Blog 2 First Day

While driving to the school I was anxious and excited to be a reading buddy. I did not know what to expect. It took me a few minutes to find the entrance of the school. The school was a big building and was more than one level. I sat in a room with a few other students from RIC and the school's literacy coach. The literacy coach told us what we would be doing and explained that this was the first day and that things would be a bit unorganized and apologized for this. Soon I was given all the materials I needed and was introduced to my two kindergarten reading buddies. I played games with them using index cards with words on them. Unfortunately, we go off to a late start and I was not able to spend much time with them. They did not know many of the words so I tried to encourage them and tell them that it was fine. They seemed to really like me and listened extremely well. Next, it was time to meet my two first grade reading buddies. They too were well behaved and seemed to enjoy my presence. I played games with index cards with them as well. They knew more words and this made it easier to work with them. The class rooms were decorated with colorful pictures and class work. Both rooms had tables set up and the students would sit in groups at these tables. When I walked into the rooms the students stared at me and some waved while others said hi. It was such a great feeling being looked up to. Most of the students were Black and Hispanic. Many students had a Spanish accent. The literacy coach was helpful considering the confusion of the first day. Overall, I feel it was a successful first day. I enjoyed working with my students and am looking forward to going back next Tuesday.