Helping Hands: First Meeting
Goals:
- Work collaboratively with others (supervisors, children etc).
- Take on a new challenge of working independently with the children, and overcoming a slight language barrier with the Sri Lankan students.
- Take initiative when planning activities.
- Practice communication skills when initiating activities with the children.
My first meeting with the Helping Hands group went very well. Helping Hands is a program that teaches less fortunate children to read English as well as provide them with the company, companionship, and services they might be lacking. The group works to provide the children with a fun learning environment as well as the opportunity to learn and interact with other children. I found that I settled in very easily and upon my arrival I was requested to join a certain group within the program by two girls who already knew who I was. My first task was to read to the Sri Lankan children who are learning to read in English and the primary students from school. I started by picking out a few books to read to the group; I chose a small book called One Duck Stuck. My supervisors, Ms. Powell, helped guide me through my first group reading by encouraging me to ask questions and include the children in the reading. Later she paired me with two girls who read English well but still needed improvement. Ms. Powell helped me to get settled and gave me the overall idea of the group and how it works but for the majority of the time I was left to my own devices but I quickly made good use of my situation and decided to read aloud to the two girls I was paired with and had them read back to me.
From my previous work with the Fatima Girls School I learned that lack of comprehension is common when learning a new language. In order to overcome this at certain parts of the book I would stop and quiz them in order to test them and I would also have them read a few lines back to me. I felt like I adapted very and I completed all my goals: I worked collaboratively with my supervisor as well as the children I taught by planning and initiating certain activities, I took on a new challenge by working independently with the children as well as planning my own activities within our little group.
Working independently with the children gave me for free range to do what I wanted to do and work how I was the most comfortable. At first I was a little nervous about reading in front of children because I'm not very comfortable reading anything out loud. Being able to read to the children and talk to them gave me the confidence I needed to work with them in an effective manner. I like working with children and I quickly learned that they like working with me as well. Overall the first meeting with the Helping Hands group when really well and I look forward to working with them next Monday.
