It’s all in the hugs

It’s all in the hugs.
While every Jumpstart session has a different focus, there are a few things that I can count on every time I step into the classroom. First, I can guarantee that my students will call me by my newly assumed name… “Jumpstart”. I can guarantee that my students will ask me to go to dramatic play while I’m trying to read to them. Finally, I can guarantee that at the end of each session, that a mob of students will come to bear hug me before I leave the classroom.

Each “Sharing and Goodbye” is a bittersweet endeavor. Seeing all of the amazing things that our kids have accomplished and engaged in two short hours amazes me. No matter how hectic sessions can get, the time we have at the end to reflect on the time we’ve spent is always gratifying. This feeling is also accompanied by the small sadness of knowing that we’ve come to the end of our time together. The kids know it too. Every time we start the goodbye song, their huge smiles turn to frowns…but only for a second.  As we make our way out of the classroom the kids wrap their little arms around us as tight as they can, smile and tell us they can’t wait to see us again before they head off to their next activity. For me, this has been the most rewarding aspect of being a corps member thus far.

I am truly excited to see the strides our kids will make throughout our time with them. The process will be gradual and filled with bumps along the way, but I know that we are going to help them get our kids prepared for the classroom. I believe what we do will yield great results.  Nevertheless, I believe that before we are able to guide our children to make significant strides in their vocabulary or comprehension of the meaning of use and print, we must gain their confidence and trust. They have to know that we’ll be at our session when we say we will, they have to know we care about our time together, they have to know we care about them. And even though they might not be able to articulate that they understand these things, every time they give wrap their little arms around us, smile and tell us “See you next time!” I know that deep down, they understand. The trust we need to do what we aspire to do is being built and nothing is more exciting than that!

~Paul Barrett
Corps member
Team Kindness