.youth engagement 1: observation.
"It is your reaction to adversity, not the adversity itself that determines how your life's story will develop."
-Dieter Uchtdorf
Developmental Science & Youth Wellness
I chose to shadow Hannah Graczkowski at the Boys and Girls Club of Wisconsin Rapids. I spent time observing the children as they interacted with one another and how they responded to Hannah’s directions as she introduced the day’s activity: “Get To Know You Bingo”. Some students were confident and spoke using full sentences. Other students were timid but curious, paying close attention to what those around them were doing and then trying to figure out how they could join in by doing the same.
Children between the ages of 8 and 12 should be able to dress and groom themselves, write neatly, and read and understand words and concepts in growing complexity. I noticed an inside-out t-shirt, shoes on the wrong feet, and one child told me they couldn’t do the activity because they didn’t know how to read. I decided to sit down next to that child to better understand where she was at on her developmental path. I learned she was the youngest child in the group, age 7. She was shy and potentially intimidated by the newness of the school year, the new peer group, and the new person in the room, me. I was very pleased to have been able to make a connection with this child where they felt safe, stable, and nurtured as evidenced by their willingness to interact with me and allow me to help them participate in an activity they didn't think they would be able to.
 School-age children will begin to see an improvement in their motor skills. They will have better control, coordination and balance. |  School-age children will be able to focus on important tasks for longer periods. |  Positive stress is important for the child to learn how to deal with failure or frustration without losing self-esteem. |
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 It is normal for a peer group to reach milestones at a variety of ages, even spanning a few years in either direction |  Between the ages of 6-8, children learn better ways to describe experiences and talk about thoughts and feelings |
Translating developmental science into practice:
The human body’s stress response evolved to keep us safe from danger. Children have yet to experience the complexities of the world around them and require trusted adults to keep them safe and teach them how to navigate stressful experiences.
During my first experience at The Boys and Girls Club, I was able to observe children demonstrating a positive stress response. The children who were not listening to the directions about the bingo activity become animated and vocal about their confusion instead of asking Hannah for help. Once they were given the information they needed to participate, their stress resolved. Positive stress is valuable for the child’s continued development. When children learn to problem-solve and adapt, neurobiological changes take place in their brains that strengthen healthy connections and increase messaging efficiency. This means that the child learns how to positively cope with a stressful experience because they remember a previous similar situation and how they navigated it. The children who didn’t listen to the directions when they were initially given, learned to avoid that stressful feeling by listening to their teacher when they’ve been asked for their attention
