After a few days of travel and exploration, today was our first full day of service with our community partners. We spent the morning at the Warren Early Childhood Center, which is a pre-school that serves a diverse group of scholars. We were happy to be met by several staff members, including the principal, the school psychologist and one of the teachers in the Special Education Program. They explained to us the mission and history of the school, and we were given a brief orientation on the various classroom settings that serve the students with disabilities who attend the school.
We split into three groups and were paired with a classroom. Each classroom was staffed by a lead teacher and 1-2 instructional assistants, and the number of students ranged by classroom. We (Clara and Hannah) were placed in a smaller classroom that only served scholars with disabilities, as opposed to some of the other classrooms that served both general education and special education students. While in the classroom, we acted as extra hands to the teacher as they went through their normal school schedule. We did puzzles, we played in the sensory room, we had snacks, we sang songs, we had free play time, and we went to the playground.
In the afternoon, we went to a adult day program called Outside the Box. While there we were able to engage with several adults with different intellectual disabilities. First, we participated in different art activities that would be decorations for an upcoming fundraiser. We were divided into groups to work at different stations which included painting bottles, making wire structures, and making flowers. Some students were also able to help with the garden. We helped weed and turn the soil. The final activity we participated in was check-out where the participants described their day including their highs and lows. We then went home to discuss our experiences.
Given that this was our first day of service, we had a lot of both highs and lows that we wanted to share with the group. We mostly had a lot of questions regarding the funding, staff, and organization of these programs. We discussed the various ways people can be educated and trained for these types of positions as well as the best ways to support both children and adults with disabilities. Most of us felt more comfortable working with children, as we had more experience in this area. Working with adults with disabilities is a newer experience for the majority of our group, so it was more of an adjustment. We're looking forward to spending more time with both of these organizations over the next few days so we can deepen our relationships with both students, participants, and staff, as well as foster more understanding of the process of serving this community.
-Clara & Hannah
