Volunteering at the Community School of Excellence with my peers was undoubtedly the highlight of my junior year. Who knew second graders could be so delightful?

I worked one on one with my second grade buddy for the day, Kathy, a shy and very sharp girl.

I helped her to understand her weekly quiz: 3 multiple choice questions on 2D and 3D geometry. She answered every question with the correct answer.

We decorated her name-tag which she had chosen specifically for its flowery design. Together, we colored it pink and purple. While we were coloring, Kathy told me that the best part of school was dancing with her two best friends on “only Tuesdays and Fridays”. Little did I know, this dancing business would become relevant to me later on.

 I aided Kathy in reading a Scooby Doo picture book or, what she referred to as “my level i book”.Kathy understood exactly which books were at her level. She was engaged and open to correction throughout our reading session, which surprised me because I thought second graders were, by and large, restless and obstinate.

In the midst of our reading I heard a “ second graders, stop what you’re doing and get ready for FRED-CHI TIME in ONE, TWO, THREE….”. My thought: “What the heck is ‘Fred Chi’?” Kathy clearly understood and soon, I did too.

Fred Chi is a YouTube exercise video for elementary schoolers in which an outline of a man, probably the “Fred” in “Fred Chi”, does a series of dance moves to be mimicked by students. Kathy’s teacher encouraged us high schoolers to join in and “Fred Chi” I did.

I remember all of us, spanning from 8 to 18 years in age, bopping around in the Community School of Excellence’s second grade classroom. I actually giggled, an ability I believed my third semester of junior year had robbed me of. I was wrong.

Chatting with and aiding the bright and sweet second graders of the Community School of Excellence in St.Paul is definitely something I intend to do again.