Well, my year in AmeriCorps has ended. It actually ended about three weeks ago; but I'm such a slacker when it comes to blogs that I never even updated this. The year was great; a lot of work, but fun too. I learned a lot over the year, and I defiantly became stronger in my math skills. The kids can be so cute, and I know that a lot of them came from broken homes and they loved coming to the library, where they felt loved. It was a year where I was thankful for my patience, and where I really had to rely on God to make it through.

This is the second year that there has been a Literacy AmeriCorps member at the Boynton Beach City Library helping with homework and summer reading. Last year was extremely successful for the first year, and this year the numbers have tripled. In 2010, Lindsay reported that she had helped 82 kids with homework help, while I helped 318 children throughout the year.

Here are some of the great success stories from the year…

Rockensley is a second grader who struggles with math and reading while having a genius brother. As a result, his brother is constantly bragging, making Rockensley feel terrible, as he failed the second grade. When Rockensley came to me in the beginning, he was very shy and quiet. I had to ask him several times what his name was. We bonded over my inability to pronounce his name (which I eventually learned) and I started by helping him with his math homework. It was quite apparent that his biggest struggle wasn’t the math itself, but understanding the directions. Rockensley was very consistent in the beginning, coming almost every day with his brother. Around Christmas time, he disappeared and didn’t come back until March. I continued helping him, working on his spelling and reading homework. Rockensley told me he was worried he wouldn’t be able to pass and would once again stay in the second grade. I knew that his brother didn’t help matters, and that he was ashamed to be the “dumb one” in the family. I reminded him that he was really good at basketball, and that it took a lot of work to get there. “We just have to keep working at this,” I told him. In June, as I was cleaning out the “Homework Help” room to change it into the “Summer Reading Help” room, Rockensley came in and asked if he could write me a note. He wrote “I got a A+ and I got a B+” with a giant smiley face. “Rockensley,” I said as he tried to hide, “that’s great! What did you get the A+ in?” “Math,” he said with a smile. “And the B+ was in Reading!” “That’s so awesome! Does that mean you are going to third grade?” He nodded. Then he said he had to leave for the summer, but he was really happy.

Maya is a first grader who came in almost every day for help with her homework. Although she is extremely smart, she struggles with being able to pay attention to the task at hand. Together, we worked on staying focused and understanding her homework. She would often get bored with her homework, but with my help, she found interesting and fun ways to learn. We used crayons to count with, wrote math problems on the board, and took turns reading. Her mother informed me that her grades have improved this year with my help, and she continued coming over the summer for reading help. Maya wrote me that she loves the program, and is so happy that Homework Help exists.

Anastasia and Priella are twins in the second grade. They both have a low attention-span, and their grandmother brought them to the library in hopes that I could help them. The twins were very fun, always trying to make jokes or color pictures, but seemed determined to avoid their homework. I figured out that if I let one of them color a picture while I helped the other with homework, and then they switched, they were more focused. A month or two after they first started working with me, Priella informed me that they were doing well in school. I continued working with them until February, when a family emergency caused them to have to stop coming. I hope they will be able to come back next year.

Sebastian is a third grader at Discovery Key who informed when he first started that he was being tested for ADD. “My parents want to put me on some medicine,” he said. “I can’t focus in school and my grades have been slipping.” We started by just working on his homework and when he would start to lose focus-I would read with him. For math, I found that if I worked with another student, he would first try it on his own. Then, when he got frustrated, he would ask me for help. Sebastian came every day all year, and he told me at the end of the year that his grades had improved.

Shelsey and Lawuens are brother and sister. They started coming towards the end of the school year, after hearing about the program from a tutor. Shelsey told me that her mom saved money each week to try and take them to a tutoring program down the road from them, but that it was hard to make ends meet. “She couldn’t pay for it, and my grades weren’t very good anyway.” A month or two after coming to work with me, Shelsey said that her grades had gone back up to As and Bs and that she understand her homework much better now. “I love Homework Help,” she said. “Thank you so much!”

Cindy is a fourth grader who came for help with her math. I noticed that her biggest issue was she couldn’t understand what she was reading in the directions. I found a math dictionary in the library and showed her how to use it. By looking up words she didn’t know, Cindy could understand the directions better. I am really proud of the progress she made over the year, and I hope she keeps coming back to Homework Help next year.

