ZsofiKaretkaHawkenProjects2021

I decided to do a Hawken project at The Treehouse mainly because of how much I enjoy working with kids. I thought that it could be very beneficial for me to learn better ways to interact with younger children. Being previously enrolled in the entrepreneurship course in Hawken, I was involved in several challenges with businesses were we would help out with specific tasks. Working at The Treehouse gave me a real life example of what goes on behind the scenes of a business in order for them to be successful. I got to hear about and learn different skills that are required of a small business owner-  especially since this business was nonprofit. During this Hawken project, I was hoping to learn different skills I could use when I interact with children of different ages and learn about how a non-profit business works. I'd say I was successful in that. I was not only able to learn skills that will help me be make small children comfortable, but but I also but I also...

Wednesday, June 1st started our final weekly theme at the treehouse, which was camping. The sensory bin looked different than usual today- there were bins of flashlights and crates of firewood (paper towel rolls). There was also a big tent which the kids could play in. Red tissue paper acted as a successful fire. The kids had a lot of fun making shadow puppets with the flashlights and pretending to build fires. The craft this week was more of a skill-based one. The kids had to practice cutting out paper that has different prints of objects you would find while camping- mud piles, sticks, waterfalls. The kids glued them in order on the map printout they were given. This craft practiced their fine motor skills. Then, we took the maps and acted out what we would do at each landmark as if we were going on the camping trip. After, we made an obstacle course consisting of a pool noodle which they used throughout the course, traffic cones, a scooter, and colorful plastic rings. They used th...

Today, Friday, May 27th, two preschool and one toddler playgroup. Claire and Lauren, who usually facilitated the groups, weren't here today, so Brooke and Kathy were in charge. They mentioned that the first group was going to have some extra kids that were new to the Treehouse , which we later found out would be a big adjustment. One kid came in early that had been homeschooled and wasn’t used to being away from his parents. It was very difficult for him to engage with other kids and only wanted to leave- he wouldn't stop crying. Brooke and Kathy recommended we try different activities like painting, drawing, and playing with a marble tower to try and distract him from the idea of leaving, but none of them seemed to work. Finally, towards the end of the playgroup, he started to play with the other kids, sliding cards and balls down a ramp. Once the playgroup left, Arya and I got to work on our individual assignments. Today, we spent time on the Inspired Treehouse website. We m...

On  Monday, May 23rd, we started the pirate theme. As the preschool group came in, they went straight to the sensory bin, which today was filled with sand, shells, gems, and cups to search and dig up treasure. The kids had a lot of fun with this activity. They were able to keep most of the sand in the bin, but some spilled sand was inevitable. I was happy to see how excited some of the kids were to pick up a broom and dustpan and clean u-p their mess. For the craft, the preschoolers worked on a pirate ship made of a paper plate, popsicle stick, and construction paper. They colored the plates brown and folded them in half to create a rocking pirate ship base. Some needed help with coloring while others were able to make full shapes and even marks with a crayon. Next came a popsicle stick as the mast, and a sail made of construction paper. For the movement activity, we created an obstacle course in which they would take a colored ball (treasure), jump on dots, climb up stairs, and ba...