|
| Now that I have the full
understanding of what Discovery Creek and my internship is all about, I
have decided to relay this information to the world.
Discovery
Creek Children’s Museum is a year round, non-profit museum that caters
to underserved communities and schools during the school year. They
allow schools to take field trips to their sites around the District
and surrounding areas, focusing on those schools that do not have the
budget to do so. The children learn about environmental issues in a fun setting. For
one school, the museum is the only source of science education since
the school had to cut the science curriculum from their budget. All of
these services are free, and those schools that cannot make it to D.C.,
have the museum come to them. The Rolling Rainforest is a semi-truck in
rainforest decal. Inside there are “animals” and other great things
that the children can interact with. The rainforest has been all over
the country, showing up in California
schools, at free health care fairs for children to play in while they
wait for free immunizations and check ups, and even down to Louisiana and Mississippi after Hurricane Katrina to help kids get their minds off of the devastation. Also, each week every camp will have two underserved campers on a scholarship paid in full by the museum.
All of the funding for these endeavors are provided by the weekend programs, birthday parties, and summer camp. Summer
camp is the most important contributor, so being able to be a part of
something like this is a little overwhelming for me. My
personal goal is to be able to earn enough money to be able to help
support these types of programs and charities as well. My purpose for
success is to help others succeed.
All
week I have been working with my fellow intern staff member and our
director trying to get our camp ready. We will be working with 4-6
year-olds, but believe me, they are going to be doing A LOT! Hikes,
“whitewater rafting” (don’t worry, they are in a still part of the
creek and we shake the boat), rock climbing on our wall, and so many
arts and crafts I think I will come home with my shoe laces glued
together! They will be learning all of their
things I have learned this week about reptiles, artic animals,
amphibians, the hedgehog, nocturnal animals, birds, the dessert,
volcanoes, and the list goes on!
The most challenging moments are when we have to think like kindergarteners. What
did I know then, and how has the curriculum changed for No Child Left
Behind? Teachers obviously have to teach the young ones the things they
will need to start taking their tests in 3rd grade. What
kinds of things interest them long enough to make it through the entire
activity? If I were them, how excited would I really be to have to
leave my family and nanny for the first time in my life? There are so
many questions that are hard to answer at this point. It’s amazing how
much work we all have put into this summer.
When Monday comes I will have my game face ready. The
fact that I will make a difference in these kids’ lives makes all the
hard work and tedious tasks well worth it. Very much so.
| | |
| Today I ran in the National Race for the Cure. However, I must update first.
I have been walking around all over town visiting shops and food
places. My internship is with Discovery Creek Children's Museum as a
summer camp counselor. Discovery Creek offers free environmental
education to area schools during the school months by bringing kids in
and also driving their "Rolling Rainforest" semi to underserved schools
around the district and the country. The summer camp I will be working
in, however, is the only event that has to be paid for. This allows the
museum to continue offering free services to those schools who do not
have the budget to go on long field trips. Each week I will have new
campers coming in, and I will be able to teach them about the
enivronment and conservation. I am very excited!
Thursday was my first day, so we did CPR certification. I have a
seminar class every Friday for the program I am in, so I wasn't able to
make it to the first aid certification. Monday...that's a funny
question. I forgot to ask where we were meeting! I hope I can get a
hold of someone!
For our seminar we read an article our professor had written on the
Confederate Soldier Monument in Arlington National Cemetery.
Interesting stuff. Then we toured Arlington and got to walk over to the
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier to watch the changing of the guard. After
that we saw the Confederate Monument.
It has been super humid and hot this week, but today was excellent! It
was cloudy with sprinkles as we walked over to the starting line down
the street from where I'm staying. There were so many people there!
Condoleeza Rice was at the starting line helping us do warm-ups. I saw
her and waved as I went by. That was pretty cool.
The start was very slow because of all the people. It took even past
the 1-mile mark before the crowd started getting strung out enough to
manuver and actually run. I finished in 31:42 which isn't bad
considering the multitude of moving bodies in front of me. It was
really fun!
Today our class is heading over to a used book store to pick up a book
on Washington for a report that is due Friday. That kind of sucks. I
hope I can get it done in time!!!!
That is all for now. My feet want to be rubbed so I must obey!
| | |
| I am officially here (DC)! I've taken it easy though. Last night Andrew,
Mick, and Claudie threw me a going away (finally) party. So, needless
to say, I was tipsy and kicking butt at Dog-opoly. I won....at 3 AM
this morning! I am tired.
My alarm clock didn't go off like I
planned, so I woke up at the time that I hd planned to leave. Which
made me forget some things. We had to stop at a two story Target to
pick up some things. I am completely from the sticks because as soon as
we walked in the first thing I spotted was the escalator for the
shopping carts. Yes, that's right. Not the fact that this Target had
two stories of colorful products. No, I was amazed that you could push
your cart onto it's own little escalator and then ride all the way up
to the 2nd floor right beside it! Day one of looking like a tourist was
a success.
My roommate (and her family) are super nice! And I
have cable TV. But I think I will go to bed early. I am tired seeing as
how I had 3 hours of sleep and then drove for 5 hours. I'm glad I am
all unpacked. I will post pictures of and leave the link here later.
We are mere feet from the Supreme Court building, and a short walk to
the Capitol. This is too exciting. The place is an efficiency apt, with
the tiniest kithen I've ever seen, but I like it. All of the people in
the program seem really nice.
I've already been called about 5
times by mom and mommaw. Always some new worry they have. I understand
that I have to be careful, but SHEESH! It's almost unbearable to listen
to it over and over. I don't want to seem rude to them.
Blake
was very strong when he left, which is great because I would have lost
it completely if he had. I miss him, but I'm sure it will be worse
tomorrow.
That's the other thing. I keep thinking that I'm
just on some weekend trip, and that it will all be over tomorrow. And I
keep forgetting that I am so far away from my own bed. Homesickness has
not quite hit me. I think it's easier because I have dealt with this
before. Who knows.
I'm excited about tomorrow. I have no idea
what I am going to be doing, but I'm just very excited. In the AM we
have an orientation, then we should be free after noon. AND my
internship doesn' start until Thursday! WOOHOO!
I like having cable.
I also like not having the cat box in my room.
I brought Blake's rice cooker. YUM YUM!
We have cockroaches and ants. But not bad. We can hear everything that
is going on upstairs!! I hope they aren't up late. It sounds like they
are rearranging furniture. Hmmm...
Today we found out this
building was built in 1915!! No wonder the walls are cracking. It seems
there is a senator or some rich person living two feet from our window!
They have a nice back patio area that I covet. Small garden, rose
bushes, lattice. It's very nice.
Blake and I did get lost
today. :.. It wasn't too bad though. I don't like the stoplights
because they are on the sides of the street, and it's hard to see them
if you aren't used to it.
Andrew is lonely. So everyone says. He still has Lysaundra.
Okay, I am tired of typing. END. | | |
| Alright, so I think photobucket lied to me. They said that 'soon' you could blog your photos to all the blogs including xnaga. Now, no xanga, but everything else. so this is what I'm thinking of doing. Posting pics to my blogger, and just leaving the updates and links here. Of course this is equivalent to going around your elbow to your ass, but I guess it will have ot work!
Sorry agian. Good night
| | |
| So I spent that whole night typing up the entire set of pics I
had taken. Submitted the thing and it wouldn't work. So now I have to
wait until photobucket updates their website, then I can post here. I
will try to find some other place to put them. However, my camera is on
the fritz again, so I have to send it back. Looks like March is going
to be lonely.
Sorry y'allins. Will update and show you where to go soon!
| | |
|
|
