My Adventurous Summer!!
The beginning of my summer and an opportunity to see if this
is something I would want to do for my career. This summer I am learning how to
run a program made for almost 100 kids and provide them with a healthy lunch every
day.
JUNE 3-7
· The first week of my internship!! This week was set up for what was going to be one crazy, fun, energetic, learning experience for the whole summer. On the first day, everyone met and we had a little meet and greet session. We got to meet everyone and then we broke down and got to learn more about the group of people we were specifically going to work with the whole summer. We had a few meetings to where we had training of what was needed to be done this summer and also we split up the activities to try and make sure everyone had an even amount workload. My job duties were to be the lunch person, the teen intern/student ambassador, and the game planner.
· To be in charge of lunch meant that I was responsible for knowing all the government rules and to make sure all of them were followed exactly. If the rules were not followed, they could shut down the program. My next job duty was the teen intern/student ambassador supervisor. With this role, I took the teens that are ages 15-18 and make sure they were doing what they needed to be doing. I also was there for them when they needed support if they had any questions or concerns. Lastly I was in charge of planning games for the kids. At the beginning it was hard to think of many different games for kids to play, but after about the first week all of our staff worked together planning all of the activities.
JUNE 10-14
· For the summer, we had a camp motto: Respect Ourselves, Respect Others, Respect this Place. Our theme song was R.E.S.P.E.C.T.. Every week for the summer we have a theme to go with what we want the kids to try and learn. This summer lunch program is a faith based organization, so it was mostly based off of bible verses. This week’s theme was Our Needs, such as food/water, shelter, clothing, physically fit, safety, hope, and positive attitude. The verse that went along with this was Matthew 14:13-21.
· This was the first week of being in charge of lunches. I had a lot to learn and in a little amount of time. Lunch had many rules that came with this job. Some rules were you had to count every item of food and make sure there was the right amount of what we had ordered. You had to wear gloves whenever you were touching any of the food. The food had to be stored at certain temperatures until you were able to serve the food. You had to serve the food in the allotted time which was 12:30-1:15pm. This week went a little rough but we got through it. I had adult volunteers who came in and got to help me serve the lunches to the children.
· This year we were honored to have a few extra volunteers available to help us out, they were adult nurses who were going to school and had to have some service hours teaching kids about health related topics. The nurses were with us at least three days a week. They tried to do something different every time they came. This week they introduced themselves and talked to the kids about what they were studying to be and what they were working towards. There topics throughout the weeks were going to base around nutrition, safety, and exercising.
· Throughout the week we would get together as a staff and plan out what activities we would do with the kids. This week’s activities included games such as an obstacle course, sharks and minnows, freeze tag, and dodge ball; they also got to play with Legos and board games. Some other activities were we had a couple of special guests, one was the fire department, another was a lady who came in and taught the kids to make kites. A few other fun activities the kids did this week was that they had a water day, where they were able to bring in water guns and we had a water fight. Another activity was we let the kids make dirt pudding and then they were able to eat it.
JUNE 17-21
· This week, we had a new member come to our team. One of our team members that we had last week had to get a new job so she was unable to be fully committed this whole summer so she had to be replaced. So during this week, we had to teach the new guy what went on and what his roles were. He was a great asset to our team.
· This week’s motto, was a continuation of needs, but it focused on love, patience, and understanding. The verse of the week was John 10:1-21. This week the teens put on a couple of skits for the kids in hopes of the kids learning more. They did a skit on respect and also did one on teamwork. The kids loved these and were always paying attention. On Friday the teens read the Bible verse and acted it out so that the kids could try and understand part of the Bible.
· This week we had a few special guests. One of the special guests was Officer Ron. Ron was a policeman. He came talked to the kids about the importance of bike safety, he also allowed the kids to check out his car and allowed them to crawl in the back seat. Another special guest that the kids got to enjoy was a guy from the library. This guy read 2 different stories, one to the younger group and one to the older group. Again this week we were blessed to have the nurses.
