Sam, Frances, and Eleanor brought their special magic to the summer session last August. Sam, now a sophomore at Bronx High School of Science, volunteered in a 3s classroom. He found it was ‘really, really fun…they were so energetic and curious.’ He found it interesting how fun was incorporated into learning, giving the example of the daily message board that teaches number concepts, but the children see as a game.
Frances, now 17 and a senior at the Brearley School, has been a volunteer at Bloomingdale for 7 years, and she also attends the Bloomingdale School of Music. Our current music program was started based on her efforts which you can read about in our blog post, A Tale of Two Bloomingdales. Frances worked with the 2s and 3s this summer, and previously worked with the 4s, which has given her a range of experiences. She loved seeing the impact of the music program with children understanding the lyrics and repeating them, or singing the melodies of the songs from class. Her playground play sessions may have equaled a Krav Magna class, and the children were thrilled to play with her.
Eleanor, who recently turned 14, and who also attends the Brearley School, devoted her Bat Mitzvah year to Bloomingdale and you can read more about that here. She visited classrooms whenever she had a break from school, and continued to volunteer into the summer. She has a deft touch with the children, and they love seeing her.
Our summer volunteers added a special dimension of energy and joy to our days. Thanks so much for coming!
