Memoirs from a Team Leader’s First year with Jumpstart

As I sit and reflect upon my first semester with Jumpstart, I am pleasantly surprised and amazed at the wonderful experience I have been able to have.

When I first decided to apply for Jumpstart, I told myself I would be perfectly fine as a Corps Member. I just wanted to get my foot in the door and further my experience in the Education field. (But) having the chance to be a Team Leader has exceeded my wildest dreams. Never in a million years did I think I would have such a rewarding semester full of growth.

I’ve learned so much, not just about myself,  my corps members, or how the education system works, but also about the amazing students of our future. How extremely talented they are, quite smarter than what we usually give them credit for, and how truly desiring they are to learn. They want to be taught, they want to learn, and they want to be challenged.

With the recent tragedies that have taken place in Connecticut,  I have started thinking about how important the role of educators are in the classroom. Even though I am not a “real” teacher as of yet, my heart is still dedicated to the children whose lives I currently have been blessed to help.

Throughout our lives, the many roles we will assume in the classroom such as teacher, class assistant, and volunteer will include much more than making sure that they know what is outlined in their lesson plans. We are their role models, protectors, the one’s they look up too for a huge portion of the day.  During the semester, we had a fire drill practice and Jumpstart Corps members were also expected to help with the practice procedures, because we are part of the environment that makes the classroom successful. We, too, are someone that our students look up to as examples and protectors.

I am excited for the next semester of Jumpstart at Sunshine. There is so much more I can write about, so many stories, and expectations that exceeded what I ever could have imagined, but I think the most important lesson for me, and hopefully everyone else who has shared this experience, is the knowledge that our presence in the classroom is so much more important than just working with children.

May your holidays be filled with much joy and happiness!

~Danielle Jones
Team Leader
Team Kindness

Reflections on Community Service

World AIDS Day was a few weeks ago, and Team Learning 2 had the opportunity to participate in a community service project to honor the day. As our (albeit assigned) group name suggests, we are big fans of learning over here in Learning 2, and we saw this as an opportunity to learn more about an important issue that affects the Washington, DC, community. We got to go over to Damien Ministries with some other AU students to help make their lives a little easier. Damien Ministries, as we learned, is an organization that helps provide services for people with HIV and AIDS in the area. We all know that AIDS is a terrible disease to have to deal with, but it might be easier to overlook the fact that many people who suffer from AIDS are also suffering from poverty. This might make it hard for them to afford their medication, food, clothes, basically anything that affects people living in poverty. We helped clean up and organize the food bank and clothing donation center, which are frequented by the people the Damien Ministries serves. Although the several hours of service we performed absolutely pales in comparison to the work that Damien Ministries does on a daily basis, we are honored to have gotten to help in some way.

This experience gave us an appreciation for the work that needs to be done to try to make life easier for those people who are living in our city and living with an as-of-yet incurable disease. From the perspective of Jumpstart, this is an issue that in the past has played a role in early childhood education because children could be born with the disease if their mothers had it. However, we were told that this past year only one baby was born infected in the city, so that could be considered progress. The themes of poverty and health are certainly inseparable from making sure kids excel in education, and as Jumpstart corp members there is unfortunately not a whole lot we can do to change the health and socioeconomic situation of the children we work with. We can, though, keep these outside factors in mind when we’re in the classroom with students who may be restless or disinterested. By trying to understand the environment a student comes from, we are better able to make the most out of a child’s classroom experience. By doing service outside of the classroom and in the community, we gain a better grasp of the situation and hopefully make some positive changes in our kids’ lives. Because, of course, we want the best for them.

~Team Learning 2

Opportunities to Learn

Nestled into a room in an academic building on campus, my team and I set up shop to create a winter wonderland. With cupcakes and steaming cups of hot cocoa at our sides, we bunkered down with a holiday movie and began cutting out snowflakes, yellow stars, evergreen trees, snow colored garland. I instantly forgot the stress that resulted preparing for this project. Thoughts like, “my cupcakes aren’t even iced yet” and “the movie we want isn’t available??” faded from my mind. Here I was, cutting out winter crafts with the corps members I love to spend my Monday and Thursday afternoons with. At the end of our very sad yet thoughtful holiday movie, we looked around the room. Blue and white garland stretched around the perimeter of the classroom. Snowflakes piled high on the table to create a snowy mountain. Stars and trees scattered around. What a beautiful mess. What a beautiful winter wonderland.

