Children's Friends Service Project Blog #1

For my senior project I chose to do Children's Friends. On the first day (May 17, 2011), I went to a Head Start school in Pawtucket, RI with five other girls from my class. I ended up working in a room with Paige Rovnak. When we first got there, the children ate breakfast, so we just talked to them. Then, it was time for them to review the day's activities. They went over the weather, the date, and the day's special helpers. After, they got to play in specific areas of the room. There was a place to play in the sandbox, a place to practice their writing, a place to do science related activities, a place to show their creativity, and a place to play with toys. While they were doing their activities, Paige and I were talking and playing with them. The teachers in the room didn't need us to do too much, besides interact with the kids however. After they were done going around to the different stations, they wanted to freestyle dance as well as do the limbo. When it was all done, they had lunch. They had meatloaf, bread, salad, and mandarin oranges. After lunch, many of the kids went home, because their session was from 8-12. Some, however, stayed and took a nap, before the next session came. Even though it felt like I wasn't being a big help to the three teachers in the room, it was still a rewarding experience. It was great to see how open the kids were and willing to talk to random strangers. There even was a boy there who is usually shy, but today he didn't show any of his shyness-- the teachers were surprised. I never realized how important going to the school was for the children, because they received some of their meals, they had a chance to brush their teeth (after lunch), as well as spending time with people their own age. It was an experience that was worth it.

Catherine Brescia, Lincoln School Class '11