Saturday, September 18, 2010

Sept. 18,2010

So I'm sitting here avoiding tasks I should be doing- but updating a blog is a worthwhile task- right?

Family Fun this morning- went to the farmers market then walked around a local park with waterfalls.- Nice and relaxing -the weather was perfect. We bought some maple cheese- it's delish!

So about my new jobs- I'm working generally 1 day a week as a program assistant at an adult day program, and 3 days a week as a COTA at a school for children with social, behavioral or emotional issues. I thought it would be a nice mix and generally it has been. The program assistant job is nice because I don't have to plan or really think too much ahead of time- just show up and help the clients with whatever (activities, eating, bathroom), I just think it's an important job and I value the service they provide- both to the clients and their caregivers. The COTA job I guess is what I consider my "real" job though. It's intense but I have to say I think I'm liking it. I think I'll like it even more once I get all the paperwork/administrative part down. Although I'm learning the kids pretty well so far, I think it will take time to get a smooth flow to everything. I'm working with students between the ages of about 5-16, so it really it a broad range. Each student has individual goals they're working on- from cutting, handwriting, coping skills, organization, daily living skills, visual perception... So I meet with each child generally twice a week and do sessions geared towards their goals. Because of the nature of the kids attending there- there are occassional issues- but some of these kids have had a really rough life and I think in some cases they have just made the best adjustment they knew how.

Jayna is loving 3rd grade and thinks she has the best teacher ever (JOY!) Whitney is enjoying playing field hockey and Andrew unfortunately is hating school- ugh- I don't know how to get past that. Part of it is that people bug him- he doesn't want to hear where kids bought their school clothes, who visited their grandma... or whatever.

Just Read- Mockingjay- good but I think I really liked the 2nd book in the series the best.

And so it goes...