The most important lesson I have learned from Jumpstart thus far
is embracing the messy moments. From the time the children enter the classroom
in the morning, a routine is expected of them. Breakfast, to reading, science,
math and lunch. All leading up to the anticipation of Jumpstart session, not
just for the preschoolers, but for the American University Corps members.
My Jumpstart friends are learning to be neat in the classroom as
the teachers are training them to become more organized and orderly. Last week
I was working the art center during center time when I noticed getting messy in
the classroom teaches creativity and responsibility. We happened to be painting
with primary colors, when my Jumpstart friends decided using paintbrushes were,
“lame” and. “boring.” Instead, they rather paint with their fingers and hands,
and within minutes, paint was everywhere: on the table, on the floor, and
riding up the arms. And it was at that moment that I looked over at our
teacher, her face was priceless! Furious with the mess the kids were making,
she stood up and walked over to the arts table, when I told her I’d handle the
messy situation. “Jumpstart is allowed to be messy!”
My Jumpstart friends continued to paint with their fingers and started
to look at the patterns their fingerprints left on the paper. Although paint
was everywhere, they were learning. “Look at my fingers!” “I’m making shapes
with my hands!” Their creativity grew as they started to make pictures of
animals, friends and family. But I didn’t leave them messy. The next step was
clean up. And
that’s when they learned to be responsible for their messes. They were full of
paint, but were able to contain their excitement without getting paint all over
the classroom, and the teachers were happy about that.
You see, its being messy that brings out our best. And learning
to be messy while cleaning up afterwards will help children clean up clutter in
the future. So embrace the messy. Paint with your fingers
Bobby
McCabe
Corps
Member
Team
Joy
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