Service Learning Journal

After working with Rachel again I have realized she is one of those people that just make your day brighter because she has such a positive attitude. Every time she explains a project to me I see how excited she is and how concerned she is with making sure each art kit is up to her standards. To start the art kits I first had to prepare the basics for each pf them. Of course each kit would need some kind of coloring utensil so I had to separate oil pastels, colored pencils, and crayons into color schemes and then place them in baggies to later distribute. Again Rachel expressed her ddesire to give each child a good range of colors to create their projects with, so I tried to incorporate a variety into each bag. Once I got to the end of a bow of crayons this became a little difficult since I was running out of colors. If I felt like the colors would not live up to her standards I tried to rearrange some of the colors to better suit the children.
After I separated all the crayons and pencils, Rachel brought out different types of art kits and gave me instructions on what each type specifically needed. Every project required a bag of something to color with and typically glue. For other projects I had to cut out pieces or add things, like bits of tissue paper used for decorating. Some projects required me to trim the edges of cut-out pieces or add a hole so that they could later be hung up. The work became somewhat tedious and I had to catch myself a few times and remember to put in the glue or punch a hole, but I was determined to create these kits with my most undivided attention. After going through and fixing at least 40 different kits I discussed the rest of my volunteer hours with Rachel.
Since it was difficult for me to find a ride all the way to Arts For Life Rachel decided to give me some things to take back with me to work on that way I could complete some non-contact hours. She gave me a box full of pieces that when put together created paper horses. All of the pieces had been cut out by previous volunteers, but a majority of them had been cut without any care and had jagged edges, tears, or marks on them. I immediately knew Rachel would feel terrible giving a child an art kit with pieces that had been cut so carelessly. My job was to go back through the pieces, sort them, and salvage what I could by trimming up the edges and resahping some of the pieces. It was an extremely time consuming job, but after going through every horse leg and body and making them better, I knew that some little kid out there would appreciate the effort.
After my service learning I have realized that some many little things can go into making someone's life better. By recieving a bag of crayons with bright colors instead of one with just dull, gray colors, a child's day can be so enhanced. I am so glad I was able to be a help to Arts for Life. Although I am sure I would have gained more from working directly with the kids, I'm still thankful I could give the kids something.