Memories to Last A Lifetime - 05/13-05/18

I learned a few critical life skills this week, including how to make the best memories, how to enjoy life and the world as a little kid, and arguably the most important of all - how to make rice krispy treats. One of the fears I had going into this last week at AEMS was how sad I would be every day knowing that it would be one of the last, if not the last day I would spend with the kids. Luckily, spending the time with the kids every day and being present in every moment allowed me to put that sadness out of my mind and just enjoy being there with them. Looking back, this was the best way to create memories. Being sad about the approaching ending of something I loved would have hindered my ability to be present in each moment and create full and joyful memories. I also learned that one of the best ways to live is by seeing the world as greatly and as imaginatively as a kindergartener. Spending 3 days and 3 recesses with 6 year old made me realize how much fun it is to find entertainment in repeatedly climbing up and jumping off of bleachers or walking along a plank of wood and pretending the mud on either side is lava. The last, and more important skill of making rice krispy treats is achieved by simply melting butter in a pot, then throwing in marshmallows and melting them, and then mixing in cereal so you create one big sticky glob. That's really about all there is to it.

I loved what I was doing this week. As I mentioned before, this week was different from previous weeks because I was spending time in kindergarten instead of third grade. Even though I had never spent any time with kindergarteners before that (other than a few from gymnastics), they were still really excited to have me there and playing their games with them felt really silly, but also fun. Not only did I get to hangout with some awesome little people, I also got to listen to story times, I got to play on the playground, I got to do coloring and word searches, so how could I not enjoy what I was doing? The other different part about this week was that Anna was also in first grade with me. Having her in the classroom too was a lot of fun. She became someone I could talk and laugh with about all the crazy things the first graders did or said, because she had experienced it too. Also, from teaching gymnastics and Mandarin and walking kids from place to place, I am getting to know a lot of students better outside of their classrooms, and it makes me really happy when they say hi and give me hugs whenever they see me.

This week was actually very smooth sailing, and there weren't really any surprises. Everything went as expected. As I've been learning more over the last two weeks, I'm growing to have less expectations going into this, and this makes me more able to adapt and foresee unexpected circumstances.

I will benefit from this week's activities, through the things that I've learned (listed in the first paragraph), as well as just the culmination of all the things I've been learning throughout my whole senior project. Not only have I picked up skills that will push me further on my path towards becoming a teacher, but I have also learned skills from being with the kids that helps me live a happier life in general.

This week, I felt that I achieved all of my goals. In terms of helping students increase their skills in gymnastics, I definitely saw improvement throughout the last few weeks in every single student's progress. Just to list a few examples: Paige, Sadie, and Connor hit their full handstands completely on their own, Mya landed her cartwheel for the first time, Titus can now walk a few steps in his handstand, Lylah tried and did her one handed cartwheel for the very first time, Emma landed her handstand standing up, and Azalea and Raelyn have started working on back handsprings. Every single student has shown improvement, and I wish I had the space to list out all the achievements of 28 young gymnasts. This also contributed to their increase in strength and flexibility, as I heard a few less "OW's" when they slid into their splits in their last classes. As a mentor in the classroom, I felt that I provided positive leadership for the kids. I got to be more hands on this week by actually teaching whole classes, small groups of students and individual students in areas that they were struggling with. I felt good about being able to provide guidance to students with their math, writing, and even drawing and coloring.

Overall, it's been a really great week, and a really great way to end senior project.