My Day at Jumpstart!

My name is Jennifer Rudin and I am one of the 7 Jumpstart Corps members representing Team Kindness. On my way to Jumpstart on Friday November 8^th, I couldn’t help but think about how tired I was. On top of that, the shuttle bus transporting my team from our school to the metro arrived late. And to top it off, one of my team members got a bloody nose on the way to Jumpstart. It was a mess. I regretted not feeling fully put together on my way to my Jumpstart classroom and I couldn’t help but feel anxious for what was to come.

            Nevertheless, as my team arrived at our site with 5 minutes to spare, as we walked into our Jumpstart classroom, the joy and excitement gleaming on our children’s faces set aside all of our worries. “Jumpstart!” they shouted, as our bright red shirts entered their classroom. They were so happy to see us walking in with our big colorful posters, our outer space craft box, and our minion “let’s find out about it” poster.

            As we were fully immersed into the classroom of gleaming 3 year old faces, our Jumpstart friends found us. They remembered us! My two Jumpstart friends held my hands and guided me to our reading area. Eager to read our new book full of exciting new pictures and new voices for me to act out, my Jumpstart friends sat on either side of me in crisscross applesauce. Always amused by my post-its that contain vocab definitions and remind me of questions to ask, I had to remind my Jumpstart friends yet again that they are for me and must remain untouched. I am excited for the day they remember this and don’t try to pull them off! Until then, I will constantly remind them of this; they will learn soon enough!

            While I was reading the new book, The Little Red Hen, to my Jumpstart friends, they began making connections to the pictures in the story, such as associating the ruler to measuring how big and how little something is, and associating the pans to what their parents bake food (like muffins and cookies) in. I was so proud of their ability to connect these pictures from the storybook to real life events!

            After reading the book it was time for circle time, where we sang songs, including one of the children’s favorites- The Wheels on the Bus. It gets me every time, watching the children quickly transition from their talkative and unable to sit still stage to their interactive and excited to learn stage. I remain to this day completely amused by how a song can bring a whole group together in participation!

            Afterwards, each team member split up into their sections; I stationed myself in the mini library in the classroom to read books. Despite the fun and exciting other options including dramatic play, art, writing, puzzles, and let’s find out about it, surprisingly enough, I had a pretty great turnout at my books station! This past Friday, I had a really great day at Jumpstart, and I could tell that the children did too! 

~Jennifer Rudin

Corps member

Team Kindness