Campfire Visit

My visit to campfire last week was very fun! I was able to help the children with their homework and spend time playing games with them outside. It was nice to get to know a little bit about them and hear about how they enjoy school.

Camp fire blog

Nov 13th 2009
Camp fire is about the best job you can have. You get paid to have fun with kids. Granted its more than that but the rest is easy. Today was a typical day at campfire. We started out with snack. It’s a Friday so we only have a couple of hours of campfire as opposed to Mondays on which we have four hours with the kids. Today for snack we had goldfish crackers. This is always a favorite with the kids. Their yummy and fun. After snack we did some homework. I got to help one of the kids with their science today. We were identifying different family trees and the animals and plants that go with them. We also spent some time outside. The playground is fun because there is a lot to do. The kids like to play tag so I get a lot of exercise chasing them around. We also play some football or swing on the swings. After we spent time outside we came back in and wrote in the journals. Today the question was “what is your favorite part of thanksgiving?” some people wrote about food and some people wrote about family but everyone was thankful for something.

Nov. 16th 2009
Today I went to Rue Elementary in Council Bluffs. Camp fire on Mondays is from 1:45 to 5:30 so I get to spend more time with the kids than on a regular day from 3:30 to 5:30. Today we started out with a little time outside. It was really cold but that didn’t matter once the kids got running around playing tag as they usually do. It’s amazing how often they want to tag me. After the time outside we came in and did some homework. I got to help some of the kids with their math homework today which was fun. We then had a snack just before our speaker for today arrived. Our speaker talked about her life growing up in an orphanage and how she was able to succeed in life despite what most people would consider a debilitating childhood. After she left we finished the day off with some time outside. When 5:30 arrived we said goodbye to the kids and made sure they were all picked up before we left to go home.

Nov. 17th 2009
Today was a beautiful day from about noon on. It was cold this morning but it warmed up just in time for my walk down to the bus station for my trip across the river to campfire. Campfire today was at Walnut Grove elementary school. I got to camp fire a little late today because my bus doesn’t have the ideal time of getting to the bus stop. I signed in at the office and went to a new class room because there was something going on in the library today which is where we usually hold campfire. We ate our snacks once all the kids arrived then dove into homework. I helped a few kids with their spelling homework today; ironically a couple of them corrected me on my spellings of the longer words. I’m not the best speller. I think I’ll stick to non language arts related subjects in the future. After homework we went outside. I played a game of football with the boys and some of the girls until 5:30 when it was time to leave. Our supervisor came out and blew the whistle calling everyone back inside to get their coats and book bags and other stuff for the trip home.

Nov. 18th 2009
I got to campfire early today because I was able to catch an earlier bus across the river. Campfire today was fairly simple. Even though it is a Wednesday we didn’t do our clubs. This is because we are trying to form a new set of clubs in campfire and haven’t been able to obtain all of the needed supplies as of yet. We started out with our snack today as usual. It was goldfish crackers, which the kids and I always love. After snack we did some homework. I helped a few kids with their math homework which is always fun. Some of the younger kids were doing new set on their multiplication tables today. Once homework was finished we went outside to the playground. We played tag and football and all sorts of other games that get kids tired after a while. Unfortunately the kids always seem to have plenty of energy to spare and I am the only one who actually gets tired. When we came back in out of the cold we played a game where someone hides a paper turkey and another person has to find it, their only clue being the entire room yelling if the kid is getting hotter or colder. It was a lot of fun to say the least.

Nov 19th 2009
Campfire today was a lot like any other day accept for the fact that some of the kids got to go on a field trip to the zoo today. I don’t usually go on the fieldtrips because there generally is only one person needed and our supervisor usually takes them. However we do get to have a lot of fun back at the school while they are gone as well. Today after homework we didn’t do journals or anything like that. Instead we played on the computer then went out side. The kids like this site called fun brain because it has lots of games and these books called diary of a wimpy kid. The books are pretty funny, but I’ve only been able to read a little with them. After the computers we all went outside. We played soccer today out on the field. I got a couple of grass stains from chasing the kids around in shoes with no traction but it was well worth it.

