Casten Crosby Senior Project

 Day 13 Blog: This morning was the last morning, I took Willa for the morning while Mabel had a doctors appointment. We went up to the swing sets and hung out there. She loved seeing the dogs and was barking at them. It was adorable.  I dropped her off before my last seminar and then picked up Mabel for the afternoon. We went on the swings for a little before watching the guys set up the gradation tent. She loved watching it. We then sat in the shade for a bit before heading back to the house for a goodbye hug! I will miss the girls immensely!!

 Day 12 Blog: Today was Mabels 4th birthday!!! We celebrated the morning by going up to Summerfield to swing on the swings. Willa and I swung on the swings while Mabel worked on her pirate ship and fixing it up, a.k.a. the play structure.  We got to see the dogs that live at summerfield and played with them for a little bit. Willa was making barking noises at the dogs. After having some lunch, I went back in the afternoon to see Mabel. We just hung out in her front yard playing with bubbles, and then made a lemonade stand made out of hose water. Mabel told me how she was going to miss me next year after I graduated so I explained to her what was going to happen when I did. It was a nice talk with her in the warm afternoon. 

  Week 2 Reflection This week was another successful week of babysitting. It was a lot of fun and the weather was super nice which made it lovely for playing outdoors. I continue to learn more about a variety of different kids and parents throughout Proctor. I set up interviews with outside sources as well. I continued to learn more about how I could entertain kids and work with them in the best possible way. As the weeks grow on, I realize more and more how difficult it can be. I continue to gain more and more respect for the parents that have to deal with work and a job as well as raising kids. Although it was just babysitting for a couple hours at a time, I still can recognize how hard it would be to have to keep them entertained for that long as well as trying to get your own work done. Although I have been working with Kelly‘s kids for most of the time, I also got to meet the Tremblay girls. They were much older, so they were a little bit more mature and could keep themselves ente

Day 11 Blog: Today was a hot day filled with lots to do in the afternoon. After taking the morning off to get my covid shot, I met up with Mabel in the afternoon to head over to the swing sets.  After a bit of that, we went into the locker room to cool down and play with some of the sticks. It was nice to hang out inside instead of the scorching heat. We then went to walk around and saw a newly built swing made from wood that Mabel wanted to try out. She swung on it for a little and we just sat in the shade and talked. It was a very enjoyable afternoon and was nice to be outside in the heat.

 Day 10 Blog: This morning was a short one, but it was nice and warm! I headed over to Mabel and Willas house to play with them outside for a bit. We played and wrote with the chalk as well as blew some bubbles. Mabel loved to play the Cinderella game where she pretended she was Cinderella. I could only be over at their house for about an hour before I had to go to a seminar. After lunch, I went back over to get Mabel. We played on the swings for a bit before getting a lacrosse stick and played around outside. Mabel was the goalie as I shot some goals on her, she saved every one! Today was super sunny and warm, so it was a lot of fun to be outside with the girls!

Day 9 Blog: Today was another morning babysitting with Mabel and Willa. I arrived to their house at 10 am and ate some breakfast with the girls and family. Mabel and I hung out in the front yard writing with chalk and waited for Willa to be done with her breakfast. Once she was, we headed up to Sumnerfield for the swing sets. Mabel was very helpful pushing Willa, as well as spent lots of time on her pirate ship (the play structure).  While Mabel was on her ship, me and Willa walked around and played with the flowers as well as a soccer ball that we found.  To end off the morning we went on a little walk around campus! Such a pretty day!

 Day 8 Blog: Today was another easy and beautiful day out. I started my morning with some final presentation work, as well as working on my evaluation. At around 12, I headed over to Mabel and Willa‘s house. I picked up Mabel to go play. We headed to the swingset first and played on that for a bit before taking a cool down break in the locker room to play some lacrosse and get some sticks to bring outside. Here’s Mabel in the goal.  You can see how much she loved it. We then went over to the swing set again and played in the shade as Santa pretending to put presents under the Christmas tree. It was a lot of fun and thankfully there was some shade for us to enjoy. 

 Day 7 Blog: Today was another beautiful day working with Mabel and Willa. This morning I started out hanging in their front yard doing chalk and bubbles, and "fishing" (a stick fishing rod and the lake was a pile of leaves).  About half way through the morning, Willa went back inside and me and Mabel went to take a walk around campus. She got to try on the new shoes that I got for graduation and the "prom" and loved how sparkly they were. It was a lot of fun to get to have some time with Mabel.  After lunch, I went to the house again to pick up Mabel and we went on a walk again to look at some of the blooming trees. We also took a trip to the locker room to try out the lacrosse gear. She also started gathering some berries from the trees into her bucket. It was a super fun day in the sunshine!

