Beware the rut.....
How do you maintain motivation, excitement, and energy for the final few days? Now that you know your students, and you have a fairly good idea of what you are doing, and have established a routine (for yourself, your group, your students, and parents) it is very easy to "get stuck in a rut".
How will you keep yourself motivated to be invested in your students learning? How will you makes things more exciting for you and your learner now that things have gotten "normal" and possibly a little "boring"? What will you do to re-invigorate the energy and expectations from yourself and for your learner?
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ReplyDeleteK has made a lot of progress in the last two weeks and watching her excel is motivating. We also set some goals for K and I use that to motivate me as well as K.
ReplyDeleteJill A Arave.
I noticed we were "getting stuck in a rut" last week so I decided we needed to challenge A this week last week. We have the same routine where we swim first then go upstairs and work on colors, matching, drawing, or puzzles. A has gotten very comfortable doing this and she usually runs right upstairs. I decided to switch it up and bring things down into the gym instead of going up into the room this week. She panicked and we had a struggle but eventually we made it down stairs to try something new. I think it is important to change things up and to get something new and fresh so that you and you're student don't get to comfortable doing the same thing all the time. Next week to keep things excited we are going to try and get her on the rock wall. Very excited seeing as she has never done it before. I think this will push her even farther outside of her comfort zone, but, that's where learning happens right?
ReplyDeleteWe have tried many different activities. Some A likes and others she doesn't as much. I find the more we change things up or add something new the more willing she to try it. I also noticed the more excited I am about an activity the more excited A gets too. I don't feel like where in a rut. A remains excited to come every week and we continue to see improvement every week.
ReplyDeleteI have to be honest, there are some weeks where I am not excited about CAPES! and as classes are kind of starting to wide up and projects are due, it is hard to stay motivated about CAPES! However, every week by the time we get started doing activities I am more than happy to be there! I love seeing A improve and accomplish tasks she has never done before. That more than anything keeps me excited and motivated for the weeks to come.
Interestingly enough, my participant was gone for 3 weeks so it hasn't hit that "lull" yet. I plan on still progressing with her communication skills and going up from here. The break was kind of good for that I guess so we don't end up getting stuck in much of a rut. My participant is awesome enough that I don't really have to make myself excited to keep coming because I really enjoy working with her!
ReplyDeleteWe've switched to working on life skills. This week we learned how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. That experience alone made me realize how many things that I do every day and don't even think about, may be difficult and new experiences for my participant. I already have more ideas than I can fit into the time that's left. Next week we'll be learning how to sweep a floor and I'm kinda giddy for the next week to come.
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ReplyDeleteWe have seen incredible progress with M in the past few weeks. I think the way we have stayed motivated is through her energy and excitement; it rubs off on us and vice versa. We are at an advantage this semester because it is M's first one in CAPES!, so she hasn't quite found her niche and is open to new and exciting things. This week we decided to do something that scared both me and my partner a bit. We chose to go to the rock wall for our land time, and were a little wary for how well she would take being put in a harness and climbing in general, but she absolutely loved it! We also have decided to take into account that there are only two weeks left and it's getting warmer and lighter outside, so we're shaking things up a bit by going outside-- doing extra planning to make things as memorable and beneficial as we can for M.
ReplyDeleteI can’t believe that we only have 2 weeks left. I feel like I have just started to really understand G and what she can do. Last Tuesday was such a great day because I feel like she was actually sharing some emotion with me. I don’t feel worried about being bored because I am anxious to try to bring out more emotions in G. I’m working on ways to get her to communicate more and I feel like I just had a break through when we drew on the white board together and I saw her get excited about things….If only I were a better artist. I actually feel more push to try harder with her since I know we only have 2 weeks left to work together.
ReplyDeleteIt has been an awesome journey so far with T. There have been some moments that have been hard,but I think that having the mindset that I can help change someones life for the better is a huge motivator for me. We only have this short amount of time to be a friend and mentor to these amazing kids so we need to do everything we can to make this time count. Sometimes it does not seem like we are making much of a difference, but we really are. They may not show it but I think the love the chances they get to spend time with us. T has been awesome work with. I have learned a lot from him. I am trying to help him get used to the idea that change is good. I have been working on adding new things for T to do to help him be more okay with change.
ReplyDeleteOne thing we are really excited about is playing baseball. We were cleaning and M saw some bats and grab one. I asked to you want to play with that next week. He said he loved baseball. We did not know this, so it will be fun to play it with M. Also, we try to do something new every week so that keeps me motivated. I want to see what new activities we are going to do. The pool is where we keep doing the same thing. One idea we had was to make him jump into the pool while catching a ring. This will be good for M because he has a harder time seeing. We did this Toward the end this week and he loved doing it. Another thing we are going to try is make him do tricks in the pool. M loves showing off, so he we love showing us what he can do.
