The first week that Mary and I volunteered at the Lydia Home reminded me of the first day of any new experience. I remember I was very nervous and worried about what to expect. However, we were welcomed in such a positive way that all of these feelings of anxiety went away almost immediately. Miss Joyce, one of the leaders at the Lydia Home, introduced us to the children and the other volunteers there, as well as she showed us how to use their skill-building books and lesson plans. The environment created a very positive communication climate, in that there were many games around for the kids to play, as well as many smiling faces from the children. The friendliness of this place is what made it shine, even before we started working with the children.
It was Monday, April 4. I was assigned to work with a child named Logan. At first, I worked on letters and number sequences with him. He was a little stumped on a number sequence problem that was asking him to determine the order of the process of a snowman melting. Logan didn't struggle with numbering the steps to determine the order, but he struggled with what the last step was, due to that he had to draw a picture of what he thought would happen to the snowman after the snowman was completely built with eyes, a nose, arms, and a body. I used the concept of affiliation to change my choice of vocabulary to adapt my speech so that he could understand it better at the kindergarten level. I asked him the question "Do snowmen live forever?" Logan responded with "No, they melt." So, he drew a picture of a puddle of water. By simply adjusting my choice of words, he understood the concept of sequencing perfectly. I also slowed down the rate at which I was speaking so he could fully comprehend what I was saying. Logan accomplished a lot when I was working with him; so much that he had to ask for more work to do.
That same week, on Wednesday, April 6, Mary and I went back again. The children were completely out of hand and their behavior was unacceptable. Miss Joyce had to raise her voice and lecture them to get them to calm down. Some of the children were running around obnoxiously, being very loud, and one child dropped a crate of crayons, creating a mess that Mary and I had to help clean up. Within this disorder, the concept of the importance of listening was addressed. The children heard Miss Joyce tell them to behave better, but they didn't listen until she raised her voice. Many people are masters at hearing a message, but they do not necessarily listen. The children struggled especially with understanding and remembering some parts of the lecture, because Miss Joyce asked some children to state specifics of what she had just said, and some children couldn't recall any of this information. This is why it is very important for children to be taught proper listening skills.
In terms of future interactions, I learned of different ways to accommodate to children's needs, so they can learn in a way that is best for them. I had never really tutored children before, so it was difficult at first to adapt and use the concept of affiliation to speak in a way that makes sense to them. I will use smaller words and a more limited range of vocabulary in the future. As for listening, I understand that it is not easy for children to be good listeners, especially if they are younger. Along the lines of this, when I work with children in the future, I will make certain that they are actually comprehending a message and are able to remember it, rather than just hear it, or having the message go 'in one ear and out the other.'
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