Volunteering at The River

       On Saturday (September 22nd), I volunteered at The River Performing and Visual Arts Center. It is an organization I have been volunteering with for several years. They are partnered with Theater Under the Stars, and they provide music, dance, art, and acting classes for children and young adults with disabilities. They offer classes during the summer, but I always volunteer during their fall and spring classes every Saturday. Saturday, September 22nd was their first class of this semester. I went and volunteered from 9:00 - 12:45.
       In the past, when I have volunteered there, I have been assigned to a class with a few other volunteers, a teacher, and a TA to work with all four age groups of students, who rotate through the class. I have been in acting and music class most often, and I usually stay with the same class for the whole semester. This semester however, I have been assigned to the 8-12 age group rather than an individual class. This means that I always stay with this age group and rotate through all four classes with the same group of students. This was a new and more challenging experience for me. In the past, I have been able to focus on the art area I was in and learn how best to engage kids in that art area, but this time I had to learn how to keep the kids engaged in all the classes, as well as learn their routines in all the classes.
       I am considering this a Service activity, and I think it demonstrates learning outcome 2: Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process.