November 7th: Mindset Can Make a Difference

I really appreciated the short conversation I had with Dawn during our ride to St. Charles. It helped me vocalize where I think I am at with my little. We discussed comfort level, trust, and areas where I think we need improvement. It also put me into a positive mindset when I met with my little.

It was really nice to start our day by looking through the journal entries my little had made over the past two weeks (we were not able to talk about our weeks together because of the exciting activities we had planned!). My little really enjoys coloring and writing. I also learned today that she is a very hardworker and that this is reflected in her school performance. Her and I do not talk about school that often, and when I ask, she usually does not have much to say. To learn more about what she likes and dislikes, I want to bring in activities in different subject areas, including story ideas, math worksheets, cursive exercises, etc. She will not be required or forced to do any of the activities, but if she does choose to work on any of them, it will gain insight and learn ways to help her learn.

Today Melissa was not able to make it to St. Charles, so I incorporated her little into the activities I did with mine. We made bead necklaces, and both her and Melissa's little were more talkative than usual. Again I noticed that she is much more comfortable talking when she is looking at or working on something. We also wrote letters to her parents. This time I let her decide what to write; she had a much better idea of what to say and was not hesitant to ask me how to spell specific words.

One of my favorite parts of today was playing a game with some of the other littles. Everyone stood in a circle around a person in the middle. This person had a rope and spun around in a circle, and as the rope approached those standing around, they had to jump over it. It was amazing to see how entertained these kids could be with the simplist of materials :).

For the remainder of the time, we played "Go Fish!" with Melissa's little, Amanda, and her little. I felt like this Wednesday was definitely more light-hearted and that our conversations were more natural and mutual. I am excited for next week when we bring pictures of our families! When I asked her if she had any, she said she had TONS! I hope she remembers to bring them so we can share stories and learn more about each other.

Excited for next time,

Kelly