 |
 |
By Jennifer M. Fitzenberger
Arizona Daily Wildcat
November 1, 1996
Jack-o-lantern carving and trick-or-treating brought costumed cowboys and witches from the Childtime Children's Center to the UA Mall and Memorial Student Union yesterday morning.As a part of Fall Service Week sponsored by Project Volunteer, children from the local day care center, on Campbell Avenue, carved pumpkins and shuffled around the Student Union on a quest for candy to fill their Halloween sacks.
The children shared their experiences with volunteers from Project Volunteer, a service organization under the Center for Service Learning.
"The purpose of the pumpkin carving activity is to incorporate the children with campus volunteers," said Cliff Unger, director of Project Volunteer.
University of Arizona students that volunteered were eager to extend the Halloween spirit to their 4- and 5-year-old buddies.
Katie Palmer, English freshman and Project Volunteer participant said, "The best part was seeing how excited (the children) were when they were carrying their pumpkins around. They were so adorable."
Unger said he hopes volunteers will learn from their service experiences and be able to look positively back upon their volunteering.
"Hopefully, the volunteers will realize that they can make a difference in peoples lives," he said.
Palmer said it is important to become involved in young people's lives.
"I think that anything you can do for little kids is going to build their self-esteem. I really want them to have the same types of experiences that I had as a child," she said.
And from the looks on the children's faces, the volunteers were accomplishing all that Palmer envisioned.
Four-year-old Shantae Watkins was all laughs.
"I had fun. I got candy and got to dress up in a costume," she said. It was the first time that Shantae had carved a pumpkin.
"The kids get an opportunity to be out in the world, and to learn how to interact with other people," said Meg Christy, one of the Childtime Children's Center's pre-school teachers.
Christy also said the activity gives the children something exciting to bring home to tell their parents.
"Many times, when parents pick up their children and ask them what they did today, they say, 'Nothing.' Now they can say, 'Oh, I carved this pumpkin and we went trick-or-treating.' They will remember these things," she said.
The Childtime Children's Center is a publicly-owned day care and pre-school that takes care of children ages 6 months to 12 years.
"Picking up children from various elementary schools in our vicinity, we have children on after school programs and on vacation days," she said.
She said the Halloween activity was an example of the types of experiences the center endorses.
"We believe in creative curriculum, which is when children learn through play," she said.
Both the Childtime Children's Center and Project Volunteer seemed to achieve their goals this Halloween.
"The children had a good time and all of the volunteers had smiles on their faces," Unger said.
|
|
|