Michael Mathis

Assisted the Buddy Volunteer and the Contractor in their efforts to help children who have immediate members of their family. Parent(s) or sibling(s). The organization took an unexpected approach in that they spoke in "concrete" terms, as in "The parents died" This did shock me at first, but rational made sense in that other terms are malleable and subject misinterpretation. The kids handled it well. Multiple activities were presented to the kids, where then kids went from room to room. The three events for 8-9 year olds were Yoga, Improv, and Art Therapy. From my perspective, as in not experienced with these programs, it seemed the improv held the most potential for children to express themselves.
In regard to verifying my attendance: Kacie Chasteen was in charge of the event.
A suggestion that I did not mention was that when a child diminishes whatever work they themselves have accomplished, the Contractor should not correct the child. But should ask the child to elaborate on "why" they think they did not do will. This could help them learn to think critically and learn to articulate their thoughts in a quantitative format. The reason that I did not mention it during the debrief session was that I felt that such a session was for those who deal with children on a regular basis.

Assisted Parents with children in making home made parachutes. The supplies used was Coffer Filter for parachute, yarn for risers leading to parachute, and sample cups for the "person".
According to the organizers, a KSU volunteer came up with the project and this organization reimplemented it. This was a really big his with kids because they could build it, play with it and learn something from it. Though kids didn't understand the physics, they gained awareness by through an empirical approach. After watching the reactions of various children in seeing how a parachute works, I can see how activities like this might inspire children to learn more about something they just witnessed.

The organization hosted dinner, games and activities for the mentally and physically disabled. My take away was a great appreciation for the attention given to these disabled individuals by their parents and the organizers.