Since
I have begun volunteering at the Lexington Public Library, I have met many
vibrant, young individuals and I have had the chance to actually get to know
some of them. It is possible for me to become familiar with the personalities
of some of the kids because of how often they are there. The same children
attend the homework help program at the library each day, which makes it easy
to recognize their faces and remember their names after only a couple days of
volunteering. Of course, this also means that the children are all friends and
hangout and play at the library together. The library staff and other
volunteers have also become familiar to me, as the same volunteers are always
there to help. I can tell that the volunteers that have been there for a long
time have developed real relationships with the children. The volunteers are
seen by the children as someone they can look up to, learn from, and even play
with when their work is done for the day. All of this creates a warm and
friendly atmosphere at the library. Somehow there is an understanding among
everyone there that even an outsider, like me on my first day there, can
recognize. The Lexington Public Library really does feel like a little
community.
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| children and volunteers interacting at a library |
I
want to be a part of the community at the library. For this reason, I try hard
to get to know the students that I work with. I want to make the children
comfortable with me and I hope that they have fun and learn when I am helping
them. The first person I ever helped at the library was a funny, bubbly, and
sweet girl. I helped her to complete her math homework and showed her easier, faster
methods to use for that particular kind of math. While we were working, we were
also able to make conversation, joke around, and have fun. Later in the
afternoon, after we had finished her work and I had already helped several
other students, she came back to me and asked me to play a game with her and her
friends. It made me really happy to know that she enjoyed our previous
interactions enough to ask me to play a game with her. This is just one example
of a child that I was able to get to know just by helping them with their
homework. Volunteering at the Lexington Public Library has been a great
experience so far.
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| math homework |
This sounds like such a fun volunteering opportunity! I was just wondering upon reading this post what the ages were of the children you were working with. Also, through my volunteer organization this semester, I've got to work with children who have mental as well as physical disabilities; so my question is, have you had to work with a disabled child since you've been volunteering there? Because in my experience, it takes a whole new method of teaching to teach children of such young ages new topics and ideas. I would love to hear about your experiences!
ReplyDeleteYes, it is very fun! I work with a wide range of ages; almost all the children are in either elementary or middle school, but there are also a few high schoolers that come to the library for homework help. The specific girl that I mentioned above is in the fourth grade. I have not worked with a disable child, but I can definitely relate to your experiences with teaching children completely new concepts. There are several older children at the library that do not know how to read at all. This is sad and can be frustrating at times when I am trying to help them read, but it is very rewarding when any progress is made. Thanks for the comment!
DeleteI would love to go and volunteer at a place like this! I'm sure you're having a great time. It seems really cool. What else do you get to do? Have you built any relationships with the kids or other volunteers? Sounds so awesome though!
ReplyDeleteIt is awesome! Basically, I just help kids with their homework, which could be in any subject, and the instructions are sometimes even in Spanish. Most of the children at the library are Hispanic so sometimes I get to help with homework that is in Spanish and speak to them in Spanish, which I really enjoy. Also, if no one is waiting in line to get help with their homework, I get to play with the kids. I have become friends with several of them, so hopefully I will get to know them even better as I continue to volunteer!
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