Get on those dancing shoes

Today Cassandra and I went to the YMCA to participate in there dance program. When we got there all Cassandra wanted to do was play on the jungle gym outside, but we negotiated and I said we could play on it after we were done dancing. When we got inside we were greeted by the other students Kimmy and Lilly there were really excited to see a new face. Cassandra was busy checking out the dance room and meeting the other dancers. Once the music started so did Cassandra, she was a dancing machine. She has great rhythm and can hold a beat for almost the entire song. She really enjoyed the country and fast beat songs, the slower song she would get bored with. While we were dancing another student came in, his name was DJ. While we were dancing he wanted to play catch so DJ, Cassandra and I would play catch in between our dance moves. Once the music was shut off and we said our good byes, Cassandra and I put on our jackets and headed to jungle gym. It was covered in snow but that didn't stop us, we climbed up to the top and crossed the bridge. Once we got our fill of the jungle gym we headed to the car and headed home. Cassandra was really excited about the dancing we just did and I think is looking forward to going back next week. I am going to meet with her on Friday and go snow shoeing at Lime Hollow, it should be a blast and I am looking forward to see her then.

GLOW IN THE DARK MINI GOLF!!!!

Today Cassandra and I went to to play mini golf at shipwreck golf. Cassandra had been there before but this was my first time. She was very excited to get going, the drive there we listened to country which she was very excited about. She hummed along with the tunes and she tapped her leg to the beat. When we first got inside she was a little comprehensive because of all the noise and the fact that it was glow in the dark. But after a few minutes she was comfortable to start playing. The first couple of holes was a little rough she would pick up the golf balls and then put them in the hole and try and move on to the next hole. But After a few talks we were able to leave the ball on the ground and use our putter. She was really good at hitting the ball short distances into the hole. She would ask for help if she felt she couldn't make it. I used the cues tap tap tap to try and get her to focus on what we were trying to do. Also we did a count down for every big tap we did. I would say ready Cassandra 3 2 1 BIG TAP, after a few times she would count down with me.She really enjoyed it, when we got back to her house she told her mother about what we did and expressed how much fun we had. Today was a great day i had a lot of with her. The next time I will see her will be on Wednesday for a dance class at the YMCA.

Run, Jump, Swing

Today was the first day Cassandra and I got to spend together doing physical activity. We planned on going to the indoor mini golf center. But because it was so nice out we decided to go on a walk/run around the neighborhood. As we were walking around we stumbled across a small park which Cassandra was really excited about. We went and swung on the swings for about 15 minutes and then headed back to her house. We had random bursts of energy in which we would run. We had a great pace and would run to a certain point and then walk. But once we got our energy back we would run again. I think Cassandra liked feeling the wind through her hair because on the swing and when we were running she would shake her head a lot and smile. On the way back we walked on the sidewalk which was still covered in snow and full of puddles. So we tried jumping over the puddles and tip toeing over the snow and ice. A few times we landed right in the puddles but it was okay because we were having fun. When we got back to her house he mother had a snack consisting of oreo's milk and cheese. Which made Cassandra really excited. Over all it was a great day and I am looking forward to seeing her on Sunday.

Meeting with the family

Today I got to meet with my students family. It was really nice to finally meet them, they are all very excited to get Project Dream started. The Mother gave me a lot of insight into the daughters life. Her daughter is very active and loves to try anything. She is also very interested and good at art, I saw some of her art work around the house and it was really good. The mother and brother of my student are very engaged and an active part of my students life. I found out my student likes snow shoeing, skiing, mini golf

, hiking and doing art. I am really excited to get started and find out more and more about my student and their family.

PROJECT DREAM KICK OFF PARTY

Project dream:

Mentoring, Physical and Recreational activity

This program gives students with disabilities from age 14 to 21 a chance to get more physically active with the help of a SUNY Cortland undergraduate. This allows the students to gain physical activity for 2 hours a week and it allows the teacher to work one on one with a student to gain insight into their life and habits.

On February the 11th the dream project hosted a kick off party in the SUNY Cortland facilities. It was a great event everyone was actively engaged in our program. Family's were enjoying them selves by playing can jam and also playing on the spooner boards. About 50 percent of the family's showed up, it was a great turn out. The students that were able to meet with their child were actively engaged in all the activities and were working on trying to figure out what the student was capable of. The night went by fast because we were constantly running around playing games and finding equipment. Over all it was a great night and i can;t wait for the ending party where we can do this all over again.