With just over a month left in their year of service at R2LP, the 2009/2010 AmeriCorps members reflect on the memorable moments, achievements and rewards the experience has given them.
I have had many good experiences at work, but I have one in particular that I will remember forever – when I read Clifford the Big Red Dog in one of the classrooms. In that room there are some children who seem to have no interest in anything, but when I read that book, I got their attention. They paid very close attention and they wanted me to read the book again. I told the teacher the children were very interested in 
animals, and she decided to add pets to the curriculum. What I saw in the children helped the teacher respond to their interests.
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One experience that I keep as a good memory is what happened in the Mamá a Mamá program, giving support to a mother. When I started working with her she was unhappy and having difficulty. During the time I’ve been giving her my support, she has felt much better and she thanks me a lot for my help. She says, “I would like to have known you before.” I thank Ready to Learn for all of this, for giving me the skills and the desire to help others.
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I am happy to be in a place where I feel at home. I’m thankful for all the things people have done for me. I have grown as a person. Nazly is a person with great charisma and a heart that always has room. These people are a blessing to me that came from heaven.
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I have experienced success at Ready to Learn, interacting with members with different languages, cultures and values. Interacting with others made me want to prosper in life despite a fear growing in my heart that I did not know the language. But working with the children, giving my best, has been my greatest reward. I have come to realize that those little people are very special and they give you so much joy when they say that you are important to them. They encourage you so you keep working hard and you keep preparing yourself in a professional way to give them the help they need.
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I have gained experience in the area I like the most, early education. I have met wonderful people who have helped me grow professionally with their knowledge and experience. They have helped me erase any doubts about my ability to teach children properly. It’s very gratifying to come into the classroom and see all the children running toward me, saying my name, saying “I miss you.” The love I give them I get back in return. I can’t describe how I feel when the classroom teacher introduces me to parents and staff as another teacher, or when I am on the street and one of the children sees 
me and gives me a big hug and introduces me to their family. This year has brought the key for me to open many doors and a way to achieve my professional goals. Thank you Ready to Learn for believing in me.
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Meeting many people with significant cultural and personal differences was exciting for me. I learned something new every day in the training and grew as a person. Now working with the children, they very wise, sincere and spontaneous. It is the best experience.
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I love working at my site. I have established a great relationship with most of the teachers and children there. I had never once in my life thought about teaching. I didn’t think I had the skills or ability to teach, but this has changed for me. Seeing all the knowledge the children obtain from different things I’ve taught them is amazing. I can teach them something today and a few 
weeks later they will bring it up. It’s a great feeling knowing that what I am teaching them stays with them. It has inspired me to look into early education as a career.
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I have been amazed by the beautiful people I work and learn with, and surprised by the way familiar things look new to me. The most valuable outcome of this year is I will not be so quick to judge others. People here surprise me all the time with their kindness to me.
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Starting out, I really didn’t know what to expect because I’ve never worked in a classroom. As I took time to get to know each child, I’ve grown close to the children and made connections with them. One child in particular has grown the most on me. She would come into the room running all around, yelling, overwhelmed with excitement. I would usually say to her, “Come sit down with me, I want to read you a story.” Now, we have made a connection and she feels comfortable with me. Every time she comes through the door she yells my name and gives me a big hug. She even calls me her sister now. She has grown a lot since the first day of school, interacting more with the children, her shyness fading away. Even when I’m in the other classroom 
she comes to visit me. The children say “Look, your sister is here.”
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I have met a lot of people. I have helped many as well. I feel much more confident in myself to succeed – not that I’ve ever doubted myself, but a boost in my psyche never hurt. I have learned to manage my time better, own up to my faults, find passion and make any duty feel fun and not a complete bore. I have found a Better Image Me that I can attain. I have a better idea of what it takes to be a leader.
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Creating activities was very difficult for me because I didn’t know how to make it educational and fun. I wanted to make sure they liked everything I did but I think I was just thinking too hard, because what was hard for me in the beginning turned out to be one of the easiest things now. Another thing was building great relationships with teachers and interacting with parents. Usually I am very shy, but this helped me become more open and comfortable.
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I have grown beside my fellow members. At times stressed, at times excited, at times overwhelmed but overall happy and content at the end of the day to serve the community with great 
satisfaction. I am proud of my year of service.
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Earlier this year I set up some blank books in the writing center at the CCRI classroom. I began working with a small group of kids cutting out pictures from magazines and encouraging them to create their own books. Several days later I returned to the classroom and was happy to see that the activity had continued on without me and that the kids were so proud of the books that they had created.
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I thought this would be easy but I was wrong. So I said to myself I don’t want to do this anymore. I realized that I needed to ask for help and I did. Now I have no trouble and I know that I can do this on my own. So my accomplishment is being brave and confident to know that I can do it on my own.
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In August training, seated back-to-back with another member, we were asked to draw a picture with directions given by our partner. This helped us to learn about our partner and exercised 
our listening skills. This is when my partner and I became acquainted. Compared with other pairs, we completed the task successfully; both pictures came out great. Our friendship still continues today in a class we both take and sharing a common love for music.
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During this year I have improved my translation skills very much. When I first started I thought it would be an easy thing to do because I knew both languages. One thing impressed me and that was the use of vocabulary in the Spanish language. There could be many words in Spanish for one single English word. It was a little challenging for me in the beginning but as I practice more, my translation skills improved very much.
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At first I was nervous and a bit scared. I didn’t know if I would get the hang of interacting with the children. Now I feel confident when I read to the kids; I know what kind of books they like me to read to them. I have also become comfortable sharing activities with the kids, like arts and crafts and singing songs. One thing I have learned in my site is how to look up books. Now, whenever I need to find certain books I know where I can get them in every part of the library.