· Some activities the kids got to enjoy this week were being able to come up with team names. Since the camp was divided into four groups based on age, we decided to allow them to come up with something fun and exciting. Some activities we did with the kids were make elephant toothpaste, God’s eyes, and oblique. Games the children got to enjoy this week was soccer, board games, duck duck goose, line tag, gauntlet, and fitness stations.
JUNE 24-28
· This week was kind of unique. The theme for this week was Skills to Grow and the verse was from Mathew 7:1-12. We as a staff also declared this week as spy week. We had spy week because we did spy related events throughout the week. We had a movie day were we watched spy kids, we made a maze out of yarn and the kids had to go through the maze without touching the yarn, also we made army guys with parachutes on them such as spy’s flying around. We also had a day where the kids were able to dress like a spy.
· This week we began talking about a family night for where the parents could come and see what the kids had been up to during the summer so we had to start the planning early. We had the kids break up into groups that interested them. We had groups such as sports, dance, art, and baking. Once the kids divided into their groups we talked to the kids and got an idea of something that they wanted to do. A few things they had come up with was different foods they could make and have a bake sale, the art group decided to make a city out of cardboard boxes, the sports group decided to come up with teams for soccer and dodge ball and also they wanted to make their own soccer goals and jerseys, and the dance girls wanted to make up dances to their favorite songs.
· Other activities that happened throughout the week were relay races, soccer, knockout, and fitness stations. Also this week we had the nurses who taught the kids the importance of stretching and some nutrition facts about fruit. The library guy came back and talked to the kids about joining the summer reading program and told them how they could earn prizes. One other fun activity the kids got to participate in this weekend was water day, only this water day was special and they got to have shaving cream also. Everyone was a mess.
JULY 1-3
· This week was a short week due to the holiday. This week we had focused on what we learned the previous weeks. We also focused on the holiday. We had float in the parade and for our children to be a part of it, they all made glitter fireworks or something that resembled the holiday.
· During this week we met in our groups for family night and discussed more ideas and how to make things happen. We also played games such as relay races that you had to have a partner for example the wheelbarrow race and three legged race. They also had another water day and played soccer and had fitness stations.
· Another exciting thing that happened this week was that 10-TV news came to do a special visit. They came and met with our head person and interviewed her about what she was doing for the community. They also videoed some of the lunch portion of our day and it was very exciting for the kids.
JULY 8-12
· During this week a lot had gone on. For one it was my birthday week. On the day of my birthday, all the kids sang to me and some of them even came up and gave me a hug. One special thing was a little girl had made me a birthday card at her home and then gave it to me; it brought tears to my eyes. Also for my birthday our staff was so close we all went out for dinner twice during the week. Getting to know the people I had worked with outside of work was great and I couldn’t have asked for any better people to work with.
· Activities that we had done in order for family night were, make cake pops and chocolate chip cookies, started building box city, worked on the dances, and start trying to figure out how to build soccer goals and then at the end of the week they were able to put the soccer goals together. Kids loved the projects they were involved in. It was so great seeing all of them think about how to do things and how to get things done, the staff let the kids come up with all of the ideas and we as staff just guided them.
· Find your “rock”. This was the theme for the week, it was meant to ask questions such as what are my talents? Am I growing as a person? Am I helping others? Who is my “rock” (person I look up to)? The verse for this was Romans 12:9-21. For this, we had the kids have a pet rock. They took the rock and got to decorate it as their own and then they had to take care of it. The staff was able to watch the kids take part in something that they got to design themselves and watch how the kids took care of their rock and how helpful they were if others didn’t seem to be taking care of their rock properly. Another thing we allowed the kids to do was to write a letter to their “rock”. This allowed the kids to tell those people that they mean something to them in their lives. The kids wrote some great things and were very grateful for those people that were their “rocks”.
· Throughout the week, the kids got to enjoy an ice cream day, had a pajama day, got to meet Officer Rogers and his K-9, the nurses came in and taught about protein and calories. Also, the kids enjoyed games such as line tag, hula hoop tournament, knockout tournament, bowling, dodge ball, spy maze, and water day.
