Random Kindergarten Quotes

(Jesus smells a flower): "Mmm.........smells like salad."

(Tamsen reads my bathing suit top, which says LIFEGUARD across it, and then turns to Nadisuka): "Jen is a lifeguard. That means she can open her eyes underwater."

(Tamsen sees a 2-seater car): "Those parents must not like their kids very much......."

My Bad

Me to the group: "Come on guys, don't eat like that, use your fork. You are all acting like you're five years old."

Alex: "But we are five years old..........."

CITs Are Funny Too.......

At a field trip to the Weir Farm-

Fantayza (one of my high school CITs): "If I was a horse, this horse right here would be my man, because he has muscles, and he has a nice tan."

Random Kindergarten Quote

Meri, the Math teacher - "Boys and girls, what is your favorite ice cream topping?"
Tamsen - "Purple!"

Animal Rescue League

Me - "Today, our field trip is to the Boston Animal Rescue League."
Alex - "Are we going to see dinosaurs? Can I pet one??"

Nadiuska - "What is our field trip today? I forgot"
Me - "The Animal Rescue League."
Nadiuska - "We are going to rescue animals? But we're only kids!"


Also, sidenote: small children + puppies + kittens = unbearable cuteness.

Random Kindergarten Quote

During fitness class, Rosie falls and scrapes her knee. Crying, she walks over to sit with me on the sidelines so I can comfort her and then bandage up her knee. As I am cleaning the cut, another one of the girls, Nellymar, walks over to Rosie, sits down next to her, and puts her arm around her. Just as I am about to tell Nelly that she should rejoin the class, Nelly says, "Rosie, don't worry because your knee is bleeding. You don't have to cry. You're you, and you're beautiful, and that's all that matters."

Couldn't have said it better myself.

More Kids!

In the past week, we have acquired more children into my group - two girls (Eva and Giana) and a boy named Xavier. So the count has evened out into 7 girls and 8 boys. 15 small children........oh man.

Beyond Cute

We were walking to the local sprinklers as a group when Joshua, in his rush to get to the front of the line because he was SO excited about the sprinklers, accidentally pushed Tamsen. As a result, she tripped and began crying about how Josh had hurt her. So I pulled Josh aside and asked Josh about what he had done, and what he could do to rectify the situation. So he goes over to Tamsen and apologizes for pushing her. He takes my right hand, she takes my left hand, we continue walking towards the sprinklers in peace. I'm thinking this has worked out really well. Then, to my surprise, Joshua lets go of my hand and plucks a red flower from the grass on the side of the road. He walks over to Tamsen, hands her the flower, and says, "I'm really sorry I pushed you Tamsen. Here's a flower." He then proceeded to pick her flowers all the way to the sprinklers and give them to her.

This kid is totally going to be ladies man.

Uncontrollable Outbursts

One of my favorite parts of working with Kindergarteners is the uncontrollable outbursts they have when excited by something.

Me - "Today, our field trip is to the zoo!"
Tamsen - "I LOVE THE ZOO!"

The Most Adorable Child You Will Ever Meet...

is named Jairo. He's five. Going to kindergarten for the first time in the fall.

At the zoo, for every animal we saw, he asked me if I thought they would like doughnuts.

Jairo is one of the only kids in the camp who does not have Silly Bandz. So to fit in with the other kids, he shows up to camp one day wearing ten regular rubber bands on his wrist. He then proceeds to trade me two of his "silly bandz" for my silly bandz. What a smart kid.

Jairo also has a habit of asking me every five minutes if I am going to walk him home, although his older brother Edwin walks him home every day, and I know that he knows that. But he still continues to ask me, every day, every couple minutes, if I am going to walk him home. He also asks me multiple times in a row when he asks. "Jen, you going to walk me home?" "No Jairo, you're going with Edwin." "Jen, you going to walk me home?" "No Jairo, you're going to walk with Edwin, like you do every day". "Jen, you going to walk me home?" "Sure Jairo, why not". Sometimes it's just better to lie.

One time I was kidding around with the kids during lunch and I mentioned that I was so tired from our morning of games that I was going to fall asleep during DEAR time, which is right after lunch. Every day since I said that, when we go to DEAR time, Jairo finds me and asks, "Jen, you go to sleep now? You go to sleep now? I have to sleep now?" "No Jairo, I'm not going to sleep, and you have to read or I can read to you." "Okay. You go to sleep now?" "No Jairo, I'll be awake." "You go to sleep now?" "Yeah Jairo, I'm going to sleep right now." "Ohtay."

Field Trip to Farrington Farm

This past Friday we took a field trip to Farrington Farm in Lincoln. The kids got to make paper, pet numerous animals, do an obstacle course with a slip n' slide, run through a sprinkler, and take a hike through the woods. It was a fun day that gave me a lot of good moments.

Like on the hike through the woods walking next to Jairo, branches on the sides of the trail kept hitting him. His response? "OW! That not hurt. OW! That not hurt. OW! That not hurt." Then he sees a bunny: "Jen! A wabbit! I catch it and take it home, ohtay?"

Also loved when we went into the sheep pen and the kids kept running up to me and telling me what the sheep had told them........apparently my kids speak sheep.

