Olga Zakrevskaya

For these hours I completed 4 training courses about parenting and the relationship between parents and their children. Because of these courses I now know some key factors that are helpful in understanding parents and understanding what I can do to help them. This is especially important when the family is new in a community and now I know how I can help them feel welcome and included.

For this impact I had to complete Mandatory Reporting Training. I was required to complete this course and take a quiz for each section. At the end of the course I received a certificate which stated that I am now a mandatory reporter. It was challenging for me to make sure that I understand and remember all the details about mandatory reporting, including when, where and how to do it. I am grateful for this course because now I am able to help people who do not have anyone else to stand up for them.

For these volunteer hours I recorded videos about feelings and emotions, self-esteem and anti-bullying.
In these videos I helped children understand the importance of other's feeling and how it is crucial to make sure that everyone feels loved. I also talked about the importance of loving themselves. We discussed some techniques on how to raise self-esteem and make sure to never forget that they matter. In the anti-bullying video we discussed what bullying is and what are some ways to prevent it from happening, we also did the Bob activity where we drew a person and then tore him up with each hurtful word. This example shows that even if they apologize it will not make up for the hurtful words and actions. I enjoyed making these videos and I hope that the children will learn something valuable from them.

After receiving credit for orientation, I was required to make videos: Teamwork, Respect and friendship. In those videos we were supposed to ask questions and complete certain activities, like telling a story that the kids had to draw out, making a list of tasks they can complete to show respect or asking them to make a coupon with a promise for their friends. I enjoyed making those videos because it made me feel like I was really helping. It was challenging for me to make sure that I remember that I have to speak the language that a 5 to 10 year old would understand. I love this experience because it teaches me on how to explain information to a child in a way that they would really understand me.