This week Haley and I went to the school as normal to have the kids write letters. Another thing we did was meet with the fire safety leader at the station and we figured out the details for when the firefighters will actually come to the elementary. The guys will come on the 20th of this month, they will come to the school and they will get dressed in uniform in front of the kids to show them what all they wear and to try to diminish any of the fear that they could have. After getting dressed the guys will take the kids out to the truck and show the kids everything on it as well as bring the kids water bottles. The last thing we have planned is for all of the kids to take a picture with the fire fighters.
One thing I have been doing while this whole project was progressing was talking to the fire safety leader separately about starting EMS training. She helped me reach out and get some contacts and once school ends I will begin training for EMS! The project will end a week before my last week of high school, and it has been such an awesome experience. Going to the station and getting to meet the different crews and see how everything is run was so eye opening and after we got our tour when we first introduced the project we received so much information, a lot of it things we did not know. The project has been a lot of fun for us, the firefighters, and the kids, who refer to us as the "Firefighter girls." I hope next year this project will continue and maybe I can be someone who even writes a letter! :)
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The pen pal activity was a go and we had everything printed and ready for our first visit. The lady we work with at the station dropped the firefighters responses off at the office as well as a video so we picked everything up on the way to the elementary school. We go back to the preschoolers room and the teachers let us have the kids. So the first thing we do is introduce ourselves and ask the kids what they know about firefighters. After that we tried to play the video but it would not work, so instead we moved on and we gave a letter from a firefighter to each kid. Once everyone had a letter we went around and helped he kids read what the firefighters wrote. After that we sent the kids to their tables and gave them their own paper and we helped them fill them in. As kids were starting to get done we would give them a coloring book the lady from the station provided us with and we let the kids put their name in them as well as color. Once everyone had finished their letters we got everyone to get up and we tried to play a game with them. It was a successful first visit but it was a lot to do in 30 minutes!
For the second visit we tried to be more prepared. We had already met with the lady at the firestation and had given her the letters from the preschoolers. She had not dropped off the letters from the firefighters yet so we went to the elementary without them. We went with the letters we needed the preschoolers to fill out and when we got there that was the first thing we did with them. After the letters were done we played a "hot" vs. "not hot" relay game with them and quickly learned how difficult it is to keep preschoolers focused. We had to have the teachers help us calm the kids down and once they calmed down we finished the game and left. It is always a fun time but very hard to stick to schedule! (LOTS of pictures below) Haley and I went in for our meeting with the public safety person at the fire station and it went GREAT. We would start with the pen pal sheet shown below. The firefighters would fill it out and she would drop that off the following Monday with a box of stickers, plastic hats, and other items to get the kids excited. We would grab the items and take them to the elementary school and we would play a game with the kids to start. the game is called hot or un-hot, and we would show kids pictures of items and they would relay to tell us if it was hot or un-hot. the winners would receive a sticker or something from the box, and then we would all gather to watch a video from the firefighters as in introduction.
We would go every Monday to work with the preschoolers on responding to the firefighters. After school Monday or Tuesday we would then drop the letters off at the fire station. The firefighters would have until Sunday or Monday morning to bring the responses back. With the responses they would also provide a video showing us their routines, or how they get dressed in their gear or the station itself. The goal with the project is to show the kids what a fireman does and the things they wear that way if one of the kids ever has to experience a situation where there is a firefighter, they will not be afraid but will instead be happy to see one and feel comfortable. At the end of the meeting the Chief joined us and they gave us a full tour of the station as well as told us what the fireman do in training and went through a daily routine for them with us. It was a really really cool experience and one that I think will also be cool for the pre-schoolers! This week Haley and I met with the painting kiddos on Tuesday and the kids continued painting something to give to a teacher. The kids all finished and they all also finished a letter for Mrs. Williamson! We collected all of the letters and are going to put them together to make a mini book to give to her. The papers are notebook sized so we have to find out how to put them together in a way that will look nice but can also be taken apart if she wants to hang them up.
Today Haley and I met with Mrs. Williamson to discuss a new project idea. We came up with the idea to have the schoolers be pen pals with our local firefighters. We figured out the best time to meet would be on Tuesday. We would get there and start with the kids in a circle and we would read to them the answers from each firefighter and show each kid which firefighter is their pen pal. After that we would have the kids go to their tables and work on their responses. The last two things would be bringing the kids back in a circle to show them a video from the firefighters, and then lastly taking a video of the preschoolers to send to them. We would go to the fire station on Thursday or Friday after school and collect the responses from the firefighters that way when we come back on Tuesday we will have everything ready for the kids. It also gives the firefighters the weekend to send us a video if they have not already. I contacted the safety rep at the fire station and I am waiting to hear back from her, but she was on board and thinks the firefighters will be really excited! This week Haley and I thought we would be working with the same group. Instead we saw 6 new faces come through the door! We were shocked and not ready, so we had to come up with something on the spot. We got all of the kids names and put away all of the paint materials. We gave the kids each a piece of paper as well as markers and told them to draw their favorite things, colors or animals. Haley and I came up with the idea after seeing everything to have the kids paint one of their favorite things and give it to their favorite teacher as well as a card thanking them! We were alone with the kids for the whole time and we also had the idea to make a card for Mrs. Williamson, the social worker who brings us all of the kids.
