Before our first visit to the club we went through everything we would be doing as if we were doing with the kids to work out any kinks. I think this was very helpful because it allowed us to see what potential problems might be and come up with different solutions for these potential problems. Additionally, this practice helped me to feel less nervous about working with the kids.
We arrived at the boys and girls club about 15 minutes before we planned to start our program (5pm) to be present at the club meeting. During the meeting Daniel introduced us and explained what our activity would be. He said that he wanted at least 5 students to do our activity. We felt that this was probably not the most effective means of introducing our activity, because his request made the program seem less exciting and more like something kid would “have to do”. However, Daniel also pointed out that we had brought a snack for our participants, which immediately seemed to make the activity more appealing to the kids.
When we began our program we had a huge number of kids with us. The group seemed unmanageable in a lot of ways and the situation was, at first, rather over whelming.
We found that Daniel’s advise about a thirty-minute time limit to be very accurate. The kids did seem to have pretty short attention spans and quickly got bored with many of the activities we introduced.
I personally found that being adaptable was the most important thing to making our program work. I had to adapt the way I am used to yoga classes being instructed for the kid to be best able to understand and follow what I was saying. In the yoga classes I attend (and the way I was trained to teach) the instructor simply describes or explains to students what to do for each posture. He or she may demonstrate some aspects, but this is not at all central to the class. This set up allows the instructor to walk around, see how each student is doing, and offer individual help or corrections when necessary. However, when instructing yoga at the boys and girls club I found that it was very important to demonstrate each of the yoga poses and do the poses together with the students. This is in part because the kids aren’t very willing to sit quietly and concentrate on the word you say, when they could be doing something active. Instead, I found the instruction to be most effective when the kids can see what it is they are supposed to be doing. This was a bit of a challenge for me because I had to demonstrate both the posture and breathing while explaining each step and some of the postures leave one a bit short of breath (especially if you are also demonstrating necessary breathing patterns). It seemed to work best if I gave a super-short explanation of the pose, then did my best to describe and demonstrate the pose, and finally if I did each pose and repletion together with the whole group. I found that if I did not do the pose with the students they would not do the pose at all and instead be watching and waiting to follow my lead.
Ultimately what my first session at the boys and girls club taught me was the importance of being flexible when working with kids and, of course, to always have a back up plan or two.
We arrived at the boys and girls club about 15 minutes before we planned to start our program (5pm) to be present at the club meeting. During the meeting Daniel introduced us and explained what our activity would be. He said that he wanted at least 5 students to do our activity. We felt that this was probably not the most effective means of introducing our activity, because his request made the program seem less exciting and more like something kid would “have to do”. However, Daniel also pointed out that we had brought a snack for our participants, which immediately seemed to make the activity more appealing to the kids.
When we began our program we had a huge number of kids with us. The group seemed unmanageable in a lot of ways and the situation was, at first, rather over whelming.
We found that Daniel’s advise about a thirty-minute time limit to be very accurate. The kids did seem to have pretty short attention spans and quickly got bored with many of the activities we introduced.
I personally found that being adaptable was the most important thing to making our program work. I had to adapt the way I am used to yoga classes being instructed for the kid to be best able to understand and follow what I was saying. In the yoga classes I attend (and the way I was trained to teach) the instructor simply describes or explains to students what to do for each posture. He or she may demonstrate some aspects, but this is not at all central to the class. This set up allows the instructor to walk around, see how each student is doing, and offer individual help or corrections when necessary. However, when instructing yoga at the boys and girls club I found that it was very important to demonstrate each of the yoga poses and do the poses together with the students. This is in part because the kids aren’t very willing to sit quietly and concentrate on the word you say, when they could be doing something active. Instead, I found the instruction to be most effective when the kids can see what it is they are supposed to be doing. This was a bit of a challenge for me because I had to demonstrate both the posture and breathing while explaining each step and some of the postures leave one a bit short of breath (especially if you are also demonstrating necessary breathing patterns). It seemed to work best if I gave a super-short explanation of the pose, then did my best to describe and demonstrate the pose, and finally if I did each pose and repletion together with the whole group. I found that if I did not do the pose with the students they would not do the pose at all and instead be watching and waiting to follow my lead.
Ultimately what my first session at the boys and girls club taught me was the importance of being flexible when working with kids and, of course, to always have a back up plan or two.
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