Lesly Baeza

Today's SOAR visit was quite short, as the school was hosting some sort of winter festival later tonight. Therefore, the first 5-10 minutes of my visit were spent hanging out with the students outside, and after we all gathered inside for dismissal. This dismissal probably has to be one of my favorites so far. I was able to read with some of the second and third graders, which was quite fun because it encouraged them to read to me as well. When it was finally down to the last few kids, some were able to play on the iPads, and one of the students was watching and singing along to the K-pop Demon Hunters song Golden which was the most wholesome thing ever, watching him sing his little heart out. I stayed with the last two kids that were left to be picked up and watched them play and sing on the iPads, which definitely made my day.

This SOAR visit was actually quite a surprise to me, as they were having their fall party, which included the students' families. At the beginning of the visit, we spent time in the gym playing a game of dodgeball. This day I spent with the third graders, some third-grade girls, and I spent our time in the gym playing a few of our own games until it was time for the fall party. First, we spent some time in the classroom picking out songs and setting up for the party, and it was so cute to see how the students were excited for their parents to come. Slowly, the parents started making their way, and the students did not fail to introduce them to everyone, which was nice because it also allowed me to make small talk with the students' parents. While some students were with their parents, I spent the rest of the visit with the students whose parents were not able to make it.

This SOAR visit was much shorter than my others, due to the fact that it was early release day; therefore, the rest of the day was spent outside. I was actually able to meet some new students that day and got to know them personally and learn about their SOAR experiences. The students were also able to teach me a ball game that they play with each other, and it was actually really fun having them teach me because, honestly, I did not understand the rules of the game at first, which they also found funny. During release time, I spent my time with some of the second-grade girls, and we played our favorite game of smoothie making.

For this visit, I started by helping the third graders with a pretty creative activity. They had the task of using tin foil and seeing who could turn it into the tallest tower. The students definitely got pretty competitive, but it was good to see them work together as a team to achieve a collective goal. They also had to use different strategies to be able to get the tower not only to stick together but to stay up. It was a bit rough behavior-wise wise considering it was the day before Halloween, so after dinner we had some reading time, where I was able to read a few stories to the students, not only in English but in Spanish too, which was fun. I think this day was supposed to be more relaxing since the next day the kids would be having their Halloween parties, but since their behavior was a bit off, they had a silent release time. I would say the highlight of the visit was the reading time; many stories were shared, and many more laughs were had.

For this week's visit, the students were able to do some fall painting activities. First, they had some pumpkins they could paint, which I happily participated in alongside them. It was fun to see how creative the students could get with the watercolors. It was also a good opportunity to work with them on how to behave when they are utilizing watercolors. For the first half of my visit, I painted alongside the students, and we shared many good laughs and conversations. After the first paintings, it was kind of a free-for-all with the paint and crayons. My only stressor was them asking me if they could keep my painting or if I could paint something for them. After dinner, the students were able to let out all their energy, and for the remaining time left, they spent it outside. At the end, I left with some cool new paintings that the students gifted me:)

For this week's SOAR visit, I was actually assigned to a group, which I believe consisted of 3rd graders. Every group was assigned a station and took turns either learning about plants, watching the Magic School Bus, playing with watercolors, or spending time in the gym. For the remainder of the time at the stations for my group, we were in the plant station, where they were learning facts about parts of the plants as well as making a flower plant out of construction paper, decorating it, and labeling the parts of the plant. After these activities, I accompanied the same group to dinner, meeting some new students and having quite a few funny conversations with them. Each day I come is another adventure, talking to the students and getting to know them is definitely the highlight. After dinner, the leader so kindly provided cookies for all the students, which definitely put a smile on their faces. We were able to end the day with some fresh air outside, where I continued to share many laughs and stories with the students.

This week's SOAR visit was quite eventful and entertaining. When I initially got there, the kids were all gathered in the cafeteria, all participating in some interactive games. From playing the cup game, a big competition of rock, paper, scissors, to a dance competition, it was quite fun seeing all the kids enjoying themselves inside. During those games, I had the opportunity to converse with some more kids, and together we had our own little mini game of rock, paper, scissors, which I think made the younger children feel a bit more included. After that activity time, the kids had dinner, and I was able to meet more of the leaders and hang out with more of the students I had already had the chance to meet and talk to. After dinner, they were able to play outside for the remainder of the time, which was great because I was able to watch their much-talked-about soccer game. It's always fun to see the students hanging out with each other and seeing how some dynamics are. There's something so comforting about seeing the older students taking care of the younger ones and hanging out with them; it also makes it much easier to talk to them. Today was another successful visit, such a friendly and fun atmosphere. :)

This particular evening at SOAR was an indoor day since it was raining; therefore, it was a more relaxing evening. The second time visiting was definitely more comfortable . I was able to get to know the children better and interact with them. From coloring with the lovliest little ladies, eating dinner with the funniest group of girls, to playing Uno with a group of friends. It's interesting, for once, conversing and interacting with a young group of children who aren't related to me. I had the opportunity to talk to a young group of girls, and they shared with me some of their favorite memories in SOAR and other things that even I found myself relating to when I was younger. My one takeaway from this day is getting to know more students and more about them, as well as accompanying the same group of friends as on my first visit, for their dinner.

For the first day as a SOAR volunteer, I was met with lots of fun getting to know the children. Initially, it was a bit confusing since the director was not there, and no other leaders let me know what my duties were going to be, but thankfully, one leader was able to tell me that, for today, I could just introduce myself to the kids. This day had been an outside day, which made it a bit easier for me to go around and introduce myself to the children. The whole evening was just wholesome and fun. I never imagined that such young children would be so talkative and open to talking to someone they had just met, but the enviornment that the children created made me feel much more comfortable. Majority of the time was spent conversating with all the children and getting to know what their time at SOAR looks like.