Unfortunately, this project is soon coming to a close, but there still remain a few more blog posts as well as opportunities to continue my work towards my action. Thus far, Vicky and I have gone to Ranch Park Elementary School several times -an estimate of around 8-12 times, and as I’ve mentioned earlier, we’ve been helping around with various classroom tasks. On the last couple of days that I had volunteered, my second and third graders had usually been doing some fun and skill-building Christmas/winter-themed projects, games and crafts. For example, one day I had been helping during a research based project in which the kids had to fill out questions based on information cards given to them about how Christmas or the holidays are celebrated in various countries. These information forms would then be placed in little “suitcase” folders they made earlier, as if they were travelling the world. This project was surprisingly interesting and I hadn’t expected it, but I’m glad that the students were able to learn and explore new and different cultures.
Moreover, some students had eagerly shown me a few of the gingerbread houses they had built with their friends, and they’re elf-themed self portraits. Outside of the traditional classroom, I had assisted in PE as well. The class had played games like “octopus”, “Simon says”, and “capture the flag”. Every visit had it’s own variation of lessons and emotions, the students had fun and socialized, but some days they had to practice harder tasks like maturity, responsibility, forgiveness, kindness, and so many more skills. For better context, during PE the principal had once walked into the gym to have a talk with the students. The third graders had been having trouble being respectful and inclusive during recess and their soccer privileges were going to get taken away. The students had not been pleased with this information, but as a class we made sure to make the respect and kindness expectations clear, and we practiced these skills the rest of the weeks ahead.
Holidays around the world suitcase project!
An example of the type of gingerbread houses the students made!
The students played some capture the flag, but unfortunately it was inside, because it was freezing outside!
Some important lessons of respect and kindness were often taught in the classroom!
Furthermore, one of the bigger successes I’ve achieved with the students is connection. I believe that teaching, or at least assisting and helping, is part of a huge umbrella of qualities and skills. Anyone can enter a classroom and give out answers and explain simpler tasks, like spelling or addition, but you must also be able to build connections, communicate, listen, all these things. While, I know that my leadership, communication and insight are always evolving and improving, and always have room to improve, I am proud that within my time during this action, I was able to connect with several students. I’m not sure that they’ll remember me, but I am satisfied that I was able to finish this off by having met new people, had some interesting, but amusing conversations, and that I could interact with a different generation. So, if you really do try, you can create some unforgettable opportunities for yourself, or you can merely drag your feet and trudge along, but, it may pay off to step out and try something new.
I’ve made some incredible connections through this project, with teachers and students alike. It’s so interesting to see the perspectives of students about 7 years younger than me.
On the contrary, there have been a few difficulties as well. One of the more prominent challenges I’ve faced is student participation and focus. The students with which I worked were quite young, so it wasn’t too surprising if they weren’t able to stay on track, but I wasn’t sure how I could help them. I had found a few strategies that had helped a few students after I did some researched and even reached out to my coach, who works with younger kids often. What I had found was that often, kids need one specific task to work on and it may get confusing or overwhelming if there’s too much at once(1). Also, the amount of time to do a task matters a lot, adults and kids alike don’t always have the strongest attention spans, and so, sometimes breaks or subject switches are necessary.
As Vicky and I have unfortunately already parted ways with Ranch Park Elementary for winter break, we plan to definitely reach out in the future to continue this project, even if we don’t write blogs about our time there. We had really enjoyed the experiences and the skills we were able to build and we look forward to a time that we could come back to volunteer. As for just me, I plan to implement the skills and the leadership I learnt in the classroom into other parts of my life, like coaching. Right now, I am coaching some younger swimmers and the communication, leadership and organization skills, among others, are some abilities that will come in handy. And, I can also use these abilities in the future and now in school, so, they’re incredibly useful!
Also, here are a few images of the classrooms and the environment just for context!
References:
- Howard, Jamie M. “How to Help Kids Focus.” PBS KIDS for Parents, 2020, www.pbs.org/parents/thrive/tips-for-helping-your-child-focus-and-concentrate. Accessed 11 Feb. 2026.
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