Pre-Service Blog

1. What are your hopes for the service-learning project?
I hope to learn more about interacting with children and getting to be more comfortable around them.  I'm the youngest in my family, so I haven't spent a lot of time with really young children.  I hope to learn all of their different needs and wants, and also learn creative ways to fulfill them.  I hope to learn how to communicate effectively with children, since communicating with children can be very different than communicating with other college students, teachers, and friends my age.  I also want to do whatever I can to help those kids who have had a tougher life than I have and need someone to care for them.  I hope to be a good role-model and inspire these kids to go on to college.
2. What are your assumptions about your service-learning site?
My assumptions are that most of the kids are very young, and have some different needs than other children since they perhaps have had more problems and issues at a much younger age than most.  I assume, since it is an after school facility, that some kids in school might be struggling and will need assistance on homework. 
3.What do you already know or assume about the work they do?
I assume they help kids with homework and also provide fun activities for children there who aren't in school or are very young.  I also know that they help with Bible teaching as well. 
4. What do you know or assume about the population they serve?
I assume they serve kids whose parents have to work long shifts or multiple jobs to support their families, so these kids may be less fortunate than I was growing up.  I know though that kids like to play and have fun, and that they also have homework that some may struggle with. 
5. What connections/interests/passions do you have for this site or the population it serves?
I like being around kids, but I hope to become more comfortable around them as well.  I plan to someday be a nurse, and the area of pediatrics has always been one of the most interesting to me.  I also plan to have a family some day, and so interacting with children now will hopefully make me a better mother in the future.