Elias Easley

We discussed self-esteem this week.

For this week, we discussed the importance of experiencing and managing feelings.

This week, we discussed friendship. We could recall past topics such as teamwork, communication, and respect as a great build-up for this topic. It was really interesting watching them make that connection as well. I hope they will be able to form healthy friendships with each other after this discussion.

While volunteering with Bridgeway's program, I work with seventh-grade girls and eighth-grade boys. I have noticed a difference between the two groups. The boys are reserved but have also been clear about their feelings on certain topics. The girls are talkative, but I have also noticed that they care a lot about what their friends think of their answers. They are two surprisingly engaging groups, and I have loved working with them thus far. This week, we talked about a huge construct, which is respect. Mostly, they all understood respect and what it meant to them. I noticed that many universal concepts of respect overlapped between the two groups. This week was heavily discussion-focused, and we were able to share many thoughts and feelings, which is my favorite part. I love seeing these concepts through their lenses and treating them as if they are young adults with their thoughts and perspectives of things. That is something that the guys mentioned today that is a big part of respect for them, which is a big takeaway from me—learning to treat them as young adults rather than barking orders at them, learning to guide them through things rather than just telling them what to do. The most challenging has been learning to keep the girl group under control. It is not that they are chaotic, but they can get off topic, in which we try to steer the conversation back. We have been practicing using name cards and shuffling up the groups to mix our "talkers" with those more reserved for a well-balanced discussion.

I created affirmation cards for my students. I printed them out at a local library on Wednesday evening. I then laminated them at work, the next day on Thursday, to hold up against the children’s wear. I handed them to Miss Weaver that Friday morning when she dropped off the session materials.

This week, we focused on the importance of teamwork and communication. We did two exercises, snake pit, and hand circle, which encompassed both skills, and the kids had a great time. Before the activities, we held a discussion about the importance of these skills before engaging in the activities. The snake pit involved creating a maze in which one child had to close their eyes, and the other had to communicate directions to them to help them make it out safely. The hand knot included placing them in a circle and having them take the hands of two other children before forming them into a huge knot. They then had to use their communication skills to help free each other. They enjoyed both activities.

Got to know the students that I will be working with for the remainder of this project. We used this interaction to build rapport with the students and gain their trust so they could feel comfortable telling us things that may be impacting them.

Orientation.