  Week 1 Reflection: Overall, this week was a success and a lot of fun. I learned a lot about the kids and the parents around Proctor as well as more about the community that makes it up. I had the pleasure of getting to know quite a few of the kids around campus. I was also lucky to interview some parents as well. For starters, I learned about what it takes to have to keep kids entertained for long periods of time. I can’t imagine how difficult it must be to have to give children constant attention. If I thought four or five hours a day was hard for me, I can’t imagine 24/7. It really makes me envy the parents. I thought it was super interesting how almost every parent that I interviewed mentioned how much they appreciate the sense of community here and how it has helped them grow and thrive through the help of other people. Not only did I learn about the raising of kids and how to balance work and time management, I also got to experience it. I had to make sure that the kids I was wa

 Day 6 Blog: Today was a super chill day, day 6! It was a Sunday so I got to sleep in, and got some work done on writing a weekly reflection as well as starting to put together my presentation for the final senior project. I was putting together my recordings from interviews and compiling them into quotes and presentations.  Later today I went to dinner with the Tremblay girls, Bria and Addie. We went to dinner in the dining hall and then walked back to their house. They both showed me their rooms and around the house before we started playing a game of "What Do You Meme?" while watching Mama Mia 2. It was a super relaxing night just talking and getting to know the girls. They were much older, so it was easier for me to relate and chill closely with them. Overall, a super chill day, and it was fun to meet a new family!

 Day 5 Blog:  Day five! Today I start off my day by heading to Slocumb to interview Jill Jones-Grotnes. She was very helpful answering my questions and I loved when she said how much she loves her kids can look up to the students and community of Proctor as role models. Thank you Jill! After talking a bit more and setting up some times with other families, I went over to Kelly’s house to see her amazing girls once again! We went over to the swings up at Summerfield with the warm weather making it super enjoyable. Here are some photos Mabel took of the sky and the swings: After dropping off Willa and getting my lunch, Mabel and I went to learn some first aid with Kelly and some other students who are doing related projects. It was a very interesting time, learning lots about what to do in certain situations. It was plenty entertaining as the game of SPLASH began while we were doing this lesson, so there was lots going on. Another great and warm day of senior project!

 Day 4 Blog:  Another day for the books on Senior Project! Today I was lucky enough to watch Mabel and Willa again. I went over to their house around 10am and hung out with both of the girls on the swing sets, which is still their favorite activity.  After being lucky enough to go into Jake's again, I grabbed lunch for a little break. I returned to the girls house to get Mabel as Willa napped for the afternoon. Me and Mabel took it to the front yard and started planting "seeds", AKA picking leaves and digging them into the dirt of the yard. She had a little planting set, and we picked lots of flowers as well. We then took the last hour to go back on the swings after seeing some of our friends walk by on the path. Today was yet another successful day of fun! Total Hours: 4

 Day 3 Blog: Today was a chill, interview day, but very productive. I started off the morning starting to work on some interview questions as well as starting work on my final presentation, just to get a heads start. I worked for a bit before starting my first parent interview with Scott and Lindsey Allenby. I learned a lot about their thoughts on raising their kids on and around Proctor. I loved their answer when I asked what their favourite part of raising a kid in Proctor was. They both said they loved the sense of community that lies inside raising kids. Every parent is always willing to help each other out in the success of raising their kids here. The kids that grow up here are so lucky to have the students here to look up to and get so much support from everyone in the community. Thank you Scott and Lindsey! After going to my lax practice, I met with Kyle Trembly and her kids, Bria and Addie. Her girls were super sweet and had the best energy. I did a little look through on the

 Day 2 Blog: Second day was a success! I was lucky enough to babysit Kelly's kids once again, Mabel and Willa. We took it to Summerfield to play on the swing sets, which is their favorite activity. Their other favorite activity was blowing bubbles, which we did lots of as well. After dropping off Willa for her afternoon nap, me and Mabel got our lunches before I picked her up again to go play. We ran into the horse that was on campus for the art classes so we got to spend some time petting him and watching him eat the grass. I then took her to practice some lacrosse skills with my stick and goggles, which she loved.  Overall, today it was super fun to try some new things, as well as have fun with these two doing their favorite activities. Total Hours: 4

 Day 1 Blog:  Today was an amazing start to a senior project that I am extremely excited for. On todays agenda, I started the day at a late 10 am with babysitting for Kelly Griffin Brown with her 2 girls, Mabel and Willa.  We took it to Summerfield and they loved to swing on the swings for about an hour and a half. We picked flowers for a while and made flower crowns as well as lots of bouquets. I dropped Willa off after the morning ended for her nap, as well I dropped Mabel off for lunch and I went to get my own.  After lunch, I took Mabel to go blow bubbles by the pond and we went to the beach to look at animals as well. We then went to the trainers office to get CPR trained as a bonus to my project, and Mabel was a large helper. Overall, this was an amazing start to my senior project and I'm excited to see what's in store! Total Hours: 5