Education for all ages

  Week 2 Summary: While the activities of this week were quite similar to the last week, I still very much enjoyed myself and learned a lot about the operation of a nonprofit such as Julie’s. I started off by doing a lot of behind-the-scenes work and research, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I did more of this than I did last week, but I was still able to have fun with it. This entire week, we did a lot of work with the state senators and representatives. It was fascinating to see the whole process of the connections between non-profits and state legislatures, especially due to my interest in politics in the future. This process was mostly just for the inclusion of the organization in the state budget, which is extremely important for the continuation of much of the work at Julie’s. Not only that, but the project that I did opened my eyes to the actual amount of people that Julie’s Family Learning helps. I saw the number of people in all the different areas of Massachusetts that receive ai

  Hours: 9-3. 4-5 Last day! Today was a bittersweet day, knowing that I would be leaving Julie’s. I started off my day with Michelle, my mentor sorting out all the last minute paperwork and details. It did not hit me that I was done until the paperwork I had to fill out. When I was done with paperwork and photo organizing, I went back down to the toddler room. There were four today, so it was a completely full classroom. We mostly just played games, because that was all they were in the mood for. After the games, we spent a very long time at the park because it was super warm outside. I had a lot of fun with them before lunch and then nap time. Because Iyla was back, I had to lie next to her during nap time, because she sleeps best with someone next to her. I then went to talk to the director of child services about my job for the summer, since I will be returning! I am ecstatic about that, and I know that I will have a great time when I come back and learn even more. 

  Day 11:  Hours: 9-3, 4-5 Today was once again a childcare day. Overall, the day was pretty calm. There were only three toddlers today and one preschooler, so it was a perfect day to take a little break and relax. Today we did the usual, went to the park, played games did crafts. I worked for about 6 hours today at the actual school, and I cleaned up the classrooms when all the kids left. When I left the building I did more research on early education. I was not expecting to have done this much early education research during my senior project. I fully expected to be doing more financial research regarding the adults. Working at Julie’s gave me a vast appreciation for the early education field. 

 Hours: 8-12,  1-4 Total Hours: 61 I had a short day at the school today. We had an all-staff meeting, which happens once a month, I just happened to be there when it happened. During this all-staff meeting, Michelle, the Director of Operations, discussed the plans for the summer and onward. I enjoyed this meeting because I got to be a part of the staff and see what goes on behind the scenes. This is why Fridays were honestly my favorite days here. I got to experience the operations of the organization as a whole. When I got home, I did some research on early education. I learned a lot about the importance of early education for every kids, especially those in high risk.     

 Hours: 9-3 Total Hours: 54 Today was a hectic day as well. We had a lot of kids today and the same amount of adults. There was not a lot of help, so it was difficult. There was a new kid that I got to meet today, and that was super fun for me. We had rainbow dance again, so I had to wrangle the kids to pay attention. They do not really understand meditation, so they were not super into it. Trying to get them to understand it was quite a process, but they ended up having fun in the end. We went outside once again, then they ate and took naps. While the kids were napping, I helped clean the classroom. It is the last day of preschool for the week, so I did a lot of sanitization. After cleaning up the classroom. I helped in one of the women's classes, and then I went home. 

 Hours: 9-3 Total Hours: 48 Today was another childcare day. I spent the whole day in childcare, as we were even more understaffed than normal today. We had two regular staff not there, so there were only four staff there, including me. We also had quite a few kids today, so it was definitely a challenge, but we had fun and got through it. We had to combine all the classes, so we had the toddlers and preschoolers play together and had one baby, Josiah in the room with the kids. We spent a very long time outside, and the kids got all their energy out. When nap time happened, they fell asleep extremely quickly. Though it was a tough day, I had a lot of fun and was able to get out of my comfort zone. I learned how difficult it is when a business is understaffed. 

 Hours: 9-3 Total Hours: 42 Today was generally laid back compared to my tasks of other days. When I arrived, I was immediately sent to the toddler room to play with them and help out their teacher. Today we painted, played with playdough, and worked on colors and numbers. It was a very warm day out, so we spent a lot of time outside playing. It was a hot day so the kids got tired very easily and took very long naps. When the kids were napping, I went up to operations to help them out there, because I had no tasks left. I once again mailed out the letters that needed to be sent, this time to board members. I learned about why the board members are important and what they do for the program. Then, I went back to child care until their parents picked them up at the end of the day. 