As we cleaned up the scraps of paper and the littered cupcake wrappers, we briefly discussed why we just spent two hours creating winter decorations for the our classrooms. Especially since we were team learning, not team joy or kindness. Though our value does not seem to connect with the purpose of our project, we quickly found that this perception was false. We figure- the more stimulating a classroom, the more opportunity to learn and grow. With new material introduced to the classroom atmosphere, the children are encouraged to question and explore. Especially coming from a city south of the Mason Dixon line, snow is something of an oddity. We feel that with these stimulating decorations the kids will be excited to learn about the new things adorning their room. The decorations will also serve to create a positive learning environment.

We often forget that there is learning to be had anywhere and everywhere.

~Brooke Williams

Team Leader

Team Learning 1

Our Impact, Our Service

Team Determination at Jumpstart at American University volunteers at their partner preschool in South East DC, implementing session twice per week. I am the Team Leader for Team Determination, and it has truly been a great experience working with my team this semester. Our partner children have shown us time and time again that they are truly filled with amazing potential that is just waiting to be cultivated and developed. Each time we go in and do session, we wonder if what we're teaching is sinking in. Are they understanding the stories that we read to them? Are they actually comprehending the vocabulary and remembering each word? Are the various skills that we focus on developing in them? The whole reason that we do what we do is so that our students grow in their abilities and are prepared for going to school. But it can be difficult sometimes to measure the impact that we have.

During one of our Circle Times during Session a couple of weeks ago, we did a word clue game in which I gave students clues about vocabulary words that I was thinking of and they had to guess the word. I wasn't sure how it would go, if they would remember the vocabulary words or not. I hoped that someone would at least know one of the words. I was utterly surprised, because it turned out that two different students remembered two different vocabulary words and were able to name them. The words that they were able to name were "harmonica" and "crib." It was especially exciting that the one student was able to name the word "harmonica" because we had not only read this word in Oonga Boonga, one of our core storybooks, but we had also taught more about musical instruments during Let's Find Out About It when we made bottle shakers. So to know that our constant repetition of words and meanings and the ways that we demonstrate the meanings of words actually teaches them and causes them to understand and remember the various words was a great feeling. Sometimes it can feel like we are repeating things and saying things and demonstrating things and that the children are not really paying attention or retaining anything. It was so great to know that this is not true, and that what we are doing is actually having a pretty significant impact on the students and they are learning and growing in the development of certain skills.

Such moments in Jumpstart are not always common, but are certainly the kinds of moments that renew motivation and give us encouragement in what we are doing. I think that in Jumpstart we really live for those moments, and when they happen it is the best feeling. This past Saturday, we had an all-Corps event at Howard University and a couple of guest speakers shared about the impact that Jumpstart is having on the District of Columbia. One of the speakers was the program director at Sunshine Early Learning Center, and what he shared was also very encouraging in the work that we do. He shared some specific instances in which Jumpstart Corps members were working one-on-one with some of the most difficult students and that he saw a visible difference in those students' behavior and development during their time with the Corps members and even following after.

It is great to see the impact we are having within our own classroom where we serve, and then to hear from someone else who specializes in Early Childhood Education about the kind of impact that we have gives a greater sense of confirmation that what we are doing is making a difference.

~Becca P
Team Leader
Team Determination

Core Value Post: What Determination Really Means

Team Determination
Entering my second term serving Jumpstart, I had some specific expectations as to what this year would look like.  I came into the semester a veteran, one of the few who had experienced the first year of Jumpstart at American University.  In my first year I had a great team who collaborated so incredibly well together for the good of our partner children and had fun doing so.  It seemed that we had a special bond through our common passion and we supported each other. I did not know if I could count on having such a great team in the upcoming year.

