Blog #5

Now that I have finished my twelve hours of community service, I can look back at the eventful journey I have had at Lydia Home. Throughout my process of service, I have come to realize many different themes that we presented in the times I have volunteered. I have helped many different kids within the weeks that I have been there and it has showed me many different styles or learning and communication.

One theme I have seen throughout my time at Lydia, is perception. I had many assumptions about the home before I went there. As I talked about in my first blog, I thought it was going to be a different atmosphere than what I am used to. I thought I would feel uncomfortable there and not know what to do in any situation. I have figured out now that I was wrong and I perceive things in a different perspective now that I have visited many times. I was hoping that I would be able to understand the kids and let them know that I am here to help. I did not want them to see me as an der kid who doesn’t care about their education or be willing to help them. I know that when I helped some of the kids, I noticed that some were shy because they did not know me and did not want to talk to me.

            Another major theme that I have noticed that re occurs over the time I have spent with the kids is language. Language is the way we communicate, and I have seen language in many situations. One situation was when I was helping an 8^th grader named Kyle, Joyce had previously told me that he has the language skills of a middle school child. I did not realize how important language was until I worked with Kyle on reading, I could barley understand him and it was had for him to comprehend what I was telling him to do. Without language no one would be able to communicate, obviously it has an affect on interpersonal communication. You cannot communicate efficiently without being able to express how we feel.

            This experience I have had at Lydia Home, will always be with me as I go through college. I has helped me interact with different types of people, and the way I communicate with people affects how they see me. I will take this adventure with me and I am going to continue going to Lydia, even though my hours are complete. I really enjoy being there, and making the kids happy and helping them get a better education.

           

Blog #4

Now that I have been to Lydia multiple times, I was starting to near the end of my volunteer service. It is starting to make me sad, because I have started growing relationships with these kids and I love being involved and feel like I am making a difference. We had snack time as always and Julie and I helped prepare the drinks and fruit. After the snack we started to get into homework time. The last few visits I have had here, I have worked with Davonte and helped him with many subjects. I can personally tell he is improving on his skills, and he does not mess around much anymore because he knows I wont continue to work with him if he does.

During these past weeks I have been here, I have noticed that disclosure has presented itself. Disclosure can be viewed in many different ways and it came to my realization especially when I first started here that if I did not have disclosure I would not know what to do. If Joyce, or the children did not tell me what to do, I would be unaware of the rules and the way things are run. The kids are so wonderful, that they know what to do and they will show you the sections in their book that need to be done.

I have learned that I am grateful for having this opportunity. And although my service hours are nearing an end, I will still continue to visit Lydia home. I will now use disclosure more for myself in this situation, because I have noticed that I do disclosure a lot about myself. I will be working on this as well as my communication with the kids. Talking to the children is much different communication than how I should be speaking to Joyce, or the kid’s parents. I will continue to watch my words, and how I act towards the kids because they learn from others. I am happy that I can continue to come back and enjoy my time at Lydia.

Blog #3

The second week I visited Lydia home, I was much more comfortable there and I knew what to do when I walked in instead of standing around. After we had snack time and talked for a little while, we began to start homework time. I immediately noticed nonverbal communication. A young boy named Davonte kept looking at me and trying to get my attention without words. He finally asked me to get a pencil and I asked him if that meant he wanted me to help him with his homework. He then shyly shook his head, and it made me really realize that kids use non-verbal communication a lot. After I helped him for a few minutes and broke the ice, he seemed much more comfortable and was communicating with me normally. We worked on some reading, and other sections in his book like comprehension and math.

Once homework time was over, he ran off to go play with the boys. I noticed then that one of the little girls had brought over a monopoly came and started setting it up by me. She was using nonverbal actions and assuming that I would know that she wanted to play with me. I finally asked her and she said yes. I think the kids are shy, but I also think that some are brought up in a way that they just show and object or motion their hand to something that they want. I know growing up I did the same thing because my mom always knew what I was not actually saying.  

Nonverbal communication is always present, but I have never really noticed how much it is actually present. I am now more conscious of the actions and how it relates to everyday life. I know that for future times I come here, to try and be more open with the kids and recognize how they communicate with myself, and other peers. I am excited to go back and see the kids again! 

Blog #2

    My first day at Lydia home was on a Tuesday afternoon, at 3:30 pm. Once I arrived Joyce, the owner, said hello and asked me to sign my name and what time I started. Then she quieted the kids down, and they had to go wash their hands. I was surprised on how well they children listened to her, but it was the tone of her voice that caught them off guard I think. Once they were done, one of the children prayed, and thanked God for having us as volunteers and that really touched me. It was important to me to know that they cared and were grateful for us. We had snack time next, and then homework time was next. She asked the kids, who had homework, and then they raised their hands and she assigned me to a young boy. 

   His name was Axaveion, I asked him how to say his name and taught me. He was really shy at first and he acted like he did not know the material he had to learn that day. He had a list of words that he had to be able to pronounce without sounding them out. He was struggling in the beginning but after we went through them a couple of times he understood and was doing really well. I noticed that language plays a big role in helping kids because I gave him little hints of how to say the word and showed him things he could remember how to say it. I was not talking down to him, because the words were obviously much easier for me to say then him, but my language with him was helpful I think. After an hour passed, it was play time! I ended up meeting many of the kids because we went outside and played on the playground. It was nice to have Clare and Julie there because I did not really know what to do. 

   After we played outside for a half hour or so we went back inside because some kids parents, or guardians were there to pick them up. Overall the day was really fun, and I cannot wait to go back again! Language really stood out to me today because I noticed that a lot has to do with they way you talk to someone for them to respond to you in the way you expect. I hope next time I can work with him again, because I enjoyed it and he was such a sweet kid and a hard worker. I want to see how is test goes, and if I helped him!

I chose to volunteer at Lydia Home. I am so excited to participate and give back at this organization, because I love working with kids. One hope I have is to get the most out of it and hopefully feel better about myself once I have completed this process. I hope to help the children with their homework to the best of my ability and to keep them focused. Another hope I wish for is that I will be able to come back even after my service hours are over.

An assumption I have made is that it might be challenging have a child talk to me, or they will not want to do their homework. I also assumed that it might not be the nicest place because they don’t get paid to run the program and it is in a “bad” neighborhood I have heard. Also I assume that it will be a good learning environment for the kids, and have a safe haven for them.

I already know that I is an after school program for kids who need help, or their parents have work so someone will drop them off until they are done. I know that some of the kids do not have a good home life, so they come to Lydia for help and to just feel loved and have attention on them. The populations that the home serves are mostly African Americans, and part of the lower class.  I know that all the kids attend to a local school, although they may be behind in the school work or a grade.

I have a passion for working with kids, mainly because I help my three little cousins at home, and my other cousin with down syndrome. I love making them feel worthy, and smart. It feels really good to know that you are helping someone, especially a child succeed. I also have many interests in helping kids, before my major now, I wanted to do something with children. Maybe teaching or something along those lines. Although I chose to do journalism, I will always a interest to helping children and being with them.