ReplyDeleteJanessa Frandsen
I have to say, I kind of feel like I am in a rut. Because my partner doesn't always come, I find it difficult to do the activities alone because they require focus on both parts. Sometimes it is hard to stay motivated and positive because working with the children is hard. When I get home at night I fall into bed absolutely exhausted, mentally and emotionally. But then I think of the difference we could be making to the children and the parents. When we're in the pool and B is jumping and floating with the weights and kicking his legs, I feel like he is learning. There are times when the things I have planned don't really go as planned, but I learn there are better ways to spend time. This week we started having him catch and throw, then we sat on those rolly things and he went back and forth moving his legs. I was so happy, that even though it wasn't what I had planned, he loved it. Every week I go there nervous, but then I see cute little B and he's always ready with a hug and a smile and I know that this is something that makes a difference to the kids and it keeps me going.
ReplyDeleteIt's crazy to think that we only have two weeks left! I feel like I am just getting into my stride of working with T! He is a non-verbal student but I feel like I am starting to understand what he likes and dislikes and that he is much smarter than he portrays. That in itself gave me excitement to challenge both my self and T! I am limited on time so I want to put my all in these next two weeks helping T continue to learn and develop his motor skills.
ReplyDelete-Savanah Border
At times it can be hard to keep the excitement and energy up, at this point in the program it is difficult not to fall in a rut, to do the same things each week because it is easy and you know that your participant can do it really well and they love doing that activity. In the past few week I have learned that there is more than one way to do the different activities, and many more ways to motivate the learner into doing things that they otherwise are not as comfortable in doing, but it is all about how it is presented. One thing that I found that provided excitement in the activities and motivated C to do better and push himself is his love for Pokémon, now there is not a week that goes by that we do not try to apply it in the plan for the day, it may be something small or the main event of the day. Each week, I remind him the importance of the different activities or things that we are teaching him, when C gets frustrated and want to quit, remind him and motivate him on why are we doing these things, to become the best Pokémon Masters.
ReplyDeleteI cant believe CAPES has gone this fast. I can feel the motivation lowering in B. I feel like theses last 2 weeks I really need to keep up the excitement and energy! I think I can plan some fun and hard working activities for the last 2 weeks so I can keep the excitement and energy going! I feel like he has worked hard this semester, but has been getting frustrated with me and not wanting to do what I have planned if he doesn't like it or doesn't think he can do it. During these last 2 weeks, I want to make sure he knows what we are doing are to help him and teach him and I want him to not give up! I will continue to work hard with him and motivate him during the last 2 weeks. It will be a challenge for both of us.
ReplyDeleteMakell Hull
The last two weeks have been the best weeks yet as far as having him listen to me and follow directions. I think this is keeping both of us motivated going to the finishing stretch. He will be gone the first week of April so this next week is our last regular week. This is motivation enough for me to make it the best week yet.
ReplyDeleteThis last couple weeks I have been with my student have been great and I will keep motivated by just being able to see a change in my student because when he succeeds i feel that much better about myself. So I just need to keep moving along and making big steps.How I will make things more exciting is by trying new things and just seeing how my kid could get better and achieve more I will teach my kid different things instead of staying in the same routine. I got to find new things to do so that way we both don't get that feeling. What I will do to get that energy back like we had in the beginning is I will have to create different activities to see what he likes and make those something we can do these last couple weeks. I am going to make the most out of these two weeks and keep everything going strong.
ReplyDelete- Jeremy Maxwell
I'm so excited to keep learning and growing with my students. It has been great, but we have encountered some challenges this semester. I am just starting to see some real improvement and I want to keep the momentum going. I don't feel stuck in a rut because I am seeing some real change. S has started letting go of my waist in the pool. J has tried going under water. They were willing to work as a team during land-based activities. I'm excited to see what will happen these last two weeks as we venture outside and see what we can accomplish there.
ReplyDeleteWith my Capes! Participant and I, I have been attempting to get out of my comfort zone. This in turn has brought about more adventure in our land and water based activities!
ReplyDeleteI had my apprehensions about taking S to the climbing wall, but after our first day on it, I realized that we would be ok and just to have fun.
Having fun is a big portion of further enjoying the process!
-Rohan Vajupeyayajula
Although I am glad that this semester is coming to an end I will miss A and my partner M a lot! My motivation is to take these last few times and get as much out of them as possible. There are still a lot of skills we can work on so it never gets boring. A loves the pool time so she helps us get excited for that every time and seeing her happy is what motivates us.
ReplyDeletethis day we did rockwall for the first time. swiming was really fun. they had some nice pairs of goggles we dove for rings and swam int he deep end. our friend is really good at swimming. he dove all the way to the bottom several times and was able get some rings. rock wall was fun. he made it a little ways. we also ran around on the track upstairs.
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