Jones is a fifth grade student who struggles with low self-esteem and a negative outlook on the world. She comes from a broken family, and is constantly picked on for being a larger girl. When she first came to me, I didn’t know how to react. She defiantly needed help with her reading, but seemed determined to get in trouble. Despite her angry demeanor, I noticed that even when she got kicked out, she kept coming back for help. There was no parent pushing her to get help, but in fact, she once confided that her mother didn’t like her getting help with her homework. We slowly developed a friendship, and I noticed her listening to my advice. She was constantly saying sorry, and trying to be nice to others. Once, I noticed that she kept all the free books I had given her throughout the year for good behavior in her backpack. She carried all of them around with her! She also wrote a very sweet note to my boss asking if he could get a recycling bin for the Homework Help room. He wrote her a very professional letter back, which she read to everyone who came into the room that day. Even though there were some hard words, she made it through the letter every time! Over the summer, she would ask me, “Can I read with you Miss Kristine?” and she also told me that she passed fifth grade! I am very proud of her new attitude, her willingness to try, and her ability to write me a letter telling me she loves me and that she is going to miss me very much.

Maria and Andrea are sisters. They are very quiet, and their mother can’t speak English. In the beginning, only Maria came for help with her homework. She really enjoyed it, and her homework started improving. Once, after giving her and her sister a free book from the Literacy Coalition, Maria’s eyes lit up. “This is for me?” she asked with genuine shock. I nodded, and she ran to tell her mom. Her mom tried to give it back at first, but then her sister translated what I had said and her mom smiled at me. A month or two later, Maria and I were working on her project about animals. I found a book on pandas, and she told me she wished she could take it home. I explained to her that she could check it out. She got so excited and I had her translate to her mom how to check out a book. She has now checked out books and movies, and I am so happy that their family learned how to use a library!

Totals:

Number of total students helped from September 2010-July 2011: 318

Number of total students who participated in just homework help: 262

Number of students who participated in just summer reading help: 39

Number of students who participated in homework help then continued to participate in summer reading help: 17

There are so many exciting opportunities in the world, and so many different things that we can choose to do with our time. During this year of service, I have seen that you can accomplish a lot doing 1,700 hours of service. From helping the community to seeing a child smile after reading their first book, it's a great feeling. Sometimes, after battling a sickness or just a long day at work, that smile and joy of helping others can turn into stress and anger. And it's during these times that I often try to find an outlet; somewhere my creative mind can take over and the stress and demands of life can go away for a while. It is for this reason that my scrapbooking has taken over my life. Despite the fact that I'm pretty far behind (try 2 years at least), it's been getting better lately. I've been pushing myself further into finishing, striving for my own personal goal of being caught up to AmeriCorps year within the next four months. To say I may have given myself an unattainable goal is stating the obvious, but I've always been a dreamer. I've also started the undaunting task of trying to apply for a cruise ship job as a photographer. Yes, this is my new idea, and one I'm pretty settled on, despite the differing opinions of everyone else. When I told people I was doing AmeriCorps, they thought I was nuts. Especially since it had basically nothing to do with what I majored in, or planned to do in the future. But I knew it was right for me, and this year has only proved that. And just the same, in my gut, I know that God is pushing me towards a cruise ship. Maybe only to apply-maybe something else will come up in the meantime. But I 'm going to try, because it feels right. And I'd love to travel the world taking pictures-hello dream job! It might be a 24/7 job, with no days off, but I worked at Timber-lee. I can handle it. :)

Tattling Turtle

"Dear Tattling Turtle,

My homework is killing me."

"Dear Tattling Turtle,

I stole the calculator."

I never realized how much impact a stuffed turtle would have on the effect of my students. It all started a couple weeks earlier, when I approached a couple of friends of mine who I met down here, all three of them teachers in the area. I explained how my students, who range from Kindergarden to High School, have been having issues with tattling. Everything they do to each other is told to me in a tattling tone. "She kicked me" or "He is peeking at my homework!" (when there is a six year age difference between them). After listening to me, one of them, a second grade teacher, told me about the Tattling Turtle. She explained that you purchase a stuffed turtle, write down a poem and then provide a resource for the students to express themselves in.

