Practice patience

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• The children are going through a lot. Some of them might of been out on the street the previous night and tonight they are being forced to get along with a bunch of strangers and there are a bunch of new rules. They are used to being alienated and accused. They take on their parents/caretaker's stress. Their needs are often left unattended. Their instincts may aid survival. Homeless children can be distracted by many things: hunger, shabby clothing, lack of school supplies or constant anxiety about their family’s security. Studies indicate that children whose address has been in flux for more than a year are subject to developmental delays at four times the rate of their peers, are twice as likely to repeat a grade and are identified with learning disabilities twice as often. Withdrawn or disruptive behavior in the classroom can also be natural reactions to a family life riddled with uncertainty. Practice patience and empathy with gentle guidance. Remember the Emotional Stress Handbook is a resource for you.

 

Flexibility 

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• Flexibility For Behavior: You may have a project in mind and when the children get there you may have to completely change it. Our director has been known to ask the children, "What would you like to do today because it looks like you don't want to do the project I had planned so let's talk about it and do something that works for everyone."

  • Flexibility For Number of Volunteers: We cannot always guarantee our desired number of volunteers while either sign up or show up. Be prepared to have too few or too may volunteers. 

    • If you have too many you may be able to adjust the project to accommodate for a peer to peer relationship. Make it so the children have to communicate and get to know their volunteer for example.

    • If you have too few volunteers, you could always resort to having them Draw Their Favorite Things with as may details as possible. Materials required: drawing materials and paper

 

Space arrangement

• Seating for success. Each curriculum has it's own preferred seating arrangement to make it as functional as possible for the children to receive the intentions of the project. Try your best to adhere to the preferred seating arrangements per curriculum.

• Calm music: always have calm music playing at all points during your session except during the Breathing Exercise, Imagination Session, when the Program Lead is speaking, and during Show And Tell. 

 

Loving guidance

• How to communicate with children the "drawchange way"

• How to communicate to parents the "drawchange way"

• What do you say when a child asks, "Are we going to get candy/a snack/a prize at the end of this?"

  • "No, I'm sorry, you won't. We come here to spend an hour of fun time creating awesome art projects with you. We just want to hang out with you. Does that sound good to you?" :)

 

Your relationship with the children

• They are called "children", not "kids". We are here to honor the children and therefore reference them as "children"

• From Merriam-Webster: Kid : 1. a young person —often used as a generalized reference to one especially younger or less experienced : "you poor kid" , 2a: a young goat b: a young individual of various animals related to the goat, 3a: the flesh, fur, or skin of a young goat

• During a drawchange session you are their peer. You are not "teaching" them anything, but "sharing" with them

• Come down to their level often-see them eye to eye 

• Build relationships with them

  • Remember their names, their likes and anything you may have in common with them

 

Supplies

• Save your scrap paper! We promise you'll use it :)

• Set up and clean up procedures

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Discipline the drawchange way

• We are more lenient than the discipline they receive in school. This is because often children are stressed out in school. We do everything in our power to gain the trust of the children by offering gentle and positive, loving and compassionate discipline. 

• "Please" and "thank you" for everything

• Manners

 

Volunteer management

• Ensure your volunteers are not completing the project themselves

• Their attention should always be on the children around them; no cell phone usage or creating of their own

• How volunteers divide themselves up amongst the children

• Volunteers never get up during the session; if a child wants something, they use that opportunity to teach leadership by having the child raise their hand and politely ask for what they need

 

Classroom management

• ​"Creativity Bubble": This is a concept to refocus the children on their own artwork when needed. With your hands and arms, draw a make believe bubble about 12" outside of the child's body and say, "This is where all your creative ideas happen and the more you stay inside your bubble, the more creative you are and the brighter and more colorful your artwork will be. Try to stay in your bubble and not worry about what others are doing".

 

Photos

• ​We value sharing our story. Any photographed children MUST be photo released by a parent or caretaker. Take photos of children smiling with their artwork as well as photos of their artwork. ALWAYS ask their permission to take either of these types of photos.