Jumpstart is a Way of Life

It was two AM on the morning of our Thursday session, and I was up practicing Circle Time and Let’s Find Out About It for the hundredth time. I should be sleeping, I thought. But I’ve come to find over that last couple of months that this has been a common occurrence. I’ve chosen to work on Jumpstart materials over sleep, homework, etc. Why? I love crafting and it’s fun, of course. But it’s also become one of the most important parts of my life.

It’s obvious to me that I’m not the only one who’s noticed. When I go home for a weekend, my mom shows me a pile of things she’s collected and asks me if I need any of it for Jumpstart before throwing it away. When I start collections of things in my room, my roommate already knows it’s for Jumpstart. And when I get on the elevator in my Jumpstart shirt, my friends have taken to saying, “have fun saving the world” before I depart. I know that I’m not saving the world. But what I do know is that I’m making a difference in the lives of children.

I’ve seen the same changes in the Corps members on my team.  Now that we are starting new sessions, I’ve seen more interest, enthusiasm, and dedication from them. And that has doubled the excitement of our children.

And boy, are they excited! We walk into a room full of squeals of “Jumpstart!” despite their teacher telling them to quiet down every week. That alone is reward enough for all we do. They have memorized our songs, and start “it’s time to put the books away” and “Goodbye Jumpstart” before me. They look excitedly for the bunny on my Intro to Center Time box every week, and try to guess the centers based on previous ones they’ve played in. They remember us, and they are learning our routines. But that’s not all they’re learning.

Our children are young. As of the end of winter break, they are all now 3. But it’s almost easy to forget their age because they are so smart and well behaved. They are naming letters easily during circle time. Many of them can spell their names. Last week, while we were making groceries lists in art, one of our students told us that she was putting pizza on her grocery list because “the little red hen made a pizza.” Another student put mozzarella sticks on his grocery list, and called them that by name. A student who usually has a hard time focusing sat down and finished all three alphabet-matching boards, with cheering on by a Corps member.

We have good days and bad days, but we focus on triumphs like these. It’s easy to see how a job this fun and rewarding could take over our priority list. The successes we see everyday with our children are the reason why we stay up late, go through recycling bins, and constantly search for ways to improve. It is fun, and it is worth it.

~Victoria Donnelly

Team Leader

Team Learning