From May 29th to June 5th, Aylus hosted two online sessions and conducted two on-site
volunteering events with the Light and Salt Association (LSA). This is AYLUS Pearland’
2nd year assisting with this project. On May 29th and June 5th, Aylus hosted online
meetings to share the experience on how to interact with and assist students with special
needs for Project SMILE, an abbreviation for “Self-Advocacy, moving towards good health,
Independent living skills, Living basic job skills, and Emotional regulation skills”. Both
meetings were hosted and conducted by Sharon Cheng, the founder of Project SMILE. On
June 1st and June 3rd, new and returning Aylus members volunteered at the LSA’s SMILE
Program.
On May 29th, Aylus hosted an online meeting facilitated by Sharon Cheng, the director of
SMIL program. The meeting was one hour long, from 3:45-4:45 pm. During the meeting, the
experienced volunteers shared their experience with new volunteers. They worked together
to design the curriculum and plan on summer teaching schedule with Sharon’ help.
On June 1st, the volunteers first checked in and grabbed their corresponding nametags.
Because The Light and Salt Association recently moved to a new facility, this was the first
time the volunteers visited the new facility. There was tension in the room when the
volunteers first entered but the volunteers soon became acquainted and comfortable with
their partners. The day began with tennis lessons for the students. Everyone went down to
the tennis court and practiced their tennis skills. It was a hot day outside, however,
everyone tried their best despite the heat. The volunteers then returned to the classroom to
cool off and work on art. After lunch, the students finished up their art projects and finished
off the day with reading comprehension exercises.
Volunteering on June 3rd for the SMILE program was slightly different compared to
Wednesday’s session. This is because most of the lessons were taught by volunteers
instead of teachers. The day began with physical exercises led by one of the students. After
the exercise, Aila Jiang taught basic communication skills involving introductions, describing
yourself, and talking about one’s favorite trip. During this lesson, volunteers were able to
actively interact with their buddies and become closer through guided conversation.
Students were able to talk in front of the entire classroom and work on their public speaking
skills. Following this, Wendy Yin and Alexander Sun led an arts and crafts lesson. The
lesson was very interactive, and the students were able to make an origami crane and a
sunset painting. Although both lessons were challenging, the students were able to follow
the lesson with the help of the volunteers. All in all, the students and volunteers both had an
amazing time and look forward to seeing each other again.
On June 5th, Aylus hosted another online forum for the volunteers to discuss the essential
skills in teaching students with special needs. The meeting lasted one hour from 4-5 pm.
The meeting began with Sharon Cheng asking the volunteers questions like what skills are
necessary for teachers and what crucial skills the students need to learn. Then, she went over skills students need to learn like managing finances, maintaining a household, staying
safe, achieving self-awareness, and lesson plans teachers might utilize to teach these skills.
The volunteers went over 15 necessary and vital skills necessary for the students to
become independent. The volunteers also concluded that to teach in the SMILE class,
volunteers need to be like a turtle instead of a rabbit because a turtle moves at a slow pace
so that the students comprehend what is being taught.
In conclusion, through a week’s discussion and hands on practice, Pearland volunteers are
well prepared to assist people with special needs
Attendees on 5/29 (1 hour): Tina Dong, William Sun, Xuyang, Vichen Wang, Youchen, Yukti Vivek, Ziyuan Lu, Abigail Zheng, Winnie Jiang, Aiden Li, Aila Jiang, Alex Dai, Alex Song, Alexander Sun, Amy Miao, Andrew Lu, Jonathan Niu, Matthew Niu, Anna Zheng, Aoyu, Aubrey D, Avery Shi, Chen’s Wang, Chenyu Jin, Emma Lu, Erica Gao, Fiona Ren, Daniel Ren, Frank Zhao, G Gao, Shaochen Liu, Shaotan Liu
Attendees on 6/1 (6 hours): Aila Jiang, Erica Gao, Erick Zhang, Alexander Sun, Wendy Yin, Shaochen Liu, Shaotan Liu, Jiaqi Ren, Dayou Wu, Aubrey Daniels
Attendees on 6/3 (6 hours): Aila Jiang, Erica Gao, Erick Zhang, Alexander Sun, Wendy Yin, Abigail Zheng, Ray Huang, Emma Lu, Andrew Lu, Winnie Jiang, Anna Zheng
Teaching Preparation on 5/30: (30 minutes): Aila Jiang, Alexander Sun, Wendy Yin
Attendees on 6/5 (1 hour): Aiden Li, Alex Song, Alexander Sun, Aila Jiang, Healy, Alvin Zheng, Ares Zhou, Arianna Li, Emma Lu, Emma Xi, Erica Gao, Erick Zhang, Fiona Ren, G Gao Grace Dai, Haogi Zhang, Iris Yang, Jonathan Niu, Marc Lu, Matthew Niu, Mia Liu, Nova Mu, Richard Chen, Ryan Tan, Sasha Kuzmenko, Shaochen Liu, Shaotan Liu, Sharon Taylor, Zide Liu, Tina Dong
Reported by: Alexander Sun