Besides the changes in teams and attaining new corps members, the majority of Jumpstarts values, methods, and practices have stayed the same.  A few changes were implemented this year including the use of this blog, and in giving each team a name that reflects a value of Jumpstart.  When my team was given the name “Determination” I have to admit I was less than thrilled to be called a value that seemed lackluster compared to a name like “Joy”.  I never expected my team’s name to reflect so clearly the great strength of my team.

As my team began meeting for our planning meetings, we seemed to get along quite well and became more comfortable with each other upon each meeting.  Faster than I could say “Oonga Boonga” we were in the classroom implementing session plan one.  I was extremely surprised with the fact that we were able to be in the classroom doing Session the day it was scheduled because of expectations of transportation issues from the year before.

A few sessions later, we found our first trial.  On the way back from our school, we realized that we had a flat tire just after only traveling for a few minutes.  Team Determination was not stifled though, we found a way to have our tire changed and bonded in the meantime.  At that point we were able to come together and do extra team planning time and had a great time getting to know each other better even though members of our team were missing class and other obligations.

The session after this incident, we drove back to our partner school ready for session when we were stifle yet again.  This time, our unfortunate incident was a gas leak in the school, forcing us to leave not knowing what we would do.  We prevailed through this, and went back to the school a few days later and had a great session without any inconveniences.

Through these trails, I have noticed that my team is amazing at dealing with unexpected predicaments and persevering through.  I came in to this year thinking that I would be the one to teach the new corps members about Jumpstart when in turn they ended up teaching me skills applicable in Jumpstart and in life.  I now see that Determination is a perfect name for my team and it directly represents our strength in overcoming obstacles.

~Daylyn Weppner

Corps member

Team Determination

Winter Wonderland at Sunshine Early Learning Center

Imagination is Key

Imagination is key. Like most people I used to know this as a child, but somewhere in the process of growing up the idea seemed to slip from my mind. Today it is so easy to get stressed frazzled, and just plain short on patience. I often feel like I don't know where I'm going or on the off chance that I do, how on earth I'm going to get there. During our first training session, our site manager told us "check everything at the door" that the kids are the priority for those two hours in the classroom. I originally thought this was going to be difficult beyond belief, if not impossible. Upon actually entering the classroom for the first time I realized how wrong I had been that first day at training. I never imagined that a four- year-old's perspective on life could clear mine up so much. To the children we help, nothing is impossible, if they can dream it they can do it. No wall is too high and no dramatic play space is too limited to these kids. When something doesn't go their way, sure it's the end of the world for thirty seconds, but soon everything is right with the world again, as of nothing had happened in the seconds before. When I originally joined Jumpstart I had this ridiculous idea that I would be changing the lives of the children I worked with. I never would have imagined that the exact opposite would be true. Though the kids in our classroom never set out with the plan of changing the way their Jumpstart Friend looked at the world, they certainly accomplished it.

 Though I doubt that I'll ever be able to play house with as much zest as these kids can again, after a little over a month in the classroom I've come out with a new (or renewed) perspective on life. Sure, finals stink and the Red Line will surely be single tracking the next time we try to make it to session early, but you know, it's not really all that important. Trying to see life from the perspective of a four year old may seem crazy, but in reality we all thought that way once before, so why should it be so hard for us to feel this way again. Though I cannot say how much my Jumpstart children learned from “Oonga Boonga” I can say without a doubt that I have learned so much from them. Sometimes life gets crazy, and it seems like there’s nothing to do about it, but I can easily say that my kids taught me something that I will never forget. Go out of your way to ask that extra question, apologize when you hurt someone’s feelings, take an extra three seconds out of your day to give a friend a hug, and most important, never stop imagining. Always keep your dreams and greatest imaginations close, you can never know when inspiration will strike.

