Keep Chuggin like the train..... wooowoooooooo

So, last week wasnt bad... the kids in my 4 and 5 year old class were ok, and the most of the aftercare kids left within the first half hour or so...
This week i am teaching Animal Myth Busters class again in the a.m. and then am assisting with special needs children in the 8-11 year old class in the afternoon... its a pretty chill week... I'm starting to finally get into a system and enjoy things... it will be ok.... I will finish and look back and know it was all worth it. Can't wait for Maryland to start visiting me in Cincinnati!! good stuff!! More Later

Until Next Time,
~Elena

Split Shifts=STUPID

So, today was my first day of teaching all by myself... FINALLY!!!!! It was good... my kids were somewhat bratty but hey, the class was mine.. ALL MINE! Then I came home for a three hour break and went back for aftercare which is exhausting.... but it can be done! The gift shop is the stupidest job ever... i finally had my first day of that on Saturday.. they only kept me for 4 hours..... and all I basically did was straighten and restraighten racks of merchandise that didnt need to be straightened... They dont seem to want to give me sunday work.... its like they dont need me... im not sure the stress and hassle of dealing with them is worth it but we shall see...well... im goin to make dinner... more later....
Until Next Time
~Elena

Cincinnati... Hmm... a little late to weigh pros and cons, isnt it......

So, this will be a short post, as not much has changed..... Today I taught.... well, co-taught..... i think it went ok, but dont really know... I really miss home.... I miss my park, the cool breeze off the water, the people, the beauty of looking out and seeing nothing but nature for miles..... They just dont have that in Cincinnati... There isnt a single direction i can look sitting here on the front porch right now that i dont see cars and houses and pavement and fences.....I miss my family... It was so good to talk to Brynna and Anya on the phone yesturday... Brynna "graduates" kindergarten on Wednesday... i will miss it... By the next time i see Anya she will have her braces off.... Andrew will have his drivers license.... I miss the farm... I miss my lambies and the baby goats and all of that... i miss 4-H... I can't believe this is my last year in 4-H.. ever... and for some reason I decided that it would be better for some reason to pick up my life and move to this city.... Day camp is next week..... i wont be there for my last tribe... my last campfire... my last summer of 4-H..... Needless to say, I am terribly homesick.... This city simply isnt home.... A great experience, and an amazing resume builder, but not Maryland.... not Charles County... Not home......

Until Next Time,

~Elena

Full Day Four and Five Year Olds=Exhausting

Ok, so today is the end of my first week of semi-teaching (observation and assistance week). For those of you who may have read this post before I edited it, I apologize for the laziness in my writing last night. I am fixing it now. Camp overall wasnt bad this week. There were 3 classes of 4 and 5 year olds: 2 half day morning classes with 10 kids a piece and one full day class with 6 kids, one of who is only 3!! Little legs and long hikes dont go together... As with all classes, we had a variety of campers from adorable and well behaved to bratty and spoiled, to crybabies, and even a temper-tantrum throwing punch-you-till-you-bruise kid. Full day camp was the most exhausting, and the worst kids.... Half day wasn't bad. The kids were generally well behaved and in the afternoons we cut out lots and lots of crafts, practiced animal demos, trained on the screech owl, Van Gogh, watched movies, and walked around the zoo collecting facts(just for this week. It wont normally be such glorious afternoon assignments). The plus side of full day camp is that we got to see and do more things. After a slight rain delay (rain plus little kids = disaster btw) we got to watch the Bird Show... HILLARIOUS!!! We then rode the Merry-Go-Round. We went on the train too! We saw the Cat Show today which was pretty cool because the RA of the intern house and one of the other girls in the house were 2/3 people running it, which was cool.. plus they got the cheetah running SUPER FAST! Today we had a special guest visit our full day camp. Caroline the Prehensile Porcupine came to visit after nap time. She is my absolute favorite animal in all of animal holding... Im pretty sure i was more excited about her than any of my campers... oh well... LOL........ It was just the boost i needed to finish the day, cuz i was dragging.... After work some of the other interns in the house and I went back to the zoo for members night (a night where members get in after hours and get lots of free and discounted things and extra special animal shows... We went to the elephant enclosure to watch Shatzi and Mai Tai (probably spelled wrong) eat whole watermelon (Brea, one of the interns, is interning with the elephants and got to help feed them). It was amazing to see them pop open those watermelon.. until Val the keeper told us thats what heads sound like when they pop open, and that elephants were used for head-popping executions in old-time India. Brea got us in behind the scenes in the elephant house and Val let us come out into the enclosure with the elephants... the enclosure as in, in-front-of-all-the-guests enclosure!! and we got out pictures taken and got to touch the elephant... Pretty much the most AMAZING THING EVER!!! It felt kind of funny... I dont know how to describe it... but it was cool... So tomorrow (Saturday) I start my Gift Shop job.... woohoo.... idk what to think, but i figure i shall give it a fair chance... so far i'm not sure that they (or at least from what I've seen) are organized or nice... but i guess i shall figure that out! Next week I begin real teaching, or was supposed to.... unfortunately, they either didnt have enough classes, or didnt trust me with my own class yet, so i am co-teaching yet again... Not that I dislike John at all, its just that i have my own teaching style and ideas and am not a big fan of people watching and analyzing my every move..... i want to be out on my own..... yet they seem to have decided that the baby of the group needs to be babysat... I am more qualified to teach on my own than some of these girls. I have experience in camp and in animals!! I know what I am doing... why wont they simply let me do it..... well again, must wait and see what happens next....

Until Next Time
~Elena

Here come the campers...

So, today was the first day of real summer camp..... the interns dont start teaching til next week, so we were simply observing today, but it was interesting...... It was a long and somewhat frustrating day, and I am not so sure how much i will end up liking this job....I felt useless sitting and observing... I need to lead, to do things... i dont "follow" well... So camp (we only had a.m. half day camp today) was really just really frustrating.... then we ate lunch (no peanut butter allowed) and cut out crafts for a couple hours, which was fine because it was a good get to know each other and talk time.. then we practiced animal demos... ICK... the hedgehog was uncooperative so i looked dumb..... it kept biting my glove.... i dont handle failure well, so that ruined the rest of my day..... hopefully tomorrow will be better, but im starting to doubt it... i miss home... Tomorrow i have a.m. camp observation again and then craft cut-outs and first aid certification.... fun fun fun.... we shall see....

I hope everyone who is reading this is enjoying being filled in on my Cincinnati life. If there is a topic i havent covered in my blogs so far, tell me and i certainly will..

Until Next Time,
~Elena