Love coming home from the trip and going to get something out of my backpack and realizing that the kids had filled the side pockets of my backpack with acorns, pinecones, berries, and rocks that they had wanted to save for later. Thanks kiddies!

Random Kindergarten Quote

Me - "Nadiuska, thank you for helping me clean up. You're the bomb."
Nadiuska - "Wait, does that mean I'm going to explode?!"

The Bane of My Existence

This is my first, and last, rant on Silly Bandz.

From the very beginning, I thought the idea was a little silly - colored, shaped, rubber bands that kids would wear on their wrists? But the phenomenon obviously took off, and every where I went, there were Silly Bandz. I even bought into the craze and started wearing three. I always knew that they were very popular among younger kids, but I don't think I realized just how popular they were until the first day that I walked into Saint Stephen's on the first day of camp. Every single kid on my group was wearing multiple Silly Bandz - and not just one or two. Every kid had at least 15-20 Silly Bandz on their wrist. Crazy. And while I originally didn't have a problem with this, it took me a very short amount of time to realize what a distraction they are. Kids are constantly taking them off their wrists to show the other kids what different Silly Bandz they have (and become completely engaged in this, ignoring any counselors/ teachers who may be talking to them). They also love to trade Silly Bandz, which is distracting enough, but what's worse is twenty minutes later when they change their mind and decide that they didn't actually want to trade and now want their original Silly Bandz back. Of course, the new owner never wants to give them up, which leads to temper tantrums and tears, and obviously, no learning being done.

So my new rule is: If your Silly Bandz leave your wrist, they become mine! It's worked out pretty well so far.

The Kids!

I am the lead counselor for the youngest group of the LEARN program. My twelve kids range from 5-7, entering either K2, 1st, or 2nd grade. There are 5 girls (Tamsen, Nadiuska, Rosie, Alcimaris, and Nellymar) and 7 boys (Brandon, Joshua, Alex, Jace, Javier, Jesus, and Jairo). They are a great group of kids - not always the most well-behaved, or the best listeners, but genuinely good kids who come from tough backgrounds and still manage to make me smile every day. Each group in the LEARN program chose their group name from a list of American civil rights leaders, and we as a group chose Fannie Lou Hammer, so as a group, we are the Hammer's.

The Necessary Background

To understand this blog, your first need to know the basic info about me, and about my job.

-My name is Jen.
-I am a rising junior at Boston College.
-During my sophomore year, I took a class at BC called Personal and Social Responsibility, which is referred to as PULSE.
-PULSE is a very different kind of college class. It counts as both a Philosophy and Theology class. It also counts as a 6 credit class but you only attend class during the week as much as a regular 3 credit class. Along with going to class during the week, you also volunteer at a year-long community service placement somewhere in the city of Boston.
-Placements range from afterschool programs, to homeless shelters, to suicide hotlines, to centers for people with HIV/AIDS. All of the placements work with people in need, or work to rectify some sort of social injustice. Every PULSE student works at their placement 10-12 hours a week.
-Your grade for the class counts twice on your report card (aka, do well and it really helps your GPA, do not so well and it kills it). 60% of your grade comes from the papers, tests, and quizzes that you complete in class, and 40% of your grade is given to your teacher by your placement supervisor in accordance with how well you performed your duties at your placement.
-My placement for the year was at Saint Stephen's Afterschool Program in the South End.
-Saint Stephen's in an Episcopal parish that is open every day after school from 230-530. Kids K-8 can come for enrichment classes, sports, snack, and homework help.
-Kids are split into two programs: LEARN, which is K-5 and YLC, which is 6-8.
-Saint Stephen's is located right next to the villa Victoria housing project. In the Villa Victoria, seventy-two percent of the residents are Latino, fifteen percent are Asian, twelve percent are African-American, and one percent are Caucasian. Fifty-two percent of the people who live in the Villa Victoria are under the age of 21. Of the forty-eight percent of the Villa Victoria population who are adults, forty-seven percent never completed high school. Seventy-seven percent of the Villa Victoria households are single parents, and sadly, eighty percent of the households live at or below the poverty line. As for the entire South End/ Roxbury area of Boston, there are twenty-eight thousand residents, and the median income is $41,000. Twenty-four percent of the entire South End/ Roxbury area lives in poverty.
-Most of the children who attend Saint Stephen's attend some of the worst public schools in Boston. 60% of Saint Stephen's attendees go to Blackstone Elementary, which is down the street and was recently named the second worst public school in Boston.
-Saint Stephen's philosophy is to build a community in which everyone feels safe, feels big and feels connected.
-During the summer, Saint Stephen's, along with six other sites, runs basically the same program but as a summer camp so kids have somewhere to go when school is not in session.
-BSAFE summer camp at Saint Stephen's runs every day from 830-4 for five weeks for 120 children (60 LEARN and 60 YLC). Each day at Saint Stephen's consists of a morning of rotations (word class, numbers club, fitness class, art, tech, etc.) followed by lunch and DEAR (Drop Everything And Read) time. Every afternoon consists of a field trip somewhere in Boston (sprinklers, museums, parks). Every Friday is a full-day field trip outside of Boston.
-At the end of my volunteer year at Saint Stephen's, I was offered the job as a lead camp counselor at BSAFE. Although I live in CT, I love the place so much that I couldn't pass up the opportunity. So here I am!