Nov 23rd 2009
Camp fire was at Rue elementary. I got there early as usual considering I get dropped off by the bus a half an hour before campfire actually starts. This is ok though because it gives me a chance to sign in at the office and to get the snacks and other stuff ready for campfire. Today we went outside first. Its amazing how much energy little kids have when you don’t have very much. It wasn’t to bad though because today they didn’t insist on tagging me constantly. They decided that some of the other kids might be good to tag as well. After time outside we did some homework. I helped one of the girls with her history lesson about Jamestown. Today was movie Monday so at four o’clock we all went into the art room where I had already set up the TV and some snacks and sat down to watch a movie. The movie was Hook but since it was over two hours long we didn’t get a chance to finish it. Even though we only got about half way through, I want to see the end of it. It was a good movie.

Nov 24th 2009
Today is the last day of campfire before thanksgiving break. I’m was excited about break so I had to keep reminding myself that I was there to help the kids instead of space off and just get to the end of the day. It wasn’t a hard day at all. I helped kids with their homework like usual and we did some journaling about what we wanted for Christmas. One kid would not relent about this flame thrower he had seen on TV. I told him he could put it on the list but to remember if he actually got it that it would be a big responsibility. Today it was too cold to go outside so we went to the gym instead to play some basket ball. The kids didn’t know what to do though so we ended up just giving them each their own ball and letting them do whatever they wanted. It was a successful day despite me getting hit in the head a couple of times with the basket ball. My head still huts a little but I think I’ll be just fine. All in all it was a fun day.

Nov 30th 2009
Today was my first day back at camp fire since thanksgiving break. It was at Rue elementary today. It is always a longer day on Mondays because the school does half days every Monday. My bus was late though so I arrived 15 minutes late to campfire. Fortunately my supervisor understood. Today the older kids got to go on a short field trip so I stayed behind to watch the littler kids. We had snacks and played outside while we waited for the others to get back. I didn’t look at the schedule until after I had handed out the snacks so I didn’t know that we weren’t supposed to eat until the others got back. Therefore I had to wing it the rest of the day since the schedule was already messed up. It turned out ok but my coworker is someone who has to have a plan so she was a little on edge the entire day but other than that everything went fine. It was interesting on the playground today because the school is doing some construction, I’m not sure what for, but we had to make sure to keep the kids away from the heavy machinery.

Dec 1st 2009
Today campfire was another fairly simple day. We had snacked first. The snack was trail mix along with some various other things. It was good. I also applied for my time off for the Christmas break today. After snack we had homework time just like any other day. Most of the kids had math homework today so I was in my element. After they all finished their homework I took the older boys and we voted on whether we wanted to play outside or go to the computer room. The vote to go outside was unanimous so we grabbed the soccer ball and headed out side. For some reason today we played kickball instead of soccer. All the kids just congregated on the kickball court so we played that instead of our usual soccer. The rules of kickball as made up by a bunch of first through fifth graders are always changing and resulting in more than a couple fights between people who disagree on rules so I had to make sure that the kids kept their heads. They did well for the most part. I had to separate two of the boys though at one point. After game time we went home.

Dec 2nd 2009
Today was extremely cold. We didn’t go outside today at all despite some of the kids wanting to brave the frigid wind. Today we did homework ate a snack and got on the computers. The kids always like getting on the computers because they get to play games on the various sites that are deemed ok for them to be on. One of the favorites is something called poptropica. You create a character and run around in this world where you do all sorts of fun things. The boys were routy today just like everyday but today they went overboard and started chasing each other around. My supervisor had to give them a lecture about respecting property at the end of campfire. They were all very apologetic however. I guess I’m to lenient because they always seem to get in the most trouble when I’m in charge. I guess I let them get away with more than the others would and probably more than I should. I guess that’s a lesson learned for another day. Teaching or tutoring or what ever this is, is always a learning process and believe me I’m learning a lot about everything.

