WHEW!  Sorry it has taken so long to update!  What with college apps and semester finals, it has been one hectic month!  I will be posting the last four (yes, four...feel free to throw rocks) journals I have written about my work on site momentarily!

Written 1/10/14:

This Tuesday, I was a little upset that the class size has gotten so small in our classroom – since there were far too many adults and specialists in the room to cope with four or five children, I was sent up to do paperwork for the remainder of the day.  This was actually oddly relaxing for a while, perhaps because I was so tired that day.  However, after the third hour of sorting papers, things did get a little boring.  However, I know that this is a very important job, and with Kindering’s new location opening (!), they need all the help they can get.  I suppose this can count as gracious professionalism, even though I was slightly reluctant to do the job (I know that it was recommended that we voice our concerns in such situations, but I really don’t think it is necessary – I’m pretty sure that everyone understands that paperwork is a tedious task, and it doesn’t seem like they want me to stay with this task indefinitely).

            Speaking of paperwork, however, I am getting far more efficient – time management if I ever saw it (although, I admit…I display time management skills very rarely).  I am definitely much faster when it comes to organization and filing, and I am glad that my internship has helped my efficiency, as it may definitely come in handy in the future.

            This week’s communication, however, was a bit off – I had forgotten to tell Felise that we were completely out of yellow folders (used for special education, social work, and feeding therapy reports) last week, so I spent about an hour on Tuesday cutting yellow folders.  It was remarkably therapeutic, but it also wasted valuable time.

            Lastly, I know I have said this before, but in character-development news, I really must develop a thicker skin…one of the kids was crying again on Thursday, and we’re trying to get him to learn how to self-soothe – but it’s so difficult for me to listen to him crying and crying.  I practically had to chain myself to the art table (well, not that drastic) to keep myself from destroying the team’s hard work and what progress they had made with this child already.

            My goals are pretty much the same as they ever were – continue tracking “Mary’s” progress, while working with all the children under the direction of the specialists to make a difference in their lives in what ways I can.