When I went to volunteer at the elementary school today, it was a little different. Instead of working with just one kindergarten student, I got two. It was bit more difficult because being so young they didn't listen to well. My goal was to keep them on task and to follow the rules. It was a little difficult, but fun once I told them we were going to be playing Word BINGO if they behaved. That seemed to do the trick. Playing the game was fun, because even though they thought it was just a game they were actually learning new words. It was fun helping them read the new words and it made me smile to see the one boy that I have been working with all semester speak more English than he has before.

When I got home, I went to do some volunteer work with my church. We went to help some of the people in our community. What I did was help clean the yards of elderly people, or people who weren't capable of doing it themselves. It was hard work. There was a lot of us, and we cleaned up a lot of houses. It was nice to be able to help someone who needed help, and the people were very grateful. I was a little reluctant to volunteer to do this, but in the end I felt good about what I did. Not only that, but I also got to talk with a few of the people who I helped, and they had some very interesting stories. I think overall it was a good experience.

So on of the first volunteer activities I did was working with ESL students at hoover elementary. I've been doing it for a while, and what I do, is work with two students, one who is in the second grade, and the other who is in kindergarden. So far it's been really interesting, helping them learn and having them read to me. I like encouraging them, and like seeing them happy when they learn a new word, or get a spelling word right. It's something fun to do because I like little kids, and I get to help them learn.

Volunteering!
On Saturday, October 13 Nichole and I joined other volunteers at Mount Mercy through a program called Volunteers of America and we went to an elderly woman's home and helped with her yard work. We cleaned out her garage and car, and then we had to trim bushes and rake the leaves around her home. It was a great way to volunteer because you get to spend time with your friends and meet new people in the community. I established five hours of community service through this program and would definitely do it again.
Emily Graves