Hello Jumpstart!

When I first began Jumpstart I did not really know what to expect. I sat in each training session listening and reading all the different material my site manager handed out. All I could think about was all the information and pressure that came with being a Jumpstart Core Member. The minute I walked into my classroom for the very first time, however, all the stress and all the pressure seemed to fade. The students do not focus on how well you read the story or how well you interact with them during dramatic play. They look at you and see a new toy or plaything that can keep their interest for the next two hours. Although we are there to help the students with new vocabulary words, interesting new concepts and their alphabet comprehension I feel as though our goal is so much more. Our goal is to provide the children with two hours where they are the center of attention, something that some students always get in their own homes.

Since the first week or two in our classroom every time my team walks into the classroom we are bombarded with hugs and “Hello Jumpstart!”. They know the routine of having to sit down do their names and books before being able to sing and participate in any of the activities but they never seem to mind. One of the best feelings I have gotten in the world during a Jumpstart session was after two of my children were upset that we had finished “Little Red Hen Makes A Pizza”, they wanted to keep helping me knead the dough and chop the vegetables. I never realized that the book was so fun to them, I thought I was forcing them to make the pizza with me as I did the motions throughout the book. It made me realize that I have the power to show these children that reading not only can be educational with the new vocabulary we go through but it also has the ability to be fun.

As we wrap up center time and begin to sing the “Goodbye Jumpstart” song I always find it hard to leave the room after the suggested minute and a half my Site Manager told us during those long, strenuous information sessions. The children keep saying good bye to you and keep coming up for more hugs. It is hard to leave the classroom, yes because the students are too cute but also because for those two hours I was able to escape my own life. At the beginning of my Jumpstart experience I could feel the pressure and information weighing me down, now Jumpstart is my escape from the “real” work that always awaits me the minute I leave the metro station. The students may think that we are there for them, however, sometimes I find myself needing them more than they really need me. 

~Brittney Thompson

Corps member

Team Opportunity