· One thing that I was able to be a part of during this week was convincing a little boy to eat. For most of the summer, he always seemed to have an excuse as to why he couldn’t eat his sandwich, no matter what it was. One day I had the opportunity to just sit down and talk to him, by the end of our talk he was eating his sandwich and from then on always ate all or at least part of his sandwich. A downfall of this week was that during our spy maze, we had four kids get injured. Nothing to serious, but we had to write up a report and call their guardian and explain what had happened and then the kids went home.
JULY 15-19
· Find your rock. Life brings choices and roadblocks, which way will you turn? This theme was based off of Mathew 13:1-23. This week was also kind of crazy. One of the major things that we did was go to the fair; a lot of preparation was involved in this. All of the kids needed permission forms, they had to have name tags with emergency contact numbers just in case they may have gotten lost, we made sure we were able to provide them with water, and we had to divide them into groups and every place we went we had to make sure they were all there. At the fair the kids got to see the animals, they got to make an eco-boost project, toured the historic village, got to see all the 4-h clubs booths that they put together, and even got to watch a little part of a horse show, and then they got to have a picnic style lunch.
· Seeing how we used a church for the summer, we had to do something in order to thank them for allowing us to use their building. We decided to make a quilt. Every child was able to have a square and draw on it their favorite memory of the summer and also say thank you to the church.
· Activities for this week included a game called winner, another game called garbage, we played with parachutes, soccer, and knockout. Also, we met in our groups for family night and made a few other items. They made signs to welcome families to our site, signs for their bake sale, chef hats for the bakers, the dancers kept working on their dances, and the sports group worked on their jerseys. Also the nurses were here they had them play games such as doing a maze to find food that was protein, they got to touch food and smell it then try and guess what it was, and they also got to color some fruit.
JULY 22-26
· The theme of the week is Grow- Finding enjoyment in your talent. The Bible verse that went along with this was Mathew 25: 14-30. This week was a big focus on the family night. We worked all week in preparing and getting things together. One major thing the kids did was make invitations so that they could go home and invite their families.
· This week we had to major special quests. The first special guest was the PR guy from the Columbus Blue Jackets. He came in a vehicle that was hockey on wheels. He set up an area so that the kids were able to learn how to play hockey. The other special guest was a group of teenagers that had traveled the whole summer. They put on a puppet show, read bible verses, sang and danced, and taught kids how to make crosses by folding a piece of paper.
· Seeing how this week was focused on family night, we left open free time for the kids to decide what they wanted to do. Some activities the kids choose to do was play soccer, knockout, dodge ball, color, board games, and build box city.
JULY 29- AUGUST 2
· This week for the first half, we prepared to put the final touches on family night. The dancers had put together two dances and pulled them together just in time for the performance. The bakers, put together two long tables of food for people to try and on the night of the family night they all got to serve the food to their families and in return they accepted donations. The sports groups, decided on two main sports to focus on, which were soccer and dodge ball. They divided the teams up and played against each other. The sports group got to make goals for the soccer teams and spray paint them. The art group, decided to make a box city. They made a house, a car, and a computer. Family night was a HUGE success. I never felt more proud of a group of almost 100 kids! They pulled off a huge night and it was AMAZING!!
· After family night was over, the kids got to enjoy make life size bubbles and flubber. They also got to meet with an eye doctor who allowed them to do a treasure hunt and let them learn about their eyes at the same time. Also this week, the kids got a chance to do a trust game. The trust game was where you got a partner and one person was blind folded and the other had to lead them through an obstacle course.
AUGUST 5-9
· The last week of camp!! This was definitely an emotional week. Kids were slowly leaving day by day and telling us goodbye and that we would never see them again. During the final week we tried and do the kids favorite activities and allow them to tell us what they wanted to do.