"Meet Tattling Turtle

Dear Students,

Tattling Turtle will listen to you,

When you have something to say.

Just talk to him or write it down,

And tell what happened today.

But if you or anyone else is hurt,

Please do not delay.

Come to me so I can help,

And make sure you're okay.

Your Teacher, Miss Kristine"

The first day sparked a very interesting situation. Two of my more eager and very loud students discovered the turtle-at the same time. These students don't really get along, and have been asked to come in for Homework Help at different times. However, not this particular day, the sign-up sheet was messed up and they ended up coming in at the same time. The usual arguments started, and they tattled to me. I explained about the turtle and the kids went crazy. I received 15 notes saying things such as "He is so mean!" and "She is so bossy!" I used it as a teaching moment and told the students how they could approach each other when they have issues. I also explained the difference between tattling and telling. The students then each read the poem aloud to me (working on their reading skills) and then they read their notes aloud to each other. I was going to have them tell each other why it bothered them when one did something wrong when one of the students had to leave.

The next day, I came in hoping the Tattling Turtle would have a better effect on the students. After the day before, I wasn't expecting too much. But the older boys, who tend to bully the younger students, found it interesting. They wrote five notes while in the room. One of the students even tattled on himself-something I found very humorous. As I watched the Tattling Turtle come alive to the students, I noticed they were writing more and more. And reading-because they loved reading their notes aloud to the tattling turtle, hoping the student they were writing about was listening. We are still working on approaching a situation we are unhappy about in the correct way- "I felt unhappy when you stole the book I was reading because…." but I feel the Tattling Turtle is helping me to make a lot of progress.

It's 2011, baby!

Well, it's a new year and I haven't yet updated this blog! When I got back from Wisconsin (two weeks there was nice, but I don't miss the cold. lol), two friends from Wisconsin came to visit me. They came for a week, so I didn't have a chance to write then. And after that, I had to catch up at work. And then....I got sick! Yup, I had the flu for THREE days. That's a long time for me, since I usually only get sick for one day!

So, excuses aside, I figured I should quickly update this blog. The kids have come back in doves! There is so many again! (it had calmed down for a little bit) But the ever-fearless Kristine has come up with some pretty cool ideas! Here is what I wrote for my boss in this survey/blog thing we have to fill out every week.

I have two twins who come every week, and are in second grade. These girls are actually very good readers, but they don't like to read unless it's about princesses or the boys can't read it. Their grandmother comes in with them, and really wants them to learn how to read. There is another girl, who is new, who has ADD. She is also a good reader, but needs to focus when she reads. And finally, there is another girl who can't really read very well, but really wants to learn. Now, I have lots of kids, but these girls are the ones who gave me the idea. I remembered when I was little how I loved to read these notebook stories because it was someone else's journal. It made for a great read! So I created a notebook that is called "Josie's Notebook" and everyday I add in a little more to the journal. I wrote "Boys, stay out!" and "Do not Open! (unless a girl)" on it and jazzed it up. The girls loved it! I told them a girl who comes said girls were allowed to read it and that she will continue to write it in when she can. (they don't realize I'm the girl who comes; ha ha) Whenever they come in, they ask where the book is. They grab the book and start reading it right away! The boys have become interested in the book too, especially my boys who hate reading. The girls caught the older boy, a fifth grader, reading it and got very upset. I couldn't help but smile. When asked how far he got, the boy remembered everything he read (which is unusual) and he didn't have any trouble with words. Although this book was written to encourage the girls to like reading, the boys interest has helped them like reading as well.

The story is really funny, I have it about a girl who tries out to be an exta on a movie set and ends up being in the movie. She has really funny remarks, and is always annoyed like a usual fourteen year old. I love it. lol

Other than that, enjoying the beach, trying to still figure out next year (what a headace) and stay away from the crazy Florida drivers. They are either too fast (young people) or too slow (really old people who shouldn't have their license) and they don't use their blinkers, they cut people off (all the time!) and they don't care if they hit you! There is apparently a "No Fault" rule in Florida so you don't get in trouble unless you hit someone from behind. So if they cut you off and you have no choice but to hit them, they it's your fault. How horrible!