This post is a little bit late, but things have been crazy just preparing for the last two weeks of the semester! I was able to go to Norris Middle School on Wednesday the 18th. I went from 2:45-5:45 and it was a blast! The majority of the students are hispanic so it was challenging communicating to a lot of them, but I was able to get to know some of them. The site director, LD, is a really neat guy and those kids respect him a lot. When I went to Colorado this last weekend I was able to go to class with my sister two days. On Monday we were there from 7:30-4:30 and Tuesday 7:30-12:30. Unfortunately they were teacher days with no students so she was in meetings the whole time, and I helped her with classroom things. First I decorated with "kindness stockings" the children made and made the room a winter wonderland, then I just graded a lot of papers. It was good to get that experience and I really enjoyed helping her out with the classroom.

Campfire

I am at campfire five days a week!! Sometimes it can get stressful being there everyday but I do really enjoy it! The kids are so much fun to talk to and sometimes they say the cutest things! I love how everyday when it is time to clean up there are always a handful of kids who want to everything they can to help clean up! I think it is really cute how much they want to help.

CAMPfire

I have been consistantly going to campfire twice a week since September. Tomorrow is my last day, and last week I also went on Tues. and Thurs. I have seen changes in my interactions with the kids. They are more open and willing to try things and do different activities because I have been able to bond and gain their trust by being there. Because of this it has taught me a lot about the relationship aspect of teaching. The kids want to trust you and when they do they are more willing to accept help and guidance. It has been awesome to see this.

Campfire

I went to Campfire last week and had a really enjoyable time helping a little girl and boy with thier homework. I was able to talk to a few girls about their day and just find out how thery were doing.

ViSiT tO CaMpFiRe

Yesterday I was able to do another visit to campfire. While there I administered reading tests for the kids. They were given one minute to read off about 100 words. If they mis-pronounced them or skipped them I marked it. It was interesting to see the difference in reading ability between the kids. Some were at a totally different level than others. You can tell which students spend time outside of class to practice their reading.

Visit

Last week I was able to visit campfire twice. While there we were able to do many activities with the kids, but that wasn't my highlight. I was able to work with a student one-on-one with math homework that she was not able to complete. It was really fun to be able to explain something and have her understand and grasp the concepts. It was definitely a good experience.

This last week I went to the campfire headquarters Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. On Tuesday they had me sorting more pictures and slides. It was really fun- I got to see pictures from 1918 when they first started and it was so interesting! I was a little slow sorting the pictures because I got so distracted just looking at the pictures but I got the job done. On Wednesday I was there for about 5 hours and Ann, the volunteer director, had me put in data for keeping track of volunteer hours. Then Thursday I helped in the food bank sorting food that was donated and organizing it for them to make take home bags for the students. I really have been enjoying going to the campfire headquarters and getting a feel for everything. I'm hoping that when volleyball is over I will be able to help in the after school program at Norris Middle School.

Campfire Visit

I visited campfire mon. and it was alot of fun. I was able to help two little girls who were too shy to share what their story they read was about. I really enjoyed helping these two little girls and being there for them. I was also able to play a game with this little girl who didn't have anyone to play with which was also very fun=)
Mary~

Campfire Visit

At a recent visit to campfire the group I was helping with was able to do a very fun activity. Each student made their own "MySpace" of "facebook" page. It was actually an envelope that they decorated with something personal. The students wrote "e-mails" on little scraps of paper. Here is the catch-the emails had to be something positive or encouraging about another person. All the kids loved it! And it was so much fun to be able to get and give postive notes to eachother. It was a lot of fun for the kids (and me).

visit 1

I did my first campfire visit last Thursday, October 29th. Because it interferes with volleyball, I can't do the afterschool program, instead I went to the headquarters to help with anything they need. Michelle, one of the project coordinators, had me sort through pictures. They have a display at the Durham Museum next year to celebrate 90 years of service I think, so I had to organize pictures and slides into decade categories. It was really interesting because a lot of the pictures/slides were from the 1950's and 60's. I spent only an hour and a half there this time. I'm excited to go back tomorrow to help again!

