CAPES Day 1

Wow! What an experience! I was pretty nervous when I first showed up. Because it was the first night, and we didn't have a lesson plan to go off, I wasn't really sure if I would be able to find enough to do with B. Then we went out to meet the kids and I'm pretty sure I didn't stop smiling because of how awesome all these kids were. I would have been more than thrilled to be paired with any of them.

When I first met B, I knew we would have a great time. He was so energetic and just ready to have some fun. His parents were awesome and all about just letting B and I go out and have fun. After that I felt much more confident and a lot more at ease. We did land-based activities first, so I started by just trying to get to know him a little by asking what grade he's in, what his favorite part of school is and other things. He was pretty easy to talk to and it helped me kind of figure out which things he would like most. I found that he loves to build and run. Then when we went to the pool, I found that he loves going under the water, and diving for the hoops was his favorite part.

Although this first night wasn't very structured, which made me nervous at first, it really helped a lot in finding the areas that should be focused on while hanging out with B. He's very capable in all the physical activities, but I found that I want to focus more on social interactions and following directions. He seems to be a very intelligent child, and I want to try and help him become a little more comfortable interacting with other children as well as help him become better at focusing on instructions.

Tonight was a blast! I look forward to seeing B. and all the other great kids next week!