Bringing Students Together through Kickball

February 15, 2012 at 12:49 pm | Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

After a long winter break I was unsure how the after school program would pull back together. More than that the students knew that the new year would bring new rules, a stricter structure, but also a more Formal Basketball program. The basketball program had been a major attraction for many of the students who attend the after school program.  When students arrived, they were happy to be back, and I was so happy to see their smiles as they came in. However disappointment struck when I informed  them, their would be no Basketball on the next day, Wednesday, that they would need to find another activity to work on!  Students moaned and groaned. “Miss V, thats not fair. We want to play.”  I explained that on Wednesday they would have other responsibilities and that the new basketball coach would not be attending.  When Wednesday came I wasn’t surprised when several students did not show up. Without basketball, they would find other places to go. But we went on without them, students completed homework, met with the health and nutrition specialist, and completed other character development work.  However several students remained discouraged, ” Im bored, we have nothing to do.”  Thinking on my feet I said ” Kickball!”  I suddenly saw the students spread out, assign bases, and separate into two teams. I was amazed at how quickly they organized themselves to prepare for play. Even more than that I was excited to see students who are typically excluded from basketball join in the game!  Students played together for forty-five minutes!  It was awesome to see the boys and girls work and play together and for even the youngest of students included, with both teams reminding the pitcher to roll the ball slow for the younger kids!  While it doesn’t happen every day, and I can’t always reproduce it quickly, I can see though activities like this that the students in the after school program have really begun to bond and create a family.

-By Vanessa Patfield