Mentoring Resumed! January 16th

On the bus ride over to St. Charles, I was nervous about meeting my little after not meeting for an entire month. With so much time to prepare, I decided to bring some fun activities to try, including a book in both Spanish and English and the card game Uno. Last semester I remember always bring at least one new thing to try in case we ran out of fun things to do.

I walked into the school building and just around the corner was my little! She greeted me with a giant smile and hug! When we walked into the cafeteria she instantly started looking around for something to do. My friend Joe was playing basketball, and I know she really enjoys playing, so we asked to join in. If she was at all hesitant at this point, she was instantly relaxed and smiling after tossing the basketball straight into the hoop! Joe and I were really impressed that she could make it into the tallest hoop in the room.

Next we sat down and I asked her if she would like to read a book with me. It is called "If I had a Dragon," or "Si yo tuviera un Dragón" en español. On each page, the words were both in Spanish and English. I read the English part and she followed with the Spanish. She told me previously that she could speak in Spanish but did not know how to write or read it very well. I hope this was at least a start to a deeper understanding of her language and a step in developing trust between the two of us. Next week I may bring some flashcards with Spanish words on one side and English on the other. We can hopefully play a guessing game or a matching game with them.

For the remainder of the time we played Uno. At first it was just the two of us, and then two more sister-little pairs joined in and we had a giant game going. All of the littles were really focused and competitive, and my little could not wipe a smile off of her face.

I've noticed that my little is very introverted and thinks a lot to herself. This semester I hope to encourage her to speak or express herself in a way she sees fit. I see us doing a lot of hands on activities and thinking games, which may take a lot of effort on my part. But it's definitely worth it!

Overall, this was an amazing first day back! I cannot wait for next week!