Sarah Ross

campfire

I did campfire today and so much enjoyed seeing the children. There was this little girl who had no one to play with so it was fun to be able to have some one-on-one time with her and talk to her about her day and such. The children all had reading time, it was really fun watching them pick out books and go read them=)

Mary Mallory

Journal Article

Nearly 900 California Schools Implement Reading Program
By Scott Aronowitz
10/26/09
http://thejournal.com/articles/2009/10/26/nearly-900-california-schools-implement-reading-program.aspx
This article discussed how a new reading program, called the Lexia Reading program, has been used in almot 900 schools in California. This program is for grades K-12 and it offers nearly 800 activities for reading skills development. Lexia Reading program has had all good reviews so far. The teachers like it because it includes "individualized "branching" technology that determines when a student needs additional practice in each skill and ensures mastery of the skill before the student progresses to the next one". The program also conforms to the federal reading guidelines so there is not a problem there. One of the principles using this program said he liked it because it gave the teacher detailed feedback on student progress. This will help the teacher's ability to understand what they need to spend more time on with the student and what they already understand.

My article was called Students Held Back Did Better written by Jennifer Medina. It talked about how student who were held back in school did better. Some students who struggled with work in fifth grade got held back and actually did better in the next years. Instead of being the one to always struggle they seemed to be at the same pace as everyone else. This shows that instead of passing kids because we don't want to hurt their feelings or for other reason we should hold them back a grade (if they are struggling in school). This would help the child in the future because then they wouldn't be the one always needing extra help because they would be in the same place the rest of the class is in.

Corporal punishment

I read an article entitled Corporal Punishment in U.S. Public Schools: A Continuing Challenge for School Social Workers. Corporal punishment is a topic that has long been controversial in our country. Our county has been moving away from it in recent years due to the fact that many believe it to be damaging to the child in both physical and psychological ways as well as simply being inhumane. They list bruising, welts, and various other effects of corporal punishment are at least part of the reason that corporal punishment should be completely banned. So far it has been banned in many states and is generally frowned upon. However I think that we may be looking at corporal punishment in the wrong light. Yes corporal punishment can be damaging to the students but the times when it is damaging are the times when the teacher or parent is going overboard because they are angry or not controlling themselves. This is where I believe corporal punishment turns into physical abuse, however when used correctly corporal punishment can be an effective way to punish children. The line between correct use and physical abuse though is dependent upon the mind set of the parent or teacher at the time though. When a parent spanks a child out of love and genuine desire to help the child change his ways instead of anger at the child’s misbehaving there is much less chance of damage in any way to the child. Some forms of corporal punishment should be banned I think though. Some of the forms listed by the article simply sounded horrible and overboard such as electric shock. When I think of corporal punishment that kind of thing doesn’t come to mind which is perhaps why I am an advocate of it to some degree. The only form of corporal punishment I ever received was spanking which proved to be helpful in my developing years. I think that corporal punishment is schools should be banned because there is no way for anyone to be sure of the motives of the teachers involved but I would also suggest that corporal punishment in the home, as long as it does not turn into physical abuse, is a viable means of discipline considering the parents of a child are much more likely to actually desire what is best for the child.

Journal Article

Title: Developmental Education: An Investment We Cannot Afford NOT To Make
Authors: John E. Roueche and Wvelyn N. Waiwaiole
Diverse: Issues in Higher Education; 9/17/2009, Vol. 26 Issue 16, p16-16, 3/4p

In reading Developmental Education: An Investment We Cannot Afford NOT To Make, it was brought to my attention that not all high school graduates are ready to study on a college level. Books written by Cliff Adelman, Bob McCabe and others give us a sense of the commitment and controversy of developmental education, especially on the college level. The journal article is stating that money needs to be spent in order to provide remedial help for a growing number of students. Because more students are going to college, both junior college and four-year colleges and universities, more students will be requiring remedial help. The critics of developmental education are blaming the elementary, middle schools, and high schools for the lack of college preparation and they do not think it should be up to the college to fill that gap. As far as I’m concerned, if the students are in college, they need to be educated. If the student needs help, he or she should be given help. Yes, these programs cost billions of dollars according to the article, but the fact is college students need to learn. Frankly, if the high school did not prepare the student well, it is by no fault of the student. Someone needs to provide the help, and if the student is in college, it should be the college. El Paso Community College is working with the local high schools to provide help in bridging the academic gap, this to me, is a good way to start. If the colleges and high schools worked together, they would know what is expected, and the high school could help out in the preparation of the students. Before reading this article, I was not aware of the controversy surrounding developmental education in higher education, but it only makes sense to me that the schools should work together, if possible, to benefit their students.

