Jumpstart Grocery

As we have had more and more sessions, my team and I have gotten more and more close to the children. We have also grown closer to each other.  When I see my team members around campus we always greet each other with a smile, and are always willing to offer a helping hand. Our common goal of brightening the lives of the children we work with has given us a bond that is unrivaled.

Last week after our second implementation of session plan 4, we were assigned different centers for center time. For session 5 I had the dramatic play center, I had to turn dramatic play into a grocery store. Dramatic play is probably one of the hardest centers to manage, however it is also where some of the most interesting Jumpstart experiences happen. As I gathered materials for my center throughout the week, my team members and I constantly checked in on each other making sure we had everything we needed. We would stop by each other’s room to drop off materials and suggest ideas. Having this kind of communication and concern for one another is extremely important in a job like this.

That week I had made a cardboard checkout counter, “Jump-Dollars” (money), posters for the grocery store, and had brought grocery bags and some empty food boxes for the children to play with. During circle time when our team leader presented the centers, a lot of the kids really wanted to play in dramatic play (which is completely normal). I was both excited and nervous about what was to come. When I got to the center I set up the counter, and organized the signs I made, and about 6 children came over. Every once in a while there was some arguing over the materials, but overall everything was all right.

What moment sticks in my head from this session was when I counted one of the kids’ “Jump- Dollars.” He came up to me and said, “Hey! Look at all the money I have! Could you count it for me?” I counted out the money for him one time, and then I had him count it with me. When we counted together sometimes I would pause before I said the next number to see if he could say the correct one before me. Though sometimes he didn’t always get the right number, there were a couple of times he guessed correctly on his own. His excitement while counting together was a beautiful thing to witness.  Once he knew the exact number of the amount of “Jump-Dollars” he had he was so happy. That one moment made the hours I spent gathering and making all my materials worth it! Jumpstart is awesome!

~Wesley Williams
Corps member
Team Connection