Communication went very well this week.  I was sick on Thursday was unable to be on site.  The last time this happened, I emailed my mentors from my phone (since I took ill in the middle of the school day), and hours later I realized that the email was never sent, and was still in the process of being sent.  I was able to send a new message from my trusty laptop, along with an apology and explanation for the lateness of my email, and thankfully it was received well.  This time, however, I was not going to take any chances, and I sent an email from my phone and checked on my laptop to make sure that it had been sent at the proper time.  It had been sent immediately, and I had my reply within hours.

            I was asked to fall back slightly on direct interaction with the children for a brief interval on Tuesday, much like last week.  I was slightly surprised, but not as much as last week.  I suspect that, as the children get slowly more socially confident throughout the year, the supervisors will be taking slight steps back more and more.  It still is hard to resist going to the children and directly interacting with them if they appear insecure or upset, but in the interest of character-building, for both the children and myself, I have to get a tougher skin.

            I have said before that teamwork is a huge part of Kindering – everyone has to be on the same page so that the children do not receive mixed signals from the supervisors.  Next week, since I was not at this week’s meeting (meetings are on Thursdays, and I was ill), I am going to have to make sure that I know what happened during the meeting.

            Lastly, in problem-solving news, there is a new child in the classroom – he comes from the other classroom, and I am not quite sure why he was transferred (it seems to be a private matter).  We are going to have to work with the staff from the other classroom to learn as much as we can about him, since as of now, he does not seem to enjoy interacting with students or teachers.

            My goals are the same as last weeks – in fact, my short-term goals are now solidified, as the details of the deliverables of the semester project for the internship class have been released.  I must now get to work on the portfolio and presentation required.

This week was slightly trying – I had the beginnings of a migraine when I walked into the weekly meeting.  Thankfully, my mentors noticed that I was feeling unwell and excused me from the meeting, even allowing me to take a short nap in a makeshift bed that had been set up in the classroom for the unit “getting ready for bed.”  I know that it was dreadfully unprofessional of me, but it did allow me to nip the migraine in the bud and perform my usual duties in the classroom and at the administration.  Perhaps this can be categorized as job-specific skills – the ability to know when to power nap or take a break so that the rest of the day is only moderately uncomfortable, or perhaps the ability to take a nap in a non-bedroom setting?  I am aware that this does not fit into any category particularly well, but then again, rarely anything fits perfectly into any package, tied up with string.  I suppose the best we can do is approximate.

            Communication wasn’t exactly at a low point this week – more like a miss.  I found out this week that my administration-mentor’s work hours have changed by seeing her in the office on a Thursday, which used to be her day off.  While this will not drastically alter any of the workplace conditions, it still leaves a bit of a funny feeling to be surprised like this.  After writing this, I realize that it sounds far more dramatic than it should, but I don’t think it can be helped.

            As far as gracious professionalism goes, I don’t think I have yet had to be gracious about not performing a task, but there is always a first:  this week, I was, if not startled, mildly surprised when it was suggested that I not interact with the children for a while.  I had gotten caught up with a game that two of the more lively students were playing – pretending to be puppies – and I was enjoying tumbling about the motor room with them as much as they were.  However, while this in itself was not a problem, the specialists decided that since such an unusual outburst of social interactions among the students without prompting from the adults was taking place, we should all withdraw slightly and see how the situation played out.  I definitely saw the reason behind this decision, although I was a little disappointed that I could not continue.

            Lastly, there is a problem that needs to be solved – towards the end of each class, the children engage in group songs and activities known as “circle,” named for the semicircle in which the students sit at this time.  A large book filled with velcroed pieces of paper depicting different activities and songs is used at this time, with each piece of paper that is to be used at that time stuck to the outside of the book and displayed for all to see.  However, there is almost no organization within these books, so I hope to find some time to organize my class’s book to make circle time more efficient.

            My long term and short term goals have not changed from last week – I have been giving a green light by my mentors for my semester project!

I am so proud of the student I’m hoping to shadow!  When she first came to Kindering, she was very passive – she would obey what she could understand, and she would follow if she was lead, but she would not do much in the way of expressing preferences, speaking, or participating in a craft without much prompting on our part.  Now, however, she has starting leading the way herself, participating with her hands, and even speaking out loud (once even in full sentences!).  This may not be character development on my part, but I hope that I can be on hers, and that this is not just a temporary phase.

            There was one instance on Tuesday with this same girl – shall we call her Mary? – that prompted me to display a job-specific skill:  the ability to pick up and comfort a child.  At the Kindering center, volunteers are not usually allowed to pick up the children.  However, we were heading back from the motor room when another child, whose class passed us in the hallway, began crying.  Mary became frightened and immediately began crying as well.  One of the specialists told me that I could pick her up in order to calm her down.  I had comforted Mary before, on the day that she was first put in the body suit because she required comforting, but now I was being trusted to pick her up as well.  I’ve picked up many toddlers in the past, both to comfort them and to play with them, but this was the first instance of my doing so at Kindering.

            There’s a slight instance of problem solving that can be addressed, although it is nothing major – we need to find a new song.  My internship involves a lot of singing, but we haven’t yet found a song to sing when the parent’s come into the classroom at the end of the day.  We’ve ruled out “When the Parents Come Marching In,” but we can’t seem to think of anything else.  This is still a work in progress.

            Teamwork is, as always, a huge part of working at Kindering.  With most organized activities, one leader sits in the center of a semi-circle or behind a table, in front of the children.  While the leader leads the activities, it is up to the others, who sit behind the children, to ensure that the children participate.  The instances in which I have sat behind a child myself and participated in this teamwork and growing more frequent with every week, up to this point, where I even have a couple of children, Mary included, that I am consistently placed behind.

            As for goals, my long-term goal hasn’t changed.  As for short-term goals, I will ask tomorrow whether or not I can have approval for my journal from the internship office.

This week, communication was at a high point – I was able to seek out my mentor and speak to her about what I had observed in the children and the types of projects that I have been considering.  So far, we have agreed upon one: a journal covering the progress and milestones of one child in particular (we have already decided whom the child should be, if her parents agree).  This journal could be kept for the duration of the internship and serve as my final project for second semester as well.  Now, the next step is to ask my school advisor if this is a feasible project.

            This may be only a small instance of teamwork, but it was teamwork nonetheless:  the child that I might be writing about for my project has recently been given a chew-necklace and bracelet as a sensory toy.  This child was being slightly unresponsive during a group activity, so a sort of a silent conversation ensued over the heads of the children between all of the adults sitting behind them.  Finally, one of them decided that the person sitting closest to the child would have to gently prompt her chew on her necklace – the person to whom the task fell to was me, and while it wasn’t much, it was still a demonstration of a group decision and action.

            Time management is going to be getting harder from now on – I’ve been given new responsibilities in the classroom after class is over, organizing and putting away the equipment.  I was worrying about not having enough time to file after writing my reports before, and although I absolutely love being able to help in the classroom, I’m a little worried that I won’t be able to finish everything I hope to on site.  As of now, everything is still under control, but I will talk to my mentor if I become overwhelmed.

            I suppose the above example counts as gracious professionalism as well.  The task of organizing and putting away equipment can be slightly mundane, but just as it was with the files, I am glad to have the opportunity to do it.  If it means that I can help better the lives of the children that I work with, I am willing to do the most mundane tasks so that the specialists can get to their individual appointments with the children on time.

            As for goals, it should be a surprise that my long-term goal hasn’t changed.  As for short-term goals, I would like to ask for approval to use a journal tracking one child as my semester project.