A Week In The Life.
I’ve not posted my volunteer schedule in a while. I have switched up a lot of my volunteering and time spent out of the house.
Monday and Wednesday mornings I am at a elementary public school library from 9am to noon or 1pm. I am the actual person who runs it. I help kids find a book friend. I help teachers find books. I check in books, I check out books. I put books on display. I shelve the books. I read the shelves ( make sure they are in order and inventory). I fix books. I fix over-dues and library record problems. I make the library easy to use and train the other mom volunteers. I do many other tasks, but the best and most important task is getting books in the hands of children. A book they love, a book they want to read, and a book that will mean something to them. To foster a love of reading and books.
Tuesday mornings I head to another elementary school that is closest to me. This is a Title One School. A title 1 school is a school receiving federal funds for Title 1 students. The basic principle of Title 1 is that schools with large concentrations of low-income students will receive supplemental funds to assist in meeting student’s educational goals. At this school I read with Kindergarteners, one on one, for what is called Baggie Book. Baggie books are sent out after the initial reading assessments have been given to a child to see what level they are able to work at independently and instructionally (these levels will change as the child’s reading changes throughout the year). It is also a time when children spill their guts, so to speak. They share with me their hopes, fears, happenings at home, happenings at recess, how they feel that day. We discuss the book and topics in the book that relate to their lives. It is always amazing for me to see their love of this time and of me. It is my privilege to see them grow in their reading and in their desire to improve. When you can walk into a room and have children cheer because you are there to read with them. There is NO better feeling of ZEN and pure JOY. None.
On Wednesday afternoons we head out to tutor our Pakistani friends. This is a refugee family we have been mentoring for three years. We mostly now are just helping the boys, Ahmed and Mohammed, who are in fourth and seventh grade, with their homework. While there I visit with their mother as well. I used to be taxi driver and more involved with everyday life, but as they adapt to the USA I pull back more, and this leads us to year four and only an hour of tutoring. I have grown so much from this experience there are not words .
Thursdays I head over to a Montessori class that is held in a public elementary school. This is a first through third grade class. My son, who is in 6th grade, attended this class which is how I met the teacher and got started in Baggie Book. In this classroom I do Baggie Book, Book Clubs and listen to ‘Tell Backs’ ; which is the child telling me at least 5 specific things about the book they are reading at home or in the classroom for fun. This helps with comprehension and can tell me if they are actually taking in what they read. I enjoy the pace of this classroom and I absolutely love that I get three straight years with a child to see their progress in their reading skills. The teacher in this classroom runs a tight ship balanced with the Montessori method, which for these kids is an ideal learning environment.
Fridays I go back to the Title One School and read one on one with 50 kids. A first grade and then a second grade. The first grade teacher and class is new to me this year. I have enjoyed meeting and seeing a new learning style that this teacher uses. My second grade teacher I have been with for more than a few years. I have in my second grade kiddos I had from first grade. This is a blessing. I always miss the kids that go on to another grade or teacher at the close of the year.
I am so very blessed to be able to volunteer like this. Every single week I read one on one with 127 kids for baggie book. I have four regular classrooms that come to me in the library. I have ‘library rats’ kids that hang out in the library. All whom I get to share my love of books and reading with. Utopia.
Grace’s Table. The idea behind Grace’s Table is simple: Every Friday evening, Lisa opens her own home to a dozen girls and their infants and toddlers. They gather around Lisa’s huge kitchen table – a gift from Pioneer Construction – to pray, eat, and talk. Meals bring a variety of people together, but we all sit at equal levels Around the Table in our time together during which we welcome Jesus to be a part. These meals nourish the body and as we share life together, we nourish the soul. I love volunteering here. I bring a meal once a month, most months of drivable weather. In other words, I have anxiety and do not drive the two hour round trip drive in SNOW. So December January February. No go. ALL the other months I bring up a meal on a Tuesday or Friday for the Mamas and babies. I also bring BOOKS. Lots of BOOKS. My goal is to make each of these little families a home library. To promote literacy, love of books. Most importantly I want them to read to and with their kiddos to make reading being a form of love.
This sums of my volunteering for this school year. My summers look a bit different.
I have mentored and volunteered in one form or another for many decades. Anyone I have ever mentored is always welcome to call, text, ask for time, come for a meal, go for coffee. This makes me smile. That I can be a light. We all need light.
Volunteering as a full time occupation brings interesting curiosity from people. I believe I was given this gift and my duty is to use it. The biggest compliment I get from people is that I can love, love like they don’t understand and love like they have no idea how to. Love the person regardless. This is easy for me. It is a gift. I also kindly remind them that I don’t however LIKE all too many people. Like is a whole other ball game. Literacy is hugely important to me. As someone who fights for social justice every single day, I know that education and literacy are the heart of that justice. It is my passion. My ultimate goal is to be the change. Show others you can give even just an hour to a child and it will impact their life forever. Books are a luxury many children are not afforded. We need to fix that. Schools should have librarians. It’s appalling that they do not. Reading is fundamental and essential in a child’s life. We need to increase their access to this. I am thankful and grateful to have the opportunity to volunteer in the way I do. I am fortunate to have a partner who supports me in this.
Happy New Year. My challenge to you is IF you love reading. Find a way to give back. All public school teachers enjoy gifts of books and time. Check it out.
Peace.
