I have to admit, working in the schools hasn't been my most favorite experience. It's growing on me, though. As I get to know the kids better, they have become more willing to cooperate and listen to me. Occasionally my supervisor still has to intervene with a comment such as "Johnny, just because I'm not over there, doesn't mean that you can behave that way with Ms. Price." Usually they listen to me, though. Since I've been given a bit more independence about activities that I choose and how I teach, it's been more fun, too.
My favorite little boy I work with is a little guy who is working on articulation. He usually comes in and sits down with a little bit of a sour attitude. Then I say with a smile, "Wait a second, we don't act that way at Speech!" and he laughs and works really well with me. It doesn't matter what game I work with him on, he looks for the fun in it and seems to have a good time.
This week we played the bug game. It's a really simple game I found online for artic. therapy, where you hide the bugs underneath the sound cards that you work with, and when the child finds a bug he gets to decide if he wants to put it on a web for a spider to catch or on a leaf so it can "get away." It's super simple, but this little man thought it was so fun, he couldn't wait to take it home for homework!
I used the game with a group of kids that had a girl in it, too. This little gal is hilarious. She's got a really fun spunky attitude. She kept insisting that it wasn't fair that I given them a whole bunch of different bugs, but had neglected to give them butterflies. I finally agreed to bring butterflies for the next time, so that she would work hard for me, instead of going on and about the butterflies. Too funny!