· Being the last week, we finished putting the quilt together so that we could present it to the church. The church secretary was there to accept our quilt and also we had a few of the kids perform their talents so that she could see what we had worked on. She cried because she loved it and she was sad because she wasn’t ready for the church to be silent.
· Activities that we had were we had a ninja day. During ninja day, we had a few visitors. One visitor was the zoo. The zoo brought a few animals and showed the kids and talked to the kids about the animals. The other visitor was a fruit sculptor. The fruit sculptor carved designs into watermelon, melon, and pineapple.
· The last day of the summer. All day we allowed the kids to play games that they wanted. We also had a dance party and an ice cream party. They also got to enjoy their last water day of the year. Even though the last day was crazy the kids enjoyed every minute of it!!
FINAL REFLECTIONS
· This internship helped me grow in my personal development a lot. I learned how to work with kids who were mostly from families that come from poverty. It taught me that people and kids may have a situation that you may not know of but they are still the same and just need a little more attention. I learned that all they need is a little more love and encouragement in order to keep going with their lives.
· An experience that I have with my internship and school is by working through the lunch program, I am now able to relate to more in my class about safe serving food. Also, experiencing things in my field and putting them into real life make me feel like I am going to school for the right thing.
· My supervisor was amazing. She was always there and very helpful. She cared about us and always wanted us to succeed. She was very easy to talk to and get along with.
· This internship opportunity has had an influence on my career in many different ways. It made me realize I do love working with kids and would love to forever work with kids and sports and teach them how to grow and teach them to learn new things. I also know I want to be able to help kids and adults succeed in life. I want to be a part of something that makes me feel good about what I am doing. Also, as I got to work in the kitchen and be a part of this lunch program, I love serving food to those who are in need and are thankful for what they are receiving. Working in the kitchen also made me take responsibility and be in charge of one portion of the program. Being the leader of one portion of the program made me feel like something big and that people counted on me was a scary feeling at first, but once it became easier I loved every minute of it.
· My advice to those who may consider this internship, would be to keep an open mind when starting and going through the whole summer. Every day is different and you learn something new every day you report to work. Also, have fun and interact with the kids as much as you can. You can learn so much from kids and in return you will teach them something also.
JUNE 3-7
· The first week of my internship!! This week was set up for what was going to be one crazy, fun, energetic, learning experience for the whole summer. On the first day, everyone met and we had a little meet and greet session. We got to meet everyone and then we broke down and got to learn more about the group of people we were specifically going to work with the whole summer. We had a few meetings to where we had training of what was needed to be done this summer and also we split up the activities to try and make sure everyone had an even amount workload. My job duties were to be the lunch person, the teen intern/student ambassador, and the game planner.
· To be in charge of lunch meant that I was responsible for knowing all the government rules and to make sure all of them were followed exactly. If the rules were not followed, they could shut down the program. My next job duty was the teen intern/student ambassador supervisor. With this role, I took the teens that are ages 15-18 and make sure they were doing what they needed to be doing. I also was there for them when they needed support if they had any questions or concerns. Lastly I was in charge of planning games for the kids. At the beginning it was hard to think of many different games for kids to play, but after about the first week all of our staff worked together planning all of the activities.
JUNE 10-14
· For the summer, we had a camp motto: Respect Ourselves, Respect Others, Respect this Place. Our theme song was R.E.S.P.E.C.T.. Every week for the summer we have a theme to go with what we want the kids to try and learn. This summer lunch program is a faith based organization, so it was mostly based off of bible verses. This week’s theme was Our Needs, such as food/water, shelter, clothing, physically fit, safety, hope, and positive attitude. The verse that went along with this was Matthew 14:13-21.
· This was the first week of being in charge of lunches. I had a lot to learn and in a little amount of time. Lunch had many rules that came with this job. Some rules were you had to count every item of food and make sure there was the right amount of what we had ordered. You had to wear gloves whenever you were touching any of the food. The food had to be stored at certain temperatures until you were able to serve the food. You had to serve the food in the allotted time which was 12:30-1:15pm. This week went a little rough but we got through it. I had adult volunteers who came in and got to help me serve the lunches to the children.
