As much as I decided that I am never going back into teaching on any level below collegiate, I find myself missing the little kids. Last semester I signed up to be volunteer for a program called "Everybody Wins: Power Lunch", where an adult volunteers to spend their lunch hour reading with the same child one day a week every week in public school.
Today was my first day! I'm reading with a second grader and she is just adorable! I had such a good time with her. After filling out a get-to-know-each-other form provided by the program, we decorated her journal book, and she picked out a book to read, "Rumpelstiltskin." She did a very good job reading and seems very excited by the idea of reading. We didn't get to finish the book this week, though. We got up to the part after the king marries the miller's daughter for spinning the straw into so much gold, when she has the baby and Rumpelstiltskin returns to claim the baby and gives her three days to guess his name in order for her to keep her baby. We just got to the second day, ending at a very interesting spot. We're just about to reach the climax! Oooooh maaaaan. I felt so good leaving, too.
Since leaving my little teaching job I've really missed not being around kids or doing any kind of volunteering. But now I'm back into volunteering AND being with kids, so I'm feeling really good. I was so nervous about meeting her, too! But I think it's going to be a good second half of the year with her. :) I can't wait till next week when we finish our book!
Though I did have some horror memories come back from the lunch room! I had to actually walk through the lunch room in the school to get to the reading room. I definitely did not envy the teachers who were desperately trying to get the kids' attention to form orderly and quiet lines in preparation to get back to the class rooms and resume work.
