The Worksheets are Working!- Service Quarter Update

I have been in the SOS Village service group since 7th grade. So I have seen it through our ups and downs. This past quarter has been our best so far!

Branching off of the A,B,C book levels we started last year, we utilize the worksheets that come along with each book. Every session we have the kids sit on chairs in a semi-circle facing the front, then two people lead the session, starting with greeting everyone by name and then reading the book of the day. Depending on what the book is about we go around saying a prompt. For example, one day we read a book called “Look What I Found!”, so everyone goes around saying something they found. After this, we break off into our pairs of buddies, working one-on-one together to read the book again. This helps to gauge where each kid’s reading level is (which will help later on when everyone is at a different level). After reading, we do the worksheet together, again answering a question from the book and drawing it out. For example in the book “I see..” we went outside and my buddy drew that she saw a flower. After the worksheets, we show them a video we made of how to act in the pool. Highlighting what is allowed and what isn’t to help keep everyone safe. Then we go down to the pool to swim for as long as possible! We have started to package their cookies up in bags so they can just grab one and go. 

I am working with a very shy young girl. I struggle with communicating with her at times because of the language barrier. I have noticed she is very impressionable, either being unsure and copying me or a classmate. Recently, other OSC kids have been sick so I sometimes have to take their buddy to work along with my own, which I can notice hinders her learning experience. My personal goal is to sit with her one-on-one, just us two with no other kids or another group so I can help her improve on her own. I think that this will help her learn better so she isn’t influenced by friends to draw something she doesn’t fully understand. If this strategy doesn’t work for her, I’ll have to come back to the drawing board to figure something out.

Our service group has learned that repetition is the best way to help the kids understand our routine. It makes it so much easier on us since there is less confusion about what is next. Plus the structure for teaching we have created helps run the session much faster and smoother. We sometimes are faced with a rainy day, where we can’t swim but we are able to think on our feet and suggest duck duck goose, or bookmaking (which are big hits). We also are tracking progress by keeping the worksheets of each student from each session. This will help us to see their progress and if they need to be challenged more with harder books or maybe an easier book. 

Cover Photo Credits: Stephie Turner