Kat's 10th post

Since moving back home to Minnesota, one of the biggest things that I’ve been missing is the routine that I had gotten into while in Boston.  It’s a double whammy of being stuck at home and having to social distance, so I can’t make a similar routine here at home. One of the weekly events that I enjoyed in Boston were my visits to the BTU every Tuesday.  Even when I had really busy weeks with classes and couldn’t find time to go out, having the structured time into my week allowed for me to do something other than school work (or at least my own). 

At the BTU we happened to be working with fifth graders on their natural disasters projects.  I don’t think that is the normal experience volunteering with the elementary school kids. Usually there is some variation in the age of students and the projects that we’re helping the kids with, but for the Tuesday volunteers we were with the same group of kids for the entire semester.  Apparently the English teacher was cramming lots of different writing lessons into this one project, making it take even longer than it already would have. Although I would have really enjoyed helping other students or doing other projects, by sticking with this project until its completion allowed for lots of added benefits.   Instead of making an acquaintance with lots of kids, I got to know a few students really well. This allowed for the students to get really comfortable working with me, and for me to tackle their specific issues for the couple of hours that I was with them each week. 

I know it was obviously helpful for the kids each week to receive help on their projects, but I didn’t realize how much I liked it until I couldn’t go anymore.  All throughout my highschool experience I was heavily involved with kids, so I really shouldn’t be surprised about how excited I was to get to work with them again.  In the past I have led a pony club, mentored sixth graders in their bible study class, and tutored kids in various subjects. I have never met more motivated kids than I did at the BTU, and it was a real pleasure getting to help them out.