Special Guest for a Session

My team has been running session for quite a few months now, and it always seems like once we get comfortable with our situation- be it our children, our Corps Members, or the location of Lets Find Out About It- something gets changed. Needless to say, Jumpstart has definitely taught me to think on my toes and improvise.  My most recent session was one of those toe-thinking sessions. One CM was out sick, so we had a special guest Jumpstart friend come in to help out.  She was a CM from another team, but her team’s partner children are a full year older and radically different from my team’s children. My team has the “itty-bitties” and they are so intelligent that they always seem to amaze me, but they just don’t ever listen to anyone.  My team and I have learned to cope with this lovely little quirk, but our special Jumpstart friend was certainly not prepared for this during Dramatic Play at Center Time.

The theme for Dramatic Play was washing and folding clothes. We had a washing machine, lots and lots of clothes…and an empty bright orange laundry detergent jug. This jug ended up being more of a tug-of-war rope than a prop, and our guest CM was losing hope and beginning to get frustrated.  And who can blame her?  The children are persistent. But Miss Jumpstart ended up solving the problem on her own.  First, she took a deep breath to center herself. And then she took control of the situation by removing the laundry jug from Dramatic Play because “if you can’t all take a turn using it, no one is going to use it.” It was like magic! The children forgot about the jug and began using the “washing machine” and folding the clothes like it was the most fun thing in the world. 

It is extremely difficult to put yourself into a new situation for the first time, especially if you are walking into a classroom filled with loud, jumpy three year olds.  Young children can be frustrating, especially when they don’t listen, and my team’s children are no exception.  I am so eternally grateful for my guest CM’s help during that session, and I can only hope that she won’t protest coming back when we need her again. Because once you know what to expect in a classroom, you can anticipate what you will need to do for classroom management to make Session as successful as it can possibly be. 

~Maia Plesent

Team Leader

Team Joy 1