Colin Raab
March 24th, 31st and April 7th
Dance Arts Center
Carol Nicholas
+16502187871
At Dance Arts Center, the spring session of S.N.A.P., a program aimed towards sharing
the joy of dancing and the arts with special needs kids, had begun. Each volunteer
student might be paired with the same buddy or a different buddy for the 10 weeks,
and in the past I had done both. This session, I began with Alessandra, a girl I had met
in previous S.N.A.P. sessions, as well as when I volunteered as a referee for AYSO’s
special needs VIP program. She was originally hesitant to have someone new as a
buddy, as she had had the same buddy for the past 2 or 3 sessions. Needless to say,
it took a couple classes before she would even talk to me, but she rarely talked to
anyone other than her mom in the first place. In previous sessions, I typically worked
with kids who were pretty vocal (sometimes too much so when they would disrupt the
entire class), so working with someone who refused to communicate other than in
head-shaking was at first a trying experience. Once she had become accustomed to
being back at S.N.A.P., Alessandra more readily participated in the dances and
became more animated in her gestures and facial expressions. I noticed that as she
enjoyed each class more and more, so did I, because I felt that my directions and
efforts to convey the dances and songs to her were having a greater effect.
the joy of dancing and the arts with special needs kids, had begun. Each volunteer
student might be paired with the same buddy or a different buddy for the 10 weeks,
and in the past I had done both. This session, I began with Alessandra, a girl I had met
in previous S.N.A.P. sessions, as well as when I volunteered as a referee for AYSO’s
special needs VIP program. She was originally hesitant to have someone new as a
buddy, as she had had the same buddy for the past 2 or 3 sessions. Needless to say,
it took a couple classes before she would even talk to me, but she rarely talked to
anyone other than her mom in the first place. In previous sessions, I typically worked
with kids who were pretty vocal (sometimes too much so when they would disrupt the
entire class), so working with someone who refused to communicate other than in
head-shaking was at first a trying experience. Once she had become accustomed to
being back at S.N.A.P., Alessandra more readily participated in the dances and
became more animated in her gestures and facial expressions. I noticed that as she
enjoyed each class more and more, so did I, because I felt that my directions and
efforts to convey the dances and songs to her were having a greater effect.
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