Camp fire work

I have been working at camp fire this past week. Generally the day goes like this. We meet as leaders to discus what is happening during the day, then the children start to arive. We give them a snack. They eat for about ten minutes before homework time. during home work time if they do not have any they can write or draw in their journals or do other activities. After homework time we usually have our large activity for the day. On wedness day for example we had people come in and give the kids eacha pumpkin to draw on. After the activity is finished we usually have a little bit of free time before the parents come to pick the kids up at 5:30.

Journal Reaction

Journal: Middle School Journal, Volume 40 #5 May 2009
Article: Changing Times Require a Changing Middle Grades Research Agenda
Author: Vincent A. Anfara, Jr.

I agree with this article for the most part. Schools are changing and education is changing. Researchers need to research and discover better ways to reach these students. Our world today needs to be proactive in the ways that we educate. But, I do not believe in anyway should we lower our expectations on students. Although there are difference in the current student generations than past generations, there is no reason to expect less out of them than others. I agree with the quote from the article that says, "Schools have changed less than young people have in the last 20 or 30 years". This is true and there can definitely be some changes that would benefit students. But we must not stray too far from traditional education standards, because in doing so standards are lowered and this is turn will have and extremely negative effect on our nation's students and youth.

Using Picture Books to Engage Middle School Students

Journal: " Middle School Journal:
Article: "Using Picture Books to Engage Middle School Students"
Author: Patricia Murphy


In this article it talks about the advantages of using picture books when trying to teach middle school students. Picture books are very common and helpful because they are not only usually short in length, but also they tend to engage the student more in the story with the colorful pictures that are used. I know that when I was little I so much enjoyed reading picture books, not only because I could do so by myself usually but also because the pictures helped me to be more engaged in the story that I was reading. I believe that picture books are gppd for some children at ages, but when children reach a age that they can read on their own I think picture books may harm them more that help them. If children rely too much on pictures and not so much on the reading part they will not be able to develop proper reading skills that they will need in the future.



This article is from: " Middle Achool Journal" National Middle School Association, Vol. 40 November 4. March 2009

Campfire

I work at campfire and it has been a very interesting experience! I really do enjoy being there and being around the children. Sometimes there are barriers because most of the children like to speak spanish so they do not always speak english. I have one little kid that gets home sick while he is in campfire and he does not know any english at all so it is kind of hard to communicate with him when he is upset and crying.

Getting Started.

I have gone to campfire just a few times and have so much enjoyed it and the experience that it has provided me with. The first time I came to campfire a little girl came up to me who I had never met and gave me a big hug and a picture that she had colored. It was so sweet because she was so cute and kind and I didn't even know her. The children at campfire are so cute and are all in need of TLC for sure=)

blog 1

I have not had a chance yet to volunteer at campfire. The weeks leading up to this week have been so busy that I couldn't get in. Then I called Jill last Friday to try to come in Monday the 12th but no response. So I emailed her yesterday to see if I could volunteer today but still no response. But I am still excited to start volunteering with these kids! Does anyone have any recommendations on getting a hold of Jill? Or is there someone else I have to talk to to start?

Sarah

9/29/2009- Volunteered at campfire for 2 hours

The beginning of the program we help the group wash their hands and get ready for snacks. I helped with the 3rd and 4th graders...they couldn't even walk down the hallway without talking. It was interesting trying to keep them all together. Then we worked on homework and went to freerice.com for awhile. I didn't realize that most of the ESL kids' who had spanish as a first language could only speak it, and not read it.