Back to St. Mary's!!

On Wednesday October 7, 2009, I was back at St. Mary's School Cortland for PED 201: Motor Development! However, this time it would not be as student but rather as a lab assistant. It's a different experience being on the otherside of things. As a lab assistant, you're helping the students in PED 201 work with the children at St. Mary's and provide feedback and advice to them. However, to the children who go to school there, I would receive the same warm welcome...

Upon entering the building, the great memories from last semester came back into focus. I remember the super hero day as well as the Easter day. I was especially happy to see the picture of our old group, 'Jumping Jack and the Thriving Five' on the wall! But even with all the old memories, I was ready to make new ones to go on top of those. My group, Lauren, Chelsea, Phil, and Mallory were going to be with the Pre-K today. We had been to St. Mary's before with this group so they kind of knew what to expect but you can never anticipate what the Pre-K will be like.

As we entered the classrooms, I was overjoyed with how many of the children remembered me from last semester and immediately came over to say hello. It was great to see them again and even after a few months, how much they have already grown! We had plenty of fun in there playing with Legos and cars as well as drawing and reading stories. Before we went into the classrooms, I didn't tell my group what to expect. I wanted them to experience it all at once without preconditions like we did last semester, I felt it was the best learning experience. When the time came to switch between classrooms, I took this opportunity to talk to them about it and asked how they were handling it offering my feedback as well as advice on what to do and what not to do. From there, we went back in and played once again!

Following the time in the classroom, the Pre-K were now allowed to go and play in the gymnasium. And as always, it's like opening the floodgates. The kids love running around in the gym. Lauren and Chelsea set up an activity for the children to play and they loved it. After asking about hula hoops, I suggested the 'spaceship race' from last semester so the hula hoops were spaceships and the kids raced the others across the gym. And just as I expected, it was a success.

As we were ready to wrap up, Professor Yang asked me to do the closing activity. We agreed on a circle dance to "Shake My Sillies Out" by the Wiggles. When we had everyone in the circle, the dance started and everyone was really into it! The students, lab assistants, and children were really enjoying it and having a great time. We then all came together and called it a day. This was once again another great experience at St. Mary's. I can't wait to go back again and help where I can!