July 27, 2015 – This summer, VT Engage hired four AmeriCorps members to serve for a shortened national service term. During their three months serving Smart Beginnings New River Valley, they are assisting area childcare centers with a variety of projects, from organizing libraries to creating literacy-themed games to reading with children.
These are their thoughts on their first month as AmeriCorps members, from how small victories can be a big deal to their creative ideas for literacy games to what to do when no one wants to listen.
Victoria
Repurposed materials create fun alphabet game
While researching literacy games online, I came across the delightful idea of “fishing for letters.”
The website recommended cutting fish shapes out of construction paper, writing letters on them, attaching paperclips to make them magnetic, and then letting children use a magnet to pick up the shapes. I was sure the children at my centers would love this game.
After creating a set of waterproof fish using plastic folders, I tried this activity at two of my centers. At both centers, the kids got a big kick out of the vibrant red fish. They were fascinated by the magnet, and “catching” the critters was just enough of a challenge.
My fellow AmeriCorps member, Connor, and I helped each child collect the letters needed to spell his or her name, favorite color, or other interesting word. Some children already knew how to spell their names, so this activity reinforced that skill.
Others needed help with each letter; however, I think this game built valuable enthusiasm that will make future learning more rewarding. At the end of the activity, each child chose a blank sea creature to take home.
Some kids proudly wrote their names; others decorated the sea creature with squiggles. When I went back to Kids Heaven the next day, the kids crowded around me asking if they could get more fish!
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Jessica
Keeping their attention
At one of the daycare centers, the lead teacher had us working with the kids on the first day! I worked with the younger kids in the pre-k class, and my fellow AmeriCorps member worked with the older kids.
Most of the kids I worked with didn’t even know their letters, so I would have the kids pick out letters from a bucket and tell me what they were.
One of the biggest obstacles that I have to face with working individually with kids is that the rest of the class is usually doing something else that the child would rather be doing. The rest of the class was dancing or playing or watching a movie.
Many of the children would do a few letters and then get sidetracked and look over to their classmates longingly. I had to come up with a new way of working with the kids. I now ask them what the letter is, what sound it makes, and what words the start with that letter.
It is really fun when the child picks out the letter that the their name begins with and they’ll say something like “W! That’s how MY name starts!” or they’ll think of a word I didn’t even think of. One of my favorite things to do with the kids is asking them to spell their names.
They may not know how to read, but they can pull out the letters that spell their name and put them in some semblance of order.
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Katie
Reading with Pre-K
At one of my centers, the teacher gives me a box of “Bob Books”–books that are specially made to help young children learn how to read–to read with the Pre-K students individually.
I keep a reading log with the name of the child, what books they read, and how well they did reading them. Though every child struggles with at least a few words in every book, it is great to see them trying to sound the words out and figure it out on their own.
There is one child that can sound out every letter but doesn’t yet know how to put all of the sounds together. For instance, if he was trying to read the word “Mat,” he would say “M says mmmmm, a says ahhhhh, t says tuh” but then he would never actually say “Mat.”
It is so funny to hear him sound out the words like this while I continue working with him to read the entire word.
When I first started going to this center a few weeks ago, the children were shy and didn’t particularly want to read to a stranger. They would spend most of the time silently staring at the book and never actually reading the words. Now, they are excited to read with me and put effort into every word.
Above: A few examples of some of the games and literacy activities created by our AmeriCorps members.
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Connor
Teamwork makes the dream work
This week was definitely the most impact I’ve felt I’ve had on the kids. A couple of kids at one of my centers were fighting and arguing with each other and I had to step in to help. Both the kids are kind of like my shadow, meaning they never leave my side when I’m there.
So, I told each of them that instead of arguing we should try to work together. I then had them put their hands together with mine and on three we shouted teamwork. I then told them the phrase, “teamwork makes the dream work.”
When I came back the next few days both kids repeated that same phrase and it seems to work whenever they have disagreements. I originally had to explain what the phrase meant and ever since they’ve really gotten into it and are kind of using it as a mantra whenever they are in disagreement.
Our summer members with Kristen Pace, former AmeriCorps VISTA member (middle.)
Submitted by Victoria Childress, Jessica Levy, Katie Testut, and Connor Donovan. For more information on how you can get involved in our AmeriCorps program, head here. The application for our fall positions is now open.