I think that our slideshow went well, everyone who spoke knew what we were talking about.  We didn’t have to stumble for words and stutter when reading the slides.  We knew what was on the slides so when we were talking the presentation went really smoothly.  I also thought that our activity went well.  When we read to the little kids it seemed like everybody was having a good time and the kids were enjoying the way the 5th-7th graders were reading it.  Another reason why it went well was because the people from our workshop actually used the reading tips we gave them, which got the listeners more involved.  I think it was fun to be a teacher for a while however I see what can be challenging, some of the 5th graders acted difficult.  One of them wouldn’t write anything helpful for the reflection.  We decided that nothing was going to make him write something down so we let him just sit and do nothing for the remainder of the time.  Maybe I would’ve set up another part of the activity because when the us and the teachers were standing around just watching it got kind of boring for us, even though the workshop is more for the other grades.  I think we really sent out the message of the importance of literacy, and how we take advantage of it every day.  And I hope everyone will think how lucky they are to be able to read and think about giving back to others who can’t.

I think our set up groups went well over all.  However two people didn’t really help with the slide show at all.  Me and one other person definitely did the majority of the work.  One of the members of our group didn’t help with our group at all she actually ended up working with a different group.

I thought that it was great how much extra time the teachers gave us to work on the teach-in.  The amount of time we got was perfect, but maybe we should get a bigger warning saying how close the teach-in is.  I know my group didn’t realize until we had like 2 weeks left.

Over all the process and the final outcome was really great for me.  It was the most fun project of the year.

Vviane, Naomi, Kyla, and I went on our final visit to the 125th st McDonalds in Harlem.  This was the same place as our first visit, so we didn’t do anything different.  We recognized some kids from the last time we went to this activity.

We have become professionals! We wait for the kids to arrive, then we sing some songs including: there was a great big moose, and the ABCs.  Then we broke into groups of about 5 kids and begun to read to them.  I read three books to the children in my group, and I had some time left so I tried to teach them some important words.  All of them were so excited and seemed like they were having so much fun.  After everyone was done reading we came back into one big group and sang a couple more songs like: the wheels on the bus.  At the end all the kids got some food and ate patiently waiting for their parents to pick them up.  So that gave us a chance to talk to Mrs. D.

It wasn’t until after we left that we realized we forgot to take pictures with the kids.  We were having so much fun I guess we didn’t even think about it.  This whole experience has been a lot of fun.  I am glad I chose the topic I did, and I wish it could’ve lasted longer.

Wednesday we made our 4th visit working with LINC.  This was the second time we went to the St Jude school on 207th street in Harlem.  We had an easier time finding this place, because we had been there before.  When we first got there we decided to act like investigative journalists and go around the school for a little bit, while we waited for the program to start.  We took pictures of the halls, and we saw some children in classrooms, doing homework wiht their peers.  I didn’t think the school seemed very bad.  Then we got there we waited for the reading to start, and when it did we joined groups around the room and helped with the reading.  There were a couple of kids who didn’t have groups so we were happy to read to them.  I was reading to one kid who was drawing when I came over to him.  However when I sat down I read him a couple of children books, some of the books I remembered from  when I was in kindergarten.  We did the same thing as last time.  We just read to the children and helped them draw and do some short activities.  Even though we did the same thing as last time we were in different groups and it was just as fun.  The two kids I was reading to left so I went and joined another group.  By the time I joined the next group the reading was over and the program turned into free time.  Two fifth grade girls just decided to talk to each other.  So I watched/helped the kindergarteners color pictures.

This visit was a lot of fun and I can’t wait to go on the next visit.  I really like the topic and organization we chose, all of the visits have been a lot of fun.

 

Today Naomi, Viviane, Kyla, and I went to the st Judes School in Harlem.  We took the A train up and when we got off, honestly, we didn’t know where we were.  We had a little bit of trouble looking for the place.  Sometimes when we tried to ask for directions, some people couldn’t speak English.  When we first got there we sorted math work sheets, and coloring pages that the kids would work on after we read to them.  Shortly after arriving the coordinator Albania told us that we were reading Doctor Seuss stories because we were celebrating him.  We read to kindergarten kids.  There were also 5th graders from the same school her were helping LINC with the reading.  The four of us were split to go to different table where we read to the kindergarten students along with the 5th graders.  I took turns with two 5th graders in my group reading a page each to three kindergarten students.  After we read the kindergarten kids did a math worksheets, we helped them and taught them to count small amounts on their fingers.  Then when they finished they were rewarded and got to color a picture from a Doctor Seuss book.  And while they colored the 5th graders did a word search.  One 5th grader in my group was very curious about the project, she asked me a lot of questions.

 

I thought this visit was a lot of fun.  It was cool that they had a theme of Doctor Seuss, because everyone likes Doctor Seuss.  The kids were very energetic.  I can’t wait for the next visit.

Today Viviane, Kyla and I went to a McDonalds in Harlem where we met with children who work with LINC.  We had a lot of fun!  First we started out by singing a song.  Next we broke up into groups of about five and read to the kids.  They were really loud, and were ready to have some fun reading.  We were wondering why they had separated the boys and the girls in the groups.  We read them stories that we recognized from when we were their age, if was fun to read those books again.  After we read them a couple of short books we went on to sing a couple more songs.

We interviewed the main volunteer for the night, her name was Mrs. D.  We asked her a couple of questions including these:

How long have you been working with LINC?

“10 years.”

What made you want to get involved with this organization?

“I believe the community should be responsible for children becoming good readers. And I wanted to take part in it.”

Are there events everyday?

“Yes, but they’re not always in Manhattan.”

I had a lot of fun on this visit, and I am excited for the rest to come.

Kyla, Naomi, Viviane, and I made our first visit to LINC (literacy incorporated).  On our way over to the office, we were confused as to what we would actually be doing.  When we got to the office this visit turned out to be more of a meeting with the coordinators of LINC.

We learned that this organization’s goal is to promote literacy at an early age for children.  They told us about different activities and programs that are done.  These programs give them time to read before they start school, and allow them to get excited about reading.  Deborah Mulrain, (our contact person) told us about a program called, Pajama Night.  On this night we play games with the children, and then read to them.  This is supposed to encourage reading before they go to sleep.  We are hoping to go and participate in this program on Thursday.  There was also a program called the Lobby Reading Program, where we read to kids in small groups, this event takes place in lobbys of different buildings.

This meeting got us excited to start working with LINC over the course of this project, and we can’t wait to go to our first visit.  I am looking forward to helping this organization in the time ahead, and I’m sure this will be a great experience for all of us.