(no subject)

[deckardcanine]

Had my second occasion for Greater DC Cares-linked volunteer work yesterday. This time, instead of seniors, they were children at the Carpenter's Shelter in Alexandria. I was one of five adults watching nine kids on a playground for an hour while their parents attended a workshop. The coordinator tells us that the group fluctuates and has never had as low a median age as it did that evening: Few kids were over five, and some were not adept at walking yet.

Early in the hour, I was kinda keeping my distance, coming close only when someone was on the verge of falling off the equipment. There were a few falls, but no visible injuries. Might I say, it feels nice to lift a crying child and have him quickly stop crying in my arms.

But some of the extroverted children ensured that I would not remain just a spotter. One girl grinningly demanded that I follow her everywhere, including down slides too thin and/or short even for me. In a few minutes, I had to decide whether to keep following her or honor being tagged by the two oldest boys. I tried switching back and forth between the two until the girl was satisfied to relinquish me from her iron command.

Tag with kindergarteners is not as easy as it sounds when playground equipment is in the way. I could have run faster, but I wanted to maintain endurance for the rest of the hour and for the trip home. Besides, giving my all against someone that young would not have been cool. Perhaps the hardest part was tagging them in such a way that they could not tag back immediately. They frequently bent the rules, as by calling timeouts at crucial moments. But there are few ways I'd have more fun getting that much aerobic exercise.

It's a long commute, but I expect to return each week this summer. The kids appreciate familiar faces, and so do I.

Comments

Being a teacher

[akktri.livejournal.com]

I bet that girl was imagining you as something like a cartoon elephant or a dinosaur that can sort of squish up and squeeze through any old tunnel, even if you're too big to fit through it.
I don't have adequate information to understand what sort of job this is that you speak of, so my comments may not apply to your situation. But even if it doesn't, maybe it applies to other situations.
There's sort of a balancing act when it comes to kids. If you really want them to grow, you need to have some sort of agenda and formulate a way to be authoratative and responsible and yet create fun while teaching them something. So while it's fun to occasionally crawl under their pillow fort with them like you're Robin Williams or something, taking care of the adult aspects of the situation are more important in some instances. Otherwise they'll be dragging you around all the time and making you wear a lampshade on your head or whatever other brainless thing they want you to do. The job you describe sounds like something in the parental/teacherly capacity, so if you want real respect, that's what you might strive to become.

Re: Being a teacher

[deckardcanine.livejournal.com]

Alas, I never did return to that place. I did three or four volunteer sessions last spring and summer, each in a different location. After a two-week international vacation, I didn't feel like volunteering, and I have yet to try it again.