~Megan O'Toole
Corps Member
Team Learning 1

Pictures and Videos from Jumpstart Sessions

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

Joy in the Community

Our community service project was at the Anacostia River Gardens Aquatic Park. Unfortunately, we did not go to the correct spot when we got there, even though we thought we did. It all happened so fast. As soon as we parked the car and got out, this very welcoming man was so excited to see us and told us exactly where to go. Apparently, that particular day was the community service day for the entire Aquatic Park; therefore many local people were serving in various locations all around the river. Although we were taken to the garden area and were helping the staff with gardening all day, the feeling of joy was never lost. It was such an amazing experience. Seeing so many locals taking the time out of their busy schedules to serve alongside our team made everyone feel so happy. True joy can be seen when a community comes together in an act of service. 

Joy is one of the predominant aspects of a community lifestyle. In order to build a stronger community, there needs to be joy in the atmosphere. We clearly saw this during our service project. All of the staff members were so nice and helpful, and you could see the joy and happiness in their eyes when we were helping them. Another time when people could feel the presence of joy in the air was when we all stopped working to eat lunch together, as a community. Just sitting down and eating together with so many other local people made it feel like a true community had been established. Our initial service project may not have gone exactly how we had planned, but that didn’t matter because, in the end, joy was felt everywhere in the park. 

~Team Joy 2

Mini Wake-Up Call

It is incredibly easy to underestimate the learning capacity of the children we teach in Jumpstart. I first recognized this during the second implementation of Noisy Nora. The second implementation was after Thanksgiving Break meaning there was a whole week in between the first time I read my children the book and the second time I would be reading it to them. Because of this large gap in between implementations, I walked into the classroom on Tuesday thinking that my kids would not remember the story and that instead of reading for reconstruction, I’d probably have to end up doing more of an ‘enjoyment’ read since there’s no way they would remember the story well. Although children are very smart and retain information well, I was not expecting my kids to fully remember the story well. Boy was I wrong.

I walked into the classroom and went through the basic welcome procedures. We went through name cards and we briefly talked about how they spent their Thanksgiving. We sat down to read Noisy Nora and I began to probe them with the reconstruction questions. I was pleasantly surprised when I saw that not only were they answering all of my questions correctly and helping me tell the story but they were actually getting bored with my slow pace. “I already know Nora is in the closet! Turn the page please!” one of my kids said to me before I even got to the third page of the book. I found that hilarious because here I was, trying to ease them into the story because I underestimated their retention skills and they exceeded my expectations. At that point, I upped up the rigor of the reconstruction a little bit and my kids ended up successfully helping me retell the story of Noisy Nora.

I learned a very valuable lesson that day: our kids are very smart. I knew that these kids were intelligent from the beginning but I did not know just how intelligent. I look at these three, four, and five year olds and although I know they are smart, I, as well as others I’m sure, underestimate their skills because of their age. It is very easy to forget how quickly kids learn when they are younger and that speed of learning is what makes Jumpstart so successful. This was a very teachable moment for me and I’m glad that I experienced this mini-wake-up call in the classroom.

~Duaa AbdelHameid

Corps member

Team Kindness

Stick to the Plan: A Reflection on Classroom Management

Three year olds are kind of like frantic little lawyers. By this, I don’t mean that they cross examine witnesses or write contracts (though maybe one day!), but rather that they exhibit masterful persuasion. Working with Jumpstart, you definitely notice they have clear preferences with how they want to spend their time. This, of course, isn’t a bad thing. They are free spirits, taking in stimuli and forming new and exciting opinions about the world that build their understanding. They are getting excited about interacting with corps members and with playing with their peers, which is a huge part of what we at Jumpstart are trying to do. We want the kids to enjoy learning and embrace the skills we stress so that they may take that passion with them as they continue through to future successes.

However, it’s important not to let the children become the boss. Jumpstart has very specific session plans, with specific activities and Center time options that all connect to the domains and skills that we as corps members are trying to establish in the classroom. At times, the children are going to push to do something that is not part of the Jumpstart session plan. Corps members may feel tempted to give in to their desires, but it’s important to remember something very important: You are the boss. We are teachers in the classroom; We have authority that, if used correctly, can open up a very productive and fun environment for the children we work with. The key is to stick to the plan.