 Hours: 9-3 Total: 36 Today was day 6. Start of my second week! I started off the day by helping with a spreadsheet. There is a state senator in Massachusetts who has made a proposal to give them a good amount of money within the state budget. In order to get it approved, they have to get the attention of other state senators, that control the district that other students at Julie's live in.  What I had to do was look up all the zip codes of the students, see what state senator corresponds with that zip code, and find their contact information. What I also had to do was find the specific neighborhoods within Boston where they live, so my mentor could write the emails to all the state senators and make them as specific as possible. After I did that, I sat in on two adult classes, one a math class and the other a computer class. The math class was just women and the computer class was men and women. I also played with the toddlers again and helped them through meals until it was nap

  Week 1 reflection.  When I arrived at Julie's Family Learning Center, I didn't know what to expect. Although I have had many emails and video calls with Michelle, my mentor, I had never seen the space. I was given a tour of the four floors of Julie's, which included the toddler room in the basement, the infant room and preschool room on the next floor, the floor that was just for mother upstairs, and the general adult education floor, which hold anyone 16 and up needing a GED.  The childcare section of Julie's is extremely short-staffed at the moment, so I spent a lot of time there. I spent most of the days this week working a majority in the childcare, and I absolutely loved it, which is not something I was completely expecting. I got to see how these children interact with each other and at three different times in their life. I not only got to hang out with toddlers but also with infants and preschoolers, which all came with their own sets of challenges and obstacl

  Day 5: Hours: 9-3 Total Hours: 30 Today I spent most of the day painting the walls. Julie’s had a bunch of volunteers from Liberty Mutual comes in to paint the walls of the entire building. There were about 15 volunteers, and I helped them for most of the day. There is never enough time for anyone that works there to paint the walls, and it is never a top priority. Because of this, nothing had been retouched since 2004. It was time for an improvement. It took 6 hours to paint all the walls, even with 15 volunteers, but it was worth it because the walls now look good as new. When I was not painting the walls, I was helping mail out the newsletters. I had to stamp all the envelopes, and inside them put the letters, which give updates about the programs and ask for donations. I packed those letters, sealed them and then they got sent in the mail. Overall today, I did the necessary behind-the-scenes work that keeps the program running.

  Day 4: Hours: 8:30- 2:30 Total Hours: 24  Today, I spent most of my time in the toddler room once again. I helped them learn their colors and numbers. We spent less time than usual playing outside because today was rainbow dance day. Rainbow dance is an activity that they have every Thursday for preschoolers and toddlers, which is basically just a way to get them to practice meditation. They have these scarves with different colors and a parachute and they can dance with the colored scarves and they go in and out of the parachute. I had a lot of fun with it, but many of the kids were not cooperating. After we went outside, the kids were extremely tired, so they were quite feisty when trying to eat their lunches. They ended up taking really early and long naps after eating. After the kid's area, I helped Michelle, my mentor, the director of operations with the mailing list that they were sending out that week. I had to stamp envelopes, and I got to see with my own eyes the number

  Day 3: Hours: 9-2, 4-5 Total hours: 18 I spent most of the day today hearing a lot about the program. I drove myself into Boston for the first time, which was a challenge in itself. I got to sit in on another class for the first part of my day. I should explain how the lessons work and what they consist of, so I will do so today. Anyone can join the upstairs adult classes who have not finished high school. The class I sat through today was math. It was simple algebra, which was factoring and expanding. I got to stay there and be a tutor for people if they needed it, which was a completely different experience. Spending my whole life having been taught by adults, and now being the one teaching them was a crazy new experience. Then, I worked with the toddlers again, followed by shadowing another class, this one just of mothers. I was fascinated by the class of mothers. This class was amazing because it was a safe space for these women that have all been through a lot of tough times. Wh

Today is day 2. I worked the same time slot, from 9-3, so six hours, making 12 total hours. I worked with the toddlers for most of the afternoon. There was a new toddler there today, Ezariah. Ezariah made me chase her around a playground for an hour straight and according to my watch, I ran 2.7 miles. Today I got to sit and observe an adult class. I met all the people and the different personalities and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I also got the opportunity to sit in on an adult class. I watched the teacher, Joan make many accommodations for the schedules of different students with all sorts of schedules. About half of the students were on Zoom, and the other half were there in person. I loved hearing all the students' stories, and how Julie's had helped them. For example, there was a man who was in class there, named Fendi. He came to the US from Haiti a few years ago and was a doctor there. Due to his current visa, he is not allowed to practice in the United States, so he is wor

 First day! I worked from 9-3 today, so a total of 6 hours. This morning I woke up bright and early and drove into South Boston for my first work day. I got to experience the treacheries of Boston rush hour traffic, which was a truly enlightening experience (please take this as sarcasm). When I arrived at Julie's Family Learning Center, I didn't know what to expect. Although I have had many emails and video calls with Michelle, my mentor, I had never seen the space. I was given a tour of the four floors of Julie's, which included the toddler room in the basement, the infant room and preschool room on the next floor, the floor that was just for mother upstairs, and the general adult education floor, which hold anyone 16 and up needing a GED.  The childcare section of Julie's is extremely short-staffed at the moment, so I spent a lot of time there. I spent most of my time in the toddler room, playing with the three kids there, Liam, Noah, and Iyla. It was really cool to t