Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Hey Guys!

The summit swimmer girls are back in town! wooo!! and just in time for Spring Break too! haha.  I hope everyone is doing well and that your projects are going great.  I realized that I guess I completely forgot to blog last time... my bad :( sorry Andrew! But our project with Lighthouse is going well.  We plan on doing a little easter egg hunt with the kids when its closer to Easter, but other than that we have just been volunteering.  They have put us in assigned rooms or jobs that are a little different from what we did last semester.  I am now working in what they call the green room which are the kids that are between the ages 3 and 5.  I have to admit that I will definitely not be going into the "young childcare" career, haha but it's fun.  I work in the classroom between about 9 to 11, which is before lunch and their nap, so you can tell which kids are ready for their nap... 

The overall experience has been great at Lighthouse though.  I have learned to work in an education environment.  So even though I want to work in the Secondary education atmosphere, it still is a good experience.  I especially like it there now because lighthouse has moved to a new location that is way nicer than the other place, in the sense that the rooms are nice and big.  They painted them light colors and make them very kid-friendly.  

Ok well see you guys after break! 

-Jessica 

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Woohoo!!!!

Hello again my Summit friends!  The Beacon Project girls have had one exciting/stressful/busy week this past week!  We literally JUST got back from our Nationals swim meet in San Antonio, Texas after being gone for an entire week.  It was an absolutely wonderful experience to defend our title as National Champions, but, man, are we tired and happy to be back in our Summit apartment!  Ahhhh home, sweet, home.  Unfortunately, we had to miss class on Friday, but hopefully everyone enjoyed the speaker, and we will definitely be at next month’s meeting.

                Things at Lighthouse are continuing to go much more smoothly than last semester.  We have settled into our roles as volunteers (finally), and Dolly always has something lined up for us to do now.  The past couple times I have volunteered, I’ve just organized paperwork.  Lighthouse was preparing for their meetings with all the individual families, so I had to file papers under each family name so they could review them at their family meetings.  While I wish I got to work with the kids, I often find my volunteer hours very relaxing, and the time seems to go by really quickly.  Also, now that we are done swimming for the season, we should be able to dedicate even more time to volunteering and to planning our April Easter egg hunt.  :)

                Everything is going really well in our apartment.  Over the past week at Nationals, I feel like my roommates and I have bonded even more and gotten even closer together since we’ve been working towards a common goal.  I was so proud of all of them and our Summit boys this past week, and I feel like things will go even more smoothly in our apartment this semester since we won’t be exhausted and cranky from morning practice all of the time. Haha  That’s about all to report from the Beacon Project!  I hope to see everybody next month!
                ~Molly

Halfway There!!

Hey everyone!

We just got back from winning NCAA division II swimming national championships!!! So this semester has been great so far both in and out of Lighthouse. I am still volunteering in the center and things are going really well. I have been assigned to the infant room which has been a very rewarding experience to me for many reasons.

I am actually in a child development class this semester which has given me some insight into how each of these children are developing. Being able to observe children in a variety of different stages in there development has helped me better understand the actually material being presented in my class. I have also been able to identify certain behaviors the children display and how to appropriately handle many of them. I suppose I have just enjoyed seeing my class in action.

 I have also enjoyed volunteering at Lighthouse because of the atmosphere. Being able to help these babies by changing there diapers, feeding them or rocking them to sleep has been a privilege. I have discovered that I absolutely love kids. After volunteering this semester I always feel so relaxed and refreshed. It makes me feel so good it has become a little get-a-way.  I really look forward to volunteering every week.

Lastly I have really enjoyed this experience becuase of what I have been able to give back. I was volunteering the other day and one of the mothers stopped by to see her son. She came in while he and I were playing with some blocks on the floor. She was so appreciative of what I was doing that she couldn't stop thanking me. It felt so good to know I was actually helping someone that much.

We have begun planning our Easter egg hunt and party for the children. It looks like it is going to be really exciting! We hope to have some sort of activity or craft as well as an easter egg hunt in which all of the children will participate. Lighthouse is very excited about the event as well. I think it is going to be a great success.

Tiffany

Friday, March 11, 2011

Hello from Nationals!

Hey guys!
We are at Nationals right now and totally dominating! I hope I haven't spoken too soon, but everything is going great! It's so exciting to be here. We are sorry we are missing class! But not too much is new in the Lighthouse department. Volunteering is going great and running very smoothly. They seem to have everything organized and professional now. I always have something to do, and I always know where to go. I almost have all of my hours in by this time!
The next thing on our list is our big Easter Egg Hunt that we are going to throw for the kids! We haven't discussed it much because our main focus has been this week at Nationals, but now that swimming won't be involved much anymore we are going to put forth a lot of effort at Lighthouse. We will have so much more time to be planning and helping them out.
Everything at Summit is going just fine. We haven't been home all week, so I hope our apartment is ok! But the four of us are swimming great and having fun representing Drury at the meet. There really isn't much more to talk about, but I hope we see you soon as National Champions!
Deanna