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 learned kids I'll I love tell you themselves, require an adult to nourish children's growth especially in such important years from the age of 2-10. Our mentor, Clair Heffron, it was also the founder of the Treehouse, was fantastic to work with. She was very approachable and always make sure that we could come to her with any questions. When we had when we first met with her, we discussed what tasks she would like help with while doing this project. She gave us a list of assignments to do and a schedule on how to complete them efficiently. My only regret from the senior project was not having more time to carry out our ideas for the Girls Open Studio we were working on. A specific example that reflects my most learning was when I had to help a child that didn't want to do a craft look at the task in a different light. I explained to him that this would help him enjoy the next activity more to which he responded positively. I was also impressed by how the business owners run the tree house. I received insight into how they organize their themes and how their entire space is organized so that they can work around it. Whenever Arya and I were working on our assignments, especially the Doctor Seuss and alphabet themes, we were especially diligent to make sure to put them into their assigned spot so that we wouldn't disrupt the flow of the successful system they had. While working at The Treehouse was a tremendously fun experience, I wouldn't recommend it to be a place where students can come for service day. Most of the play groups only consist of 5 through 9 kids and having a lot of high schoolers come in could be overwhelming for not only the business owners but more so, the children. It's time for the juniors to plan their projects, I would really recommend that they find a topic that they're excited to do everyday. I found that I got the most out of my project when I was excited to work on activities. It's also really important to have a mentor that you have a good connection with and someone you can easily approach. It'll be really helpful to be able to come to them with any questions or suggestions on how to complete the best work.
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