Many times, simply adjusting how you do session will make this difference and keep everyone on track. Kids are always thinking about different things, and they will constantly try to distract you into doing other things or into reading them the same book they’ve read a thousand times before. They like the comfort that their favorite activities bring them or that a familiar book can supply. But one really important lesson is teaching the kids that the more books you read, the more you try new activities and look at the way words are formed and sound, the more you understand and enjoy. Pacing is an important aspect of Jumpstart to keep in mind to best utilize the potential of the session. If a corps member finishes their book very early each time, it’s important to adjust for next time and perhaps take more time to focus on the details of the book or discuss the illustrations.  Another good strategy is to try to advocate and seem excited about the session yourself.  The children will be enthusiastic if you’re enthusiastic. If we see that there is one child who wants to do an activity not in the session plan or perhaps goes to the same Center each time, try to advocate for some variety. We as a group are committed to these kids’ education, and we are the driving force that keeps them on track with the curriculum. The way we handle our precious time with the kids is of utmost importance, and I know the corps members in my team work hard to make sure we improve session each and every time.

There will certainly be the occasional kid who continues to lawyer his/her way out of doing the session plan. If I’m ever struggling to keep control, I always tell myself the same thing: I am the teacher in the classroom. Another very reassuring thought is that we are loved by these kids. We are Jumpstart Corps Members: That’s really cool! They love it when they see our red shirts walking through that door. They always have to contain their excitement when we are there, and they will think you’re great even if you say no to them sometimes. I look forward to session each week because I know we are making a difference in these kids’ lives and that we are helping to build their futures. In order to accomplish that, it’s important to be confident in yourself, and don’t forget: stick to the plan!

~Shawn Bush

Team Leader

Team Learning 2

The Difference Three Pillows Can Make

Although technically as Jumpstart Corps members, we are supposed to be teaching the kids, there were many moments when the kids actually taught us. One of those moments happened during the first few weeks of session. I walked into Sunshine Early Learning Center as usual, pulled out my book, and walked into the classroom. My three partner children ran up to me and greeted me and we headed back to our usual reading spot. After going over the name cards, we jumped right into reading Oonga Boonga. This was the second implementation of Oonga Boonga and it was no surprise that the kids got bored very quickly knowing that they have already read this book. I was able to reign in their concentration through asking them questions and asking their opinions on certain parts of the book but regardless of my efforts, they found it very hard to sit still and concentrate. Up until that point, I always had my kids sit “criss-cross applesauce” on designated spots during reading because I thought that would help implement the Jumpstart idea of repetition and familiarity. Little did I know that it is very hard to get three and four year olds to sit still in specific spots without getting restless and unfocused. I was getting very frustrated at the fact that their attention was on where they were sitting rather than on the storybook. Feeling defeated because I couldn’t win their attention, I put the book down for a second and tried to give them a second to wiggle out their restlessness. That was when one of my kids looked up at me and said “Can we just sit on the pillows?”

He was referring to the different colored pillows that were always sitting next to our reading spot. That was when I realized that maybe sitting criss-cross applesauce in the same spot for name cards AND reading was probably as uncomfortable for them as it was for me. No one likes to sit still for that long especially not four year olds. So I grabbed the pillows and gave everyone a different colored pillow to sit on for reading time. When I picked up the book again, I was shocked at the difference that these pillows made. The kids seemed comfortable and were extremely engaged and focused. They were answering all of my questions and we had a blast getting through the rest of the book. That comment from my kid made me realize that reading time didn’t necessarily have to be so serious and boring but was designed to be fun and relaxed and the pillows’ effect on my kids focus was proof of that. I learned from my kid that although Jumpstart has very rigid lesson plans that it wants Corps Members to follow, that doesn’t necessarily mean that the lesson plans can’t be fun and relaxed as well. Ever since my kid asked me that question, I’ve had them sit on the pillows and it’s worked out well every time. With me, I’ve always thought about what it is that I can teach to the kids, never about what it is that the kids can teach me and as evidenced by my second Oonga Boonga session, our kids have a lot to teach us. 

Duaa AbdelHameid

Corps member

Team Kindness