· This year we were honored to have a few extra volunteers available to help us out, they were adult nurses who were going to school and had to have some service hours teaching kids about health related topics. The nurses were with us at least three days a week. They tried to do something different every time they came. This week they introduced themselves and talked to the kids about what they were studying to be and what they were working towards. There topics throughout the weeks were going to base around nutrition, safety, and exercising.
· Throughout the week we would get together as a staff and plan out what activities we would do with the kids. This week’s activities included games such as an obstacle course, sharks and minnows, freeze tag, and dodge ball; they also got to play with Legos and board games. Some other activities were we had a couple of special guests, one was the fire department, another was a lady who came in and taught the kids to make kites. A few other fun activities the kids did this week was that they had a water day, where they were able to bring in water guns and we had a water fight. Another activity was we let the kids make dirt pudding and then they were able to eat it.
JUNE 17-21
· This week, we had a new member come to our team. One of our team members that we had last week had to get a new job so she was unable to be fully committed this whole summer so she had to be replaced. So during this week, we had to teach the new guy what went on and what his roles were. He was a great asset to our team.
· This week’s motto, was a continuation of needs, but it focused on love, patience, and understanding. The verse of the week was John 10:1-21. This week the teens put on a couple of skits for the kids in hopes of the kids learning more. They did a skit on respect and also did one on teamwork. The kids loved these and were always paying attention. On Friday the teens read the Bible verse and acted it out so that the kids could try and understand part of the Bible.
· This week we had a few special guests. One of the special guests was Officer Ron. Ron was a policeman. He came talked to the kids about the importance of bike safety, he also allowed the kids to check out his car and allowed them to crawl in the back seat. Another special guest that the kids got to enjoy was a guy from the library. This guy read 2 different stories, one to the younger group and one to the older group. Again this week we were blessed to have the nurses.
· Some activities the kids got to enjoy this week were being able to come up with team names. Since the camp was divided into four groups based on age, we decided to allow them to come up with something fun and exciting. Some activities we did with the kids were make elephant toothpaste, God’s eyes, and oblique. Games the children got to enjoy this week was soccer, board games, duck duck goose, line tag, gauntlet, and fitness stations.
JUNE 24-28
· This week was kind of unique. The theme for this week was Skills to Grow and the verse was from Mathew 7:1-12. We as a staff also declared this week as spy week. We had spy week because we did spy related events throughout the week. We had a movie day were we watched spy kids, we made a maze out of yarn and the kids had to go through the maze without touching the yarn, also we made army guys with parachutes on them such as spy’s flying around. We also had a day where the kids were able to dress like a spy.
· This week we began talking about a family night for where the parents could come and see what the kids had been up to during the summer so we had to start the planning early. We had the kids break up into groups that interested them. We had groups such as sports, dance, art, and baking. Once the kids divided into their groups we talked to the kids and got an idea of something that they wanted to do. A few things they had come up with was different foods they could make and have a bake sale, the art group decided to make a city out of cardboard boxes, the sports group decided to come up with teams for soccer and dodge ball and also they wanted to make their own soccer goals and jerseys, and the dance girls wanted to make up dances to their favorite songs.
· Other activities that happened throughout the week were relay races, soccer, knockout, and fitness stations. Also this week we had the nurses who taught the kids the importance of stretching and some nutrition facts about fruit. The library guy came back and talked to the kids about joining the summer reading program and told them how they could earn prizes. One other fun activity the kids got to participate in this weekend was water day, only this water day was special and they got to have shaving cream also. Everyone was a mess.
JULY 1-3
· This week was a short week due to the holiday. This week we had focused on what we learned the previous weeks. We also focused on the holiday. We had float in the parade and for our children to be a part of it, they all made glitter fireworks or something that resembled the holiday.
· During this week we met in our groups for family night and discussed more ideas and how to make things happen. We also played games such as relay races that you had to have a partner for example the wheelbarrow race and three legged race. They also had another water day and played soccer and had fitness stations.
