I was lucky enough to be asked specifically (thanks to the endorsement of Dr. Kristin Taylor) to guide/assist one particular child through the art lesson of the day. The kindness of this child made the entire experience very enjoyable. In truth what was taxing was adjusting to being around a lot of people who needed specific attention after being in quarantine for so long. It had also been since late 2018 that I had taught anyone how to do art of any kind. Despite this, I feel like I was able to adjust well and just be in the moment with the group and with my student. While still being under certain restrictions due to COVID-19, I really don't feel this impeded the experience, the connection, or the communication in anyway. The lesson on Connection was fun, and I was even able to make a special connection apparent to my student. When the student first arrived I was instructed to accompany them to the park's play place so they could go on the swings before the event began. While the student spent most of the time on the swings we ended our playtime with the student going down a slide that was made up of several cylinders that rolled to make going down the slide more enjoyable. Later during our art activity, we had several scraps of paper which the students were instructed to roll into cylinders. In order to help make a memory in the student's mind, I asked them to look at the cylinders they just made and whether it looked like something at the park we had done earlier in the day. When I mentioned that the cylinders kind of looked like the rollers on one of the student's favorite stations at the play place, they instantly lit up in excitement. The student could hardly contain themselves when called on by the instructor to show the class the cylinders they had just created, adding "they look like the slide at the park!"
Overall my time with 2BeeHappy was very pleasant and I believe they are doing great things. I even wish they had more branches to come to other cities to help similar students in other communities.