I was a little nervous for reading buddies before the first meeting and information session. It didn't help when I was the only one to show up 20 minutes late either. But, once I got my buddies information my anxiety turned to excitement. I've never held a job that doesn't involve working with youth. And I've learned a lot about myself during the years and hours I've spent with kids like the fact that 5-7 year old boys are my favorite age group to work with. So when I saw that Josiah, my buddy, is a 5 year old boy I knew we were going to have a good time.
When Josiah and I first met I could tell a lot about him by the way he hugged his mommy's leg to hide from me and was slow to respond when I asked him questions about his self. But I broke his nervous shell when I made a horrible joke about him owning 3... BILLION cats (He really only has 3 cats). After that incident I just became the silly 5 year old me so we could relate and get comfortable. Since that first day Josiah and I have had a ball every wednesday.
Our reading sessions usually begins with some silly name tag antics followed by us fighting over the big yellow rocking chair. Once its time to read Josiah heads straight for the next "Fly Guy" book in the series that we've been reading through. In one day we read 5 "Fly Guy" Books and every time I asked Josiah which one was his favorite he'd just stare me in the eyes with a wide grin and say "All of them!" and we'd keep on reading. I've started to notice Josiah's literature taste and I think he is too. Which is a big step for him and I because the very first day he had no idea what books he liked. I think this will really help us plan his own book.
My favorite part of my time with Josiah is the last 15 minutes. Because during that time we put our books away and break out the markers. Its my favorite time because I get to see the creativity Josiah puts on paper. He has made 2 masterpieces of scrap paper art. The first one titled "bleeding cat bleeding cat" and the second one is called "dog". All titles were his idea.
Overall I look forward to reading buddies every week and it's definitely a highlight of my week. I can't wait to go tomorrow!