· Another exciting thing that happened this week was that 10-TV news came to do a special visit. They came and met with our head person and interviewed her about what she was doing for the community. They also videoed some of the lunch portion of our day and it was very exciting for the kids.
JULY 8-12
· During this week a lot had gone on. For one it was my birthday week. On the day of my birthday, all the kids sang to me and some of them even came up and gave me a hug. One special thing was a little girl had made me a birthday card at her home and then gave it to me; it brought tears to my eyes. Also for my birthday our staff was so close we all went out for dinner twice during the week. Getting to know the people I had worked with outside of work was great and I couldn’t have asked for any better people to work with.
· Activities that we had done in order for family night were, make cake pops and chocolate chip cookies, started building box city, worked on the dances, and start trying to figure out how to build soccer goals and then at the end of the week they were able to put the soccer goals together. Kids loved the projects they were involved in. It was so great seeing all of them think about how to do things and how to get things done, the staff let the kids come up with all of the ideas and we as staff just guided them.
· Find your “rock”. This was the theme for the week, it was meant to ask questions such as what are my talents? Am I growing as a person? Am I helping others? Who is my “rock” (person I look up to)? The verse for this was Romans 12:9-21. For this, we had the kids have a pet rock. They took the rock and got to decorate it as their own and then they had to take care of it. The staff was able to watch the kids take part in something that they got to design themselves and watch how the kids took care of their rock and how helpful they were if others didn’t seem to be taking care of their rock properly. Another thing we allowed the kids to do was to write a letter to their “rock”. This allowed the kids to tell those people that they mean something to them in their lives. The kids wrote some great things and were very grateful for those people that were their “rocks”.
· Throughout the week, the kids got to enjoy an ice cream day, had a pajama day, got to meet Officer Rogers and his K-9, the nurses came in and taught about protein and calories. Also, the kids enjoyed games such as line tag, hula hoop tournament, knockout tournament, bowling, dodge ball, spy maze, and water day.
· One thing that I was able to be a part of during this week was convincing a little boy to eat. For most of the summer, he always seemed to have an excuse as to why he couldn’t eat his sandwich, no matter what it was. One day I had the opportunity to just sit down and talk to him, by the end of our talk he was eating his sandwich and from then on always ate all or at least part of his sandwich. A downfall of this week was that during our spy maze, we had four kids get injured. Nothing to serious, but we had to write up a report and call their guardian and explain what had happened and then the kids went home.
JULY 15-19
· Find your rock. Life brings choices and roadblocks, which way will you turn? This theme was based off of Mathew 13:1-23. This week was also kind of crazy. One of the major things that we did was go to the fair; a lot of preparation was involved in this. All of the kids needed permission forms, they had to have name tags with emergency contact numbers just in case they may have gotten lost, we made sure we were able to provide them with water, and we had to divide them into groups and every place we went we had to make sure they were all there. At the fair the kids got to see the animals, they got to make an eco-boost project, toured the historic village, got to see all the 4-h clubs booths that they put together, and even got to watch a little part of a horse show, and then they got to have a picnic style lunch.
· Seeing how we used a church for the summer, we had to do something in order to thank them for allowing us to use their building. We decided to make a quilt. Every child was able to have a square and draw on it their favorite memory of the summer and also say thank you to the church.
· Activities for this week included a game called winner, another game called garbage, we played with parachutes, soccer, and knockout. Also, we met in our groups for family night and made a few other items. They made signs to welcome families to our site, signs for their bake sale, chef hats for the bakers, the dancers kept working on their dances, and the sports group worked on their jerseys. Also the nurses were here they had them play games such as doing a maze to find food that was protein, they got to touch food and smell it then try and guess what it was, and they also got to color some fruit.
JULY 22-26
· The theme of the week is Grow- Finding enjoyment in your talent. The Bible verse that went along with this was Mathew 25: 14-30. This week was a big focus on the family night. We worked all week in preparing and getting things together. One major thing the kids did was make invitations so that they could go home and invite their families.
