On Thursday, March 28, the 6th grade hopped into the Montrose vans to pay another visit to the Medfield Children’s Center. We had gone once before for Service Day to practice good service and solidarity. This time, we went to the Children’s Center with more experience from playing with the kids on Service Day.
As soon as we got inside, we split up into our assigned groups and separate rooms. When the kids were smiling and waving at us with excitement and anticipation, we were all filled with a new confidence to do our best in helping the Medfield Children’s Center staff and giving the kids some new playmates for the day. The kids were shy at first, as expected, but they opened up once we introduced ourselves and spent time playing with them. We had so much fun getting to know all of the kids and playing with all of them using the many toys that they had.
It was also nice to see how much joy a toddler can possess, especially because I do not see that as much from my older siblings. It was interesting to see how kids from ages four to six behave and the different pace that they learn at than us. The experience was different from the last time we went because of the greater knowledge that we had of the kids and the activities that they would be doing. Our assigned group tried to make sure that all of the kids got equal attention from us. It was a bit of a challenge, though, because there were about fifteen toddlers in the room while there were only five Montrose students. To combat the discrepancies, we switched stations, each set up with a different activity for the kids to do, about every five minutes.
The kids also enjoyed singing fun and educational songs. They worked hard, too, by practicing writing correct sentences, uppercase and lowercase letters. The staff did a great job making learning for the kids fun and being there for whatever a kid needed. I think it is fair to say that the 6th grade learned a good amount from observing what the staff did to help the kids. Much of what we learned can really be applied to our everyday lives, whether it’s caring for our younger siblings, or remembering to be more patient with people (even our age)!
We are so thankful that we had the opportunity to go back to the Medfield Children’s Center and learn what we did from the experience. Also, we’re very grateful to the staff for volunteering their time to help us and the kids. We had so much fun at the Medfield Children’s Center and are happy that we got to go there and see the wonderful kids again this year!
By Eloisa Pap ‘30, Rising Clubs and Classes Editor
