First Place Winner
Post 1:
Anxious. A word that both, Elix (my little buddy) and I were certainly feeling before we first met. But, before I knew it, that anxious feeling that lingered in the air was long gone. Five minutes prior to meeting Elix, I was informed that he is a very, veryshy little boy that definitely needs a little time to get comfortable. With that being said, I was advised to just let him take the lead and let him take his time warming up to me. Knowing that, a flood of worries and questions flooded my mind, considering I know what it is like growing up really shy 鈥� what if he doesn鈥檛 like me? what if he doesn鈥檛 want to do anything? what if he stays with his dad the entire time because he鈥檚 scared? what if 鈥� my constant string of never ending what-ifs stopped when I heard 鈥淣icolette, your little buddy is here, this is Elix鈥�. I stand up and shake Elix鈥檚 dad鈥檚 hand, while introducing myself. All I can see is Elix鈥檚 curly, blonde hair poking out from behind his dad鈥檚 legs. 鈥淗i Elix, I鈥檓 Nicolette, I鈥檓 so excited to be your reading buddy!鈥� Slowly, Elix emerges from behind his dad and reveals himself. Elix鈥檚 dad directs all of us toward the name tags, in which Elix took the lead and instantly began making his own name tag. In a matter of two minutes, Elix confidently left his dad鈥檚 side and led me to a bookshelf to pick out a couple books to start off our afternoon together. I inhaled and exhaled deeply, with a sigh of relief, excited that Elix and I were off to a great start.听
Elix sat down with a couple super hero books in hand, with the biggest smile on his face. He instantly let his imagination soar as we read through the books; he animated what he thought was happening on each page with great sound effects and a couple giggles here and there. And just like that, I instantly knew that Elix and I were going to be great pals.听听
In just two weeks, Elix has told me that I am his 鈥渇avorite reading buddy ever鈥� and that I鈥檓 one of his four friends that is a part of the Reading Buddies program. He even told me how he was sad that we don鈥檛 meet on Wednesdays because he wishes he could show me his Halloween costume. What better way to start off my week?! Although we have only met twice, I know this semester is going to be a blast with Elix. He has opened up to me so much more than I expected which is so fulfilling, especially since he is so shy.听
So far, we have spent our afternoons reading a couple super hero books, and then we transition to drawing pictures that he ends up proudly showing mom or dad at the end of our session together. Mondays in general can be quite rough, but I am forever thankful that I get to end my Mondays on a good note with the Reading Buddies program.
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Post 2:
The month of October and Elix have a shared commonality: they are both full of surprises. Every Monday I never know what fun things Elix has to share with me when I arrive at the Boulder Public Library. This month we have started our days off with him being my art teacher, and showing me how to draw whatever subject he learned to draw in art class that day. With that being said, he has taught me how to draw the blue dog, and a tufted mazurka from Dr. Seuss, how fun! I have a collection of the drawings we make that continues to pile up after every session.听听
After our daily dose of drawing, we transition to reading. Elix is quite shy with reading in front of me I have noticed. At the beginning of the month, I was the one reading the entire time. However, as the month progressed, Elix slowly, but surely has opened up to me in showing me his reading skills, which has been so fun to experience. Lately he has been into reading Magic School Bus, Scooby Doo, or the Lego Ninjago books. I tend to read the actual story, but as I read each page, I make sure to stop and ask him questions about the story and then I will ask if he can read the words that are within the pictures (ex: words on the signs, words in the dialogue bubbles). Although, he is really shy especially with his reading, I know that Elix is a very bright kid and has great reading skills; one time I arrived to Reading Buddies and I noticed him reading a book to his mom with little difficulty. I hope that I can reach that level, or at least get close to it, in terms of Elix being confident in his reading skills and wanting to read out loud to me by the end of the semester.听听
Elix is a bundle of joy and a bundle of energy, so his patience with sitting through an entire book tends to run out fast. When that happens, we divert to a nice game of charades. It is a great way for him to express his creativity and take a brain break from reading, but also practice his literacy skills as I have him read the charade terms on every card that he chooses, which he does with little hassle.听听
Sadly, I was unable to attend the last session of October due to illness, but prior to the most recent session, we started our book: The Book of Ninjago. Elix loves the Lego Ninjago series, so his inspiration for our book all roots to that. He is the creative force in our book as he decided what characters he wants and what pictures he wants on each page for our short story. I cannot wait to finish our book in the coming weeks and see our final product! I am already sad knowing that more than half of our time together is done. The past overall 6 weeks with Elix have been a blast and I cannot wait for what the rest of the semester entails!
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Post 3:
My time with sweet Elix is coming to an end; time really does fly when you're having fun! This month we finished our short story: The Book of Ninjago. If there is anything that I've learned about Elix so far, it is that he is a huge fan of super heroes AND the Lego Ninjago franchise. Thus, our story is centered around his favorite Ninjago characters, Kai and Lloyd, as they battle against their worst enemy and ultimately win the battle. I really enjoyed watching Elix's imaginative world come to life as we worked on the book together. Elix told me that last year at the book party he was too shy to read the book in front of his other fellow reading buddies, so his big buddy read the whole story for everyone to enjoy. With only a couple weeks until our book party, I am anxious to see if Elix will be up to the courageous task of reading our book in front of his friends. Throughout the semester, I have seen him become more comfortable with reading to me. Although he is still really shy, he has certainly come out of his shell especially when it comes to reading!听听
Elix is a bundle of joy that I have loved getting to know throughout the semester. I am certainly going to miss reading and learning all about his favorite superheroes and legos, but I think the thing I'll really miss the most is the art lessons that I've been receiving from Elix. Ever since he taught me how to draw the blue dog (which is something he learned earlier that day in art class) at the beginning of the semester, we have made it a tradition to start every session together with a mini art lesson in which I follow what he draws. I never thought to take pictures of our drawings prior to my most recent session with him, but I have attached our most recent drawing -- it is Christmas themed since we are so excited for Christmas now that we have returned from Thanksgiving break! Elix's is on the left, while mine is on the right. Elix really loves art in many forms, whether it is drawing, dancing, or anything in between; he has such a creative mind and it has been a pleasure watching him express his creativity through his art.听听
As the semester with Elix and the Reading Buddies program at the Boulder Public Library comes to a close, I just wanted to say thank you for this incredible opportunity. I am so beyond happy that I decided to take part in such an amazing program. It has been an honor to see听 growth between both Elix and myself throughout the semester. I will soak in every last second of our remaining sessions together; this experience has been nothing but fun! Thank you, Elix, for never failing to put a smile on my face and for giving me a reason to look forward to Mondays!
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