Well it's snowing in Cedar Rapids and the first snow parallels what I was doing this morning. Part of my first year experience requires me to volunteer 20 hours at a site of my choice. I chose Garfield Elementary School, just a ten minute drive from Coe. I volunteer every Thursday and I usually read books to kindergardeners. They are so adorable, exciting and full of life. I've read some great books to them so far, my all time favorite is Fancy Nancy. But today I did something a bit different; the kids read to me. They've gotten to the point where they know their alphabet and know small words. The books they read to me were short and often rhymed, but it was exciting. All the kids I worked with wanted to read to me, they were excited to show me what they knew. To see them pushing through the words, making sentences, understanding that each letter has a sound, it was mind blowing. We take reading as a simple thing but at one point we were at that stage, sounding words outs and feeling the accomplishment of figuring out that "tricky" word. And none of them gave up. I might have given them some helpful hints along the way but in the end, it was all their work. I was so proud of them. And I'm so glad I chose Garfield as my service site. I've accomplished the goal the Service Learning Program gives each first year student: find a place where you can be passionate about what you're doing. Because then the service doesn't really seem like service at all; it's just something you love to do.
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