· This week we had to major special quests. The first special guest was the PR guy from the Columbus Blue Jackets. He came in a vehicle that was hockey on wheels. He set up an area so that the kids were able to learn how to play hockey. The other special guest was a group of teenagers that had traveled the whole summer. They put on a puppet show, read bible verses, sang and danced, and taught kids how to make crosses by folding a piece of paper.
· Seeing how this week was focused on family night, we left open free time for the kids to decide what they wanted to do. Some activities the kids choose to do was play soccer, knockout, dodge ball, color, board games, and build box city.
JULY 29- AUGUST 2
· This week for the first half, we prepared to put the final touches on family night. The dancers had put together two dances and pulled them together just in time for the performance. The bakers, put together two long tables of food for people to try and on the night of the family night they all got to serve the food to their families and in return they accepted donations. The sports groups, decided on two main sports to focus on, which were soccer and dodge ball. They divided the teams up and played against each other. The sports group got to make goals for the soccer teams and spray paint them. The art group, decided to make a box city. They made a house, a car, and a computer. Family night was a HUGE success. I never felt more proud of a group of almost 100 kids! They pulled off a huge night and it was AMAZING!!
· After family night was over, the kids got to enjoy make life size bubbles and flubber. They also got to meet with an eye doctor who allowed them to do a treasure hunt and let them learn about their eyes at the same time. Also this week, the kids got a chance to do a trust game. The trust game was where you got a partner and one person was blind folded and the other had to lead them through an obstacle course.
AUGUST 5-9
· The last week of camp!! This was definitely an emotional week. Kids were slowly leaving day by day and telling us goodbye and that we would never see them again. During the final week we tried and do the kids favorite activities and allow them to tell us what they wanted to do.
· Being the last week, we finished putting the quilt together so that we could present it to the church. The church secretary was there to accept our quilt and also we had a few of the kids perform their talents so that she could see what we had worked on. She cried because she loved it and she was sad because she wasn’t ready for the church to be silent.
· Activities that we had were we had a ninja day. During ninja day, we had a few visitors. One visitor was the zoo. The zoo brought a few animals and showed the kids and talked to the kids about the animals. The other visitor was a fruit sculptor. The fruit sculptor carved designs into watermelon, melon, and pineapple.
· The last day of the summer. All day we allowed the kids to play games that they wanted. We also had a dance party and an ice cream party. They also got to enjoy their last water day of the year. Even though the last day was crazy the kids enjoyed every minute of it!!
FINAL REFLECTIONS
· This internship helped me grow in my personal development a lot. I learned how to work with kids who were mostly from families that come from poverty. It taught me that people and kids may have a situation that you may not know of but they are still the same and just need a little more attention. I learned that all they need is a little more love and encouragement in order to keep going with their lives.
· An experience that I have with my internship and school is by working through the lunch program, I am now able to relate to more in my class about safe serving food. Also, experiencing things in my field and putting them into real life make me feel like I am going to school for the right thing.
· My supervisor was amazing. She was always there and very helpful. She cared about us and always wanted us to succeed. She was very easy to talk to and get along with.
· This internship opportunity has had an influence on my career in many different ways. It made me realize I do love working with kids and would love to forever work with kids and sports and teach them how to grow and teach them to learn new things. I also know I want to be able to help kids and adults succeed in life. I want to be a part of something that makes me feel good about what I am doing. Also, as I got to work in the kitchen and be a part of this lunch program, I love serving food to those who are in need and are thankful for what they are receiving. Working in the kitchen also made me take responsibility and be in charge of one portion of the program. Being the leader of one portion of the program made me feel like something big and that people counted on me was a scary feeling at first, but once it became easier I loved every minute of it.
· My advice to those who may consider this internship, would be to keep an open mind when starting and going through the whole summer. Every day is different and you learn something new every day you report to work. Also, have fun and interact with the kids as much as you can. You can learn so much from kids and in return you will teach them something also.