Service Learning Semester Two

Today we read the Lion and the Mouse from Aesop's Fables. I think the big idea of this story is "Appearances", because appearances don't matter, and the smallest things can do the biggest, and greatest things. I think that that is the theme because the small mouse saved the lion from the net.

This story connects with our visit to the Methodist Home, because the residents of the Methodist Home is like the lion, who needs our help and company, and we are the mice giving it to them.

Our class goals for our next visit to the Methodist Home could be:

• To make the residents (of the Methodist Home) happy, and feel welcomed.
• To share our time, and make them feel special.

Service Learning Reflection Semester One

Our preparations for our field trip to the Christalite Methodist home was very well thought out. First my class first got into groups of two to think of as many craft ideas as possible. Then two of the groups got together to make groups of four, and together, we picked our number one craft we wanted to share with our class. Soon after the gatherings, we had a blind vote to see which crafts we would do. Finally, we came to a decision to decorate Christmas trees and styrofoam balls.

I think that the time-out room was the most interesting part during the tour of the Christalite Methodist Home, because since my eldest sibling was young, we also had a time-out for when we were bad. Before the trip, I thought that my family was the only family that had "time-out" rooms. I was also surprised by the amount of time they put the "trouble makers" in the time-out room for! My parents used to put us in time-out rooms for only 5-10 minutes.

During the craft activity, I helped by getting the materials while Nadia watched the three residents we were working with. I also guided the residents with markers, pipe cleaners, and glueing things on. There was one lady out of the three, and she kept on laughing at her work, and teasing the other two, but they didn't talk to us.

My biggest takeaway is coming out, and being glad that I could make some people happy. We all could tell they were delighted because of there smiles, thumbs up, handshakes, and waves. I rarely see people get so psyched when 5th graders like my class visit them. Though I couldn't speak their language I knew that they were happy.

On my second trip to the Methodist Home, I will try to socialize more with the residents, and I will try to mentor the residents more by teaching them how to decorate the crafts better. I will also smile more, because they smile back.

The most interesting thing about today was seeing that the residents could do sooo much. One guy was playing Kinect bowling, and got 4 strikes in a row! Another person copied a resident's Christmas tree so well that they looked identical to each other! I'm really glad that I can make people happy no matter what language they speak.