The kids LOVED this idea and we did too! It was a great on the spot thought and we told the kids to start it on their own time and that we would help them with it the next time we saw them. The kids all wrote their names out for us and we lined them up and sent them off to lunch on time. It was a bit unexpected but came with some great on the spot ideas and enthusiasm. For this project I had a friend join me and help me work with the kids because it fit along with what project she was wanting to do. She had a lot of new ideas to bring and she drew the kids names with sharpie. I had never thought of this before but the kids faces lit up when they saw they had their own spots and it really helped us so we knew everyone's names! Below are some pictures of the kids names as well as the canvas next to it with two paintbrushes and one small amount of every color we had. This week with the kids we focused a lot on talking to each other and making sure the words we used were kind and positive. We talked about things we were thankful for and things we liked about Valentine's day. The kids had a blast painting and we made progress on the proposal for an additional project we may be starting with the preschoolers!
This week I started working with my new group of kids. It is 6 kids, 3 girls and 3 boys. I am meeting with this group every Wednesday for half an hour and starting next week I will be meeting with preschoolers every Monday for half an hour. With the preschoolers I will be helping them make cards to send to those in nursing homes or even firefighters and those around our community who may need just a small reminder.
I also am going to be working with another person in my class who is doing music therapy at Woodland Terrace. The preschoolers will make cards going there, and then we will bring them to Woodland Terrace and pass them out! The images below are what I have every group do to start. I have them draw out what they plan to paint on paper that way when we begin to paint we are more prepared. The painting we focused on to start with is Valentine's themed. I had the kids draw things that reminded them of Valentine's day and that when we finished them they could give them to a parent or friend as a gift! This week was the second to last week with this group I have. I have held off on doing two groups until after winter break, that way I could see how the projects went and the teacher and I could figure out the flow of things before taking on too much. For this second (and last) project with this group I drew puzzle pieces on 5 canvas boards. I laid them out how they would all fit best together and then I drew a face on each of them, all of the faces being entirely different. The image below is the idea I had behind the project. The kids all need some extra attention at times or every now and then they just are not as social. The hope with the project was to show how even with some puzzle pieces colored with tons or colors or even just one, they all fit together and belong. I laid out the puzzle pieces and had each kid pick out which one they were wanting to paint. After that I had them pick out their colors and they got to paint the piece however they wished to. They almost finished, so next Wednesday I will have the kids put the finishing touches on the pieces and then I will outline the eyes, mouth, and edges in black to really show off how good they all did! The kids have all loved painting and are actually sad the painting group has to end! I plan on having the new groups after winter break do the same projects as this group. The first painting being something small and easy that has to do with current seasons/holidays/things they like, and then the second and last project being the puzzle pieces. I think even though all of the kids are going through something a little different, showing them they all fit together even without knowing it is something really important as well as something they will remember!
On Wednesday I went to the elementary school and worked with a new group. Starting this week I would be seeing a group every Wednesday for about a month, and I would work with them on making projects and showing them some attention they may not be getting normally. After the first two weeks or so with this group I will also be seeing another group every Monday and helping them with attention or any other needs they may have. The group I saw on Wednesday was second and third graders, and there were 5. Having a small number helps to give them each one on one attention and is enough for them to still talk to each other and make some good new friendships. To start, I had the kids tell me their names and then write down some things they thought about when they thought of Christmas or things they liked about Christmas. One of the kids that was there I had seen the first time I helped out at the school and he said he had told all of his friends how much fun it was! After me and the teacher had helped them make a solid list, I had them circle their favorite two. After that I had them pick which one they wanted to paint. We had three kids choose the Grinch, and two choose Santa. The teacher and I drew the outline of what they chose and then helped them start to paint. I showed the kids how to get the brush wet first and had them write down which colors they would need. We started by having each kid use one color at a time, and then they chose another. We only had time for the kids to get to two colors in the half hour period we had them, so next Wednesday we will have them finish these pieces. When I left I told the teacher I would draw the outlines for the next project at home. I plan on drawing a puzzle piece on one canvas for each kid, and then having them paint the puzzle piece whichever colors they choose. After they paint the puzzle piece, they will paint the background black. Once all of the kids finish the painting part, I will put all of the pieces together and show them how each piece fits together, no matter the difference! I plan to do the puzzle piece idea with the other group as their second project also, liking how it shows how everyone fits in! Starting with things the kids like shows you care about their interests and are willing to help you with them. The puzzle pieces will show they all belong here!
Just yesterday I got to go to the elementary school next door and work with three students who needed some help with self esteem. I had been emailing the director for about a week at the school and we decided to do a special one time event with this group. When we get back from fall break I would then start the sessions with my two groups. I would have one group on Monday and a different group on Wednesday. I would see the groups each one day a week for that month, and on the last day of the month I bring in treats and we all look at the art we made! For this one time session I was looking all through Pinterest and Google for ideas of how to help them gain self esteem. I ended up finding an idea which you will see below unfinished. I laid out the rainbow and the hot air balloons and had the students all sit across from each other so everyone had enough space and could also talk/watch each other work. Once the kids sat down I had them write on the paper that covered the table, things they thought they did well or things that they liked about themselves. One of the students had a lot to say, while another one I had to really help. After they had at least 5 things, I asked them each to pick one color of paint to start with and they painted their balloons first one by one. Once they finished their balloons and they dried I gave them a sharpie and told them to write something good about themselves on each of the balloons. We set those aside and then helped the kids paint the rainbow. While they painted the kids loved talking to each other, and when they finished I took each of their pictures with their finished product. The kids all walked away saying they were happy that they are all friends now and that they hope to do this again! once they left and we got them back to their rooms, the director and I stapled the balloons to the rainbow and wrote their names on the back of each, the director giving to them at the end of the day. The project was a hit and the kids loved it!
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