Summary of the visit: Mailing Santa Letters:

Arya and I read her Santa letter during the activity. She stated that she wanted to

become skinny, so she could wear crop tops. I was very sad by this fact because it shows how at

such a young age, the society modelled that you need to be skinny to wear crop tops. I dealt

with this small hurdle, by just mentioning that she would look great in a crop top regardless of if

she was skinny or not. We put the letter into the Santa letter envelope with Santa’s address, so

she could physically mail it to the post office.

Comment on the experience:

Arya seemed very happy at the news that she could deliver the Santa letter. For

example, she told me it was a dream come true because she had been wanting to mail the letter

like she sees her mom do often. She was very engaged because she confidently walked up to

the post office to mail her thoughtful letter. She did need some help reading the letter, but she

always tried to pronounce the words before asking for help.

Summary of the visit: Snowflake Craft

Note: Arya was absent, so my buddy for that day was Michael.

Before we did the activity, Michael had already colored a tissue paper in blue and green.

Our task was to make a snowflake with that paper. We had to fold the tissue paper into a
triangle first. Next, we cut out different shapes like a heart, circle, and triangles along the edges

to make the snowflake as unique as possible.

Comment on the experience:

Michael was very engaged during the activity because he was always very concentrated

to cut out the shapes to the best of his ability. Michael always tried his best to attempt to cut

out a shape before asking for help. For example, when he wanted to cut out a heart, he first

tried to cut out a circle that resembled a heart shape before asking me for help.

Summary of the visit: Math Game:

Note: Arya was absent, so my buddy for that day was Michael.

Our task was to color in 2 numbers that would add up to 10 on a piece of paper. The

number we rolled on the die, was one of the corresponding pair. Whoever had the greatest

number of pairs that made a square, won the game.

Comment on the experience:

Michael was very engaged with doing the math activity because it was a friendly

competition game. He did not need a lot of help with addition as he knew how to add numbers

at an extending level. He often just asked me if his answer was correct before he colored in the

numbers.
Techniques outside:

While we were outside for mailing Santa letters, Arya was very curious if Santa would get

her letter because there were many other students who also wrote letters to Santa. I used the

technique of trying to persuade her that Santa always wrote back to every child. I shared with

her that Santa cared about every single child. Arya was also very cold outside while waiting for

everyone to deliver their letters. I used the technique of telling her to do jumping jacks to warm

up. Arya did do jumping jacks, but she told me she was still quite cold. I would change that we

do not mail the Santa letters outside in the future. Instead, we could do it inside the school. For

example, if we create a post office (ex. A cardboard box). In this way other students who are

done delivering their letters could draw, read or do some board games.

Learnt about my buddy Arya:

I learned that Arya loves taking risks. For example, even though she did not know how to

read or write with correct spelling, she still tried her best with completing the activity. I also

learned that Arya feels confident when she accomplishes a task to the best of her ability. For

example, she felt confident that she finished writing her Santa letter. She felt motivated to write

more letters to improve her literacy skills.

Observations that relate back to my inquiry question:

 These observations relate back to my inquiry question because it shows me child’s play

boosts joy, self-esteem, and confidence. This is very important for mental health because having

a strong mindset will help us feel mentally prepared to overcome adversities in the future. For

example, dealing with in-laws, parenting, and a decline in physical health. Furthermore, child’s

play promotes risk-taking because it took a lot of courage for Arya to write that she felt that she

could not wear crop-tops because she didn’t feel skinny. Since she took this risk, the teachers

and I could help her realize that anyone can wear crop tops.

Comments about Arya

I loved hanging out with Arya because she is such a passionate girl who loves expressing

about her mental health state. Moreover, , she may not like reading or writing, but she still

chooses to do it. I wish I could become as strong-willed, determined, and passionate as Arya.