Today was my third visit to Gearity Preschool, so I now know the class schudule and how things work. When I first got there the children were playing, I sat down at a table with two boys who were spinning plastic pegs, they were very engrossed in the activity, and I was playing with them. Then it was time for gym class, and the kids had a lot of energy. In gym they ran around, stacked cups and played with a parachute. However, this gym class didn't go to well, as some of the kids didn't want to participate. After gym we went back to the class and had circle time, but it was special because, one boy, Corey was moving up to the integrated class. So the teachers read him a special book that his classmates had made him and for snack they all decorated cookies as a celebration for Corey. I thought that this was very nice and it showed Corey what a good job he had been doing. After the cookies it was recess time, and the kids are usually pretty good during that time. I pushed kids on the swings for a while and this one boy who doesn't talk and last week I was told to prompt him to say/sign more if he wanted to be pushed more, but this week he told me all by himself. That was really cool because the first week of my service I was not sure if the children were really learning, but now I see that I was dead wrong, maybe their class is different for the preschool experience that I had, but in everything they do, playing, gym, art, etc., they are gaining more skills. After recess the kids had art where they painted with water colors, and they played for a while. Before they went to their buses they all got to pick prizes from the "treasure chest." Today was really enjoyable, I'm really starting to get to know the kids, and I enjoy working with them a lot.
A historical event that relates to my service experience would be IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act). This is an act that was put into place in 1975 and it requires schools to have special programs for children who have disabilities. I was researching this act for my paper, and it has a lot to do with my service project. Many, if not all of these kids would not be allowed to go to school without IDEA. IDEA also makes it possible for them to have the special resources that they need to learn and to have the special class that they are in. IDEA also covers IEP's(Individualized Education Program) which I believe all the children in my class have. A pouplar song that relates to my service is Hot N Cold by Katy Perry. Today during gym the gym teacher was playing this song as a cue for the kids when to run and when to stop their actives. I think it proved helpful to them as they where transitioning and it was fun for them to run around in time to the music.
Today was an overall great day, and I'm really pleased that Corey is moving up to the next class. Some people think that because children have a disabilities that they are incapable of learning or being with their peers, but that isn't true, and I'm seeing it in action when I'm at Gearity.
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