Monday, November 5, 2007

Pre-Natal Yoga and STAR Court

So, I was way too hungry yesterday to post after pre-natal yoga. I think my stomach was the only one in class making noises by the end. Anyway, it was a lot of fun. There were about 10 women. All different ages, stages of pregnancy and number of pregnancies. There was only one person in the class having twins (but she was only about 11 weeks, so you can even really tell she is pregnant.) Most people were having their first. We did a lot of stretching, which my body is not really used to do anymore. That might be way my stomach feels a little sore today. The class is an hour and a half and we have the yoga class portion, relaxation and then discussion about pregnancy at the end. I think it will be really nice. I need to meet more people. Anyway, it was nice and relaxing. It is a seven week class so by the end I will be about 30 weeks pregnant. So close to the end!!!!

Okay, so a little bit about STAR Court, which used to be Truancy Court. I am a volunteer Judge. I go to an elementary school every Friday (unless they don't have school) and I meet with about 10 kids. All of these kids have issues ranging from not attending school, being tardy or social and familial issues that are affecting their progress in school. I would say the majority have behavioral problems stemming from their home life that causing them to misbehave in school. I love this program. The kids act like they hate coming every Friday, but they get so excited to sit down with me and talk about their week.

This isn't a completely fun program. If I feel like they are not following the rules or I feel like there may be abuse or neglect at home or educational neglect, I can refer the family to Children's Division, which may end the family in Juvenile Court. So there are serious consequences. But our goal is to try to deal with the problems, before it ever gets to that point.

This is my third year participating in this program. I will be going every week until I have the baby, then I will try to go back as soon as I can after the baby comes. Anyway, I will have to post the funny things that the kids say. Sometimes I can barely hold back laughing because they are so funny. Most of the kids in my session are in 4th, 5th and 6th grade. They are so smart and sometimes I can't believe that a little 8 year old comes up with some of these things.

This past Friday was my first week meeting with the kids. I sat down with one of my kids, Aaron and I asked him how his week was. He told me that it was good and bad. I asked him if he wanted to tell me the good stuff first or the bad stuff first. He said, "Lets start with the bad stuff, because I want to end this session on a good note." So cute. With that, I will end my post for the day.

No comments: