Adventures an an Instructional Assistant
December 10, 2007
This week I am working in an "Emotional Behavior Disability" classroom. This is a horrible term for them, because these kids are not disabled. They take all the kids who disrupt their fellow students and put them in one room. It can be a powder keg at times. Today there was a food fight, or at least a few Gummy Bears were thrown, at me. It is easy to set and maintain boundaries with one student, it is much harder with eight.
Last week I worked with severely disabled kids in a high school. Thhese kids are disabled. but each in a different way. Some mentally and some physically. Usually a little of both, but I am not always sure with all of them. If your motor skills are so low you can't talk, how do you display your intelligence? Steven Hawking found a way to do it.
I spend a lot of time taking them on walks. I am trying to find activities that can stimulate the intellects and social skills of the ones who are not completely shut down mentally. I had a kid play with the electric piano, then we tossed a ball back and forth, this was while he was being fed through a tube. He kind of did the same thing over and over with the piano, but I tried a few new musical ideas on him, and he copied them a little.

                              
Tuesday, November 7, 2007 - 

Caring For Kids Is Pretty Intense - 
My Adventures with a Challenged Four Year Old

I have a new job as an instructional assistant for the Seattle City School District.
I worked this week as a one-on-one with a girl who is four, has the
intellect of a 1 year old, the body of a six year old and the will of a
three year old. Sometimes it seems like a constant challenge to keep her 
on task and from doing what she is not supposed to do. 
She doesn't really know what behaviour is innapropriate and why. But she is making progress.

She used to ride in the back seats of the tri-cycles wth other kids
driving. This year she started riding in a tricycle alone, but with an
adult pushing her. I decided that she needs to do the steering, not
picking up the front wheels to turn it for her. She is getting it. I stop
her if she takes her hands off the wheel or gazes in the wrong directon.
And I think she is using sharp abrupt turns as her brakes. So I am
pointing her to the hand break periodically.

One day She kept doing an innapropriate activity,and I kept picking her up
and saying stop. I decided that was not how I wanted to handle it from
then on. So I sat her down next to me, sang "All of Me" to her while
tapping the rhythm on my and her knees. She made it through the song and
then got up to go inside.

I don't know if it had an effect, but the undesired behavior stopped.

Greg Spence Wolf and Wendy Joeseph 
History House of Greater Seattle
790 N. 34th Street Seattle WA 98103
August 26, 2007

 
Pike Place Market Buskers' Festival
Sunday, September 16, 2007
11-5

The Sixth Annual Pike Place Market Buskers' Festival was our rainiest yet. It wasn't raining at 7:00 AM when I got there, but it was pouring by my set time. My loyal friends Karen, Breck, Kristin and Gordon stuck it out anyways. I was playing in Post Alley, so there was a covered eating area to sit in. Jorge joined me on guitar. I was followed by Dandelion Junk Queens. I think that the accordion player, McKenzie, for that group is so beautiful. Alot of other people did too, because the cameras were out in full force when she was on stage, of course that could be because of the sun coming out too. I managed the stage as well, pretty much alone, with the help of some fellow buskers. I ot some good photos out of the day because my friend When Paddison brought a crew of 26 photographers to shoot the event. The pictures are still coming in I hear, look for pmpgbuskers on flickr I could go on and on, but I won't. Peace Greg

Design by Reggie Miles

 
The Seattle Parks Department 
has been hiring Buskers 
to play in the Parks
I am booked for the following days.
from 11:30-1:30
7.30.07	Waterfront Park
I got interviewed by a public radio reporter Jamala Henderson

8.07.07	Hing Hay Park
Fairly uneventful day. This very pretty 40 year old woman hugged me, 
listenned to a song and pulled a dollar out of her bra

 
7.28.07	Alki Beach Fest

with the Monday night sing-a-long band
I got a wicked sunburn.
The songs that we had rehearsed in advance went over pretty well.

We had people singing along throughout the day

 

7.25.07	Pioneer Square Park
It was a brief day playing because my friend Wil Winter helped me move 
that afternoon and wanted me to start as soon as I was done with work, 
so we moved my storage locker in two trips of his van.
I told him I had less stuff than Karen, and he told me Karen 
had as many stuffed rabbits as I had stuff in my storage locker.


 

 
7.20.07	Hing Hay Park

The Seattle Parks Department has been hiring Buskers to play in the Parks On july 21 I played inHing Hay Park, it was raining,but there was a shelter. I was photographed by Alan Berner of the Seattle Times. He showed me the umbrella that he found at The WTO riots and told me a story of a photo in the paper of Mr and Mrs Claus getting escorted out of a boarded up Nordstroms by police.

Thursday, July 5, 2007
Pioneer Square 11-2

What A great Day, the weather was wonderful, the people were flowing 
in and out of the "UNderground Tour" and the tips were pretty good too.

 
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Freeway Park 11-2

It rained and I had my picture taken by a photographer from the LA Times.

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

CINDY RELLA


Cindy, you cut my heart to pieces,
Just like it was another piece of cheese,
Then you put me out on a cold, cold shelf,
Hoping I'd get picked up by someone else,

Cindy, you made me feel so blue,
When you went around and told everyone how cheap I was,
Cindy, I felt so marked down,
Why'd you go and spread that around,

Cindy, I rella, rella like you,
The bulk of my feelings are for you,
Cindy, I don't want to be discontinued,
Because no one melts my heart the way you do,.


By Greg Spence Wolf and Sandy Zirnheld

 listen to CINDYRELLA

 

C and P Coffee Company
With Jorge Zorro and Karen Olsen
Thursday, May 17, 2007
6:00 - 8:00 PM
5612 California Avenue SW
Seattle, WA    98136 
On the 54 and 128 bus routes
Tel. (206) 933-3125

 
GREENLAKE ESPRESSO
With Jorge Zorro
Tuesday, February 6, 2007
6:00 - 8:00 PM
780 N.73rd st. 
Winona and Linden
and on the 358 bus route

WAYWARD COFFEEHOUSE
8570 Greenwood Ave N,
Seattle WA 98103
Saturday, February 24, 2007
8:00 - 10:00 PM