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From: Julie Sable
Date: 10/9/00
Time: 4:28:43 PM
Remote Name: 141.225.97.123
Hi Judy, thanks. I responded to this lastweek but then I hit the wrong button! Sometimes in groups, there is one girl among 3 or 4 boys. The girl can feel a little awkward. However, my graduate assistants are female mostly, and so this helps. We make sure that the girl's opinions and perspectives are heard. Issues which I anticipated might be barriers to the children forming a "Group" in the truest sense included lifestyle differences (sports guy versus book lover), age differences, cultural, religious and ethnic differences. And I was WRONG! Kids set such a great example for the rest of us, they just see another "kid". This year, we have a young man in after-school group who is 14 years old but has cognitive delays, and the other children have just accepted him completely. When the kids begin to cheer each other on, help each other, and even cue each other, I know we have made a "group". Or when the instructors come in the room and the kids are already going on a game or discussion full tilt